Slashdot Mirror


TiVo Buys Super Secret Strangeberry

Raindeer writes "According to SEC-filings Tivo has bought a start up of Marimba-founder and Java-designer Arthur van Hoff. The name of the startup is Strangeberry Just because of their job-titles they must be building something cool Chief Hackberry, Chief Wiseberry, Chief Smartberry. The SEC-Filings show that it has something to do with delivering broadbandservices to televission. A Dutch web-log claims to have a picture of what they are building. Anybody got anymore ideas on what this could be?"

17 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. What it is: by wiredog · · Score: 5, Funny

    An oscillation overthruster

  2. Hackberry, Wiseberry, Smartberry ... by BabyDave · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sound like a bunch of dingleberries to me.

  3. Translation of the Dutch weblog post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Kastjes onder de radar

    In een voormalige winkel in Palo Alto zit een start up waarvan de oprichters op een lauwe dinsdagmiddag naar Fry's Electronics zijn gereden om componenten te kopen waaruit ze deze vreemde kastjes hebben gebouwd. Ik denk dat binnen twee jaar iedereen met een DSL- of kabelaansluiting zo'n kastje in huis heeft. Meer mag ik er van de oprichters niet over zeggen, want die hebben de illusie dat ik er veel van snap en dus veel kan verklappen, een tragisch misverstand. Ze zijn heel bedreven in het 'onder de radar' blijven, maar intussen lopen bedrijven als Apple en Google de deur bij ze plat. Ik zie Philips of Shell niet zo snel audientie vragen bij een paar nerds uit Delft. Helaas.


    English translation
    -------------------
    Boxes below radar

    In a former shop in Palo Alto there's a startup whose founders rode to Fry's Electronics on a tuesday afternoon to buy some components to build these weird cases. I think that within two years, everyone with DSL or Cable will have one in their home. I can't say more from the founders, because they think I understand it (a grave misunderstanding) and can this tell you guys about it. They are very skilled in staying 'below radar' but in the meantime, companies such as Apple and Google are knocking at their door. I can't see Philips or Shell asking for an audience with two nerds from Delft. Pity.

  4. just check archive by shlomo · · Score: 5, Informative

    look at archive.org (way back machine) at what they used to be before becoming vaporware :) click here

    --
    sorry officer, left my sig in my other computer.
  5. It's a Scooter! by TheLoneCabbage · · Score: 5, Funny

    And it only has 1 wheel! It will revolutionize the... the... the... well it will revolutionize something!

  6. They're probably building... by I+Be+Hatin' · · Score: 5, Funny
    A time machine, so they can go back to 1999, when goofy job titles and goofily-named companies were acceptable.

    --
    I know god exists. I read it on the internet, so it must be true.
  7. If you can try to remember... by emo+boy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wasn't the strangeberry what all the Smurfs were after? I think that's what got them all drunk and lusting after Smurfette.

  8. My Guess by illuminatedwax · · Score: 5, Funny

    Looking at the picture, it looks like they make:
    - Cable Modems
    - Router/Hubs
    - Breakout Audio/Video Box
    - Those artificial flowers that dance when they hear noises

    or some combination thereof.

    --Stephen

    --
    Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
  9. Strangeberry by paul248 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Strangeberry is... PEOPLE!!!

  10. Java Rendezvous Development? by WebTurtle · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From what I can gather from Google, it seems one of their projects was a set of Java libraries designed to work with Apple's Rendezvous service. Here is a link: http://chrisheller.org/blog/archives/000048.html

    But, I think this was only a side project... since it seems that development is now moved to Sourceforge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/jmdns/

    --
    ------- "One of the joys of travel is visiting new towns and meeting new people." -- G. KHAN
  11. Someone out there must have some info... by Isca · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Who can find out what patents they have filed? That's usually a start on what this is.

    It looks like a wireless reciever with something that may hook directly into your home ethernet, pulling media off of your home computers or the net. Maybe a media-centric version of WebTV?

    There's lots of people working on these devices, maybe this company has created a nice interface for it? Maybe Tivo wants to purchase a company who has designed a device like this so that you can watch a tivo's playback on another TV without having to have an extra Tivo in the other room?

    Hopefully this will be a killer app that will finally cause them to get bought out by a company with more clout, and get the Tivo system liscensed into more devices, making it cheaper and more affordable for me to get multiple tivo's :)

  12. Re:Are any of them named John Smallberries? by argStyopa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bigboo-tay!

    --
    -Styopa
  13. What's in a name? by volpe · · Score: 5, Funny


    The name of the startup is Strangeberry Just because of their job-titles they must be building something cool Chief Hackberry, Chief Wiseberry, Chief Smartberry


    "With a name like Smuckers, it's got to be good".

    Why does logic fly out the window whenever some kind of berry or other small fruit is involved?

  14. Jobs by Quixote · · Score: 5, Informative
    Here's what they had on their jobs page last year:

    Jobs
    Join a world class team. Build potent software. Strangeberry Inc. is looking for smart, independent people who thrive at startups. Here are some of our openings:

    GRAPHIC / USER INTERFACE DESIGNER
    Graphic designer with experience building interface for consumer digital media applications. Must be creative and a good communicator. Qualified candidates have 3-4 years experience with interactive design and typographic skills. Knowledge of Photoshop and Illustrator required. DVD / Game UI experience a plus.

    APPLICATION ENGINEER
    Developer with experience creating user interfaces. Must be comfortable with C/C++, Java, Windows and Unix. No VB, please. Qualified candidates have 4-5 years experience building applications.

    KERNEL ENGINEER
    Linux kernel developer with experience writing device drivers under x86. Qualified candidates have 2-3 years experience working on the kernel. Knowledge of framebuffer internals a plus. Codec experience smiled upon.

  15. It is a TLAN system by sadomikeyism · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A Television Local Area Network, so you can view Tivo'd shows/movies anywhere in the house without having to have multiple Tivo machines (or cable boxes). About time someone recognised that TV is nothing but push media that can go across a network just like anything else.

    --
    "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves
  16. Well... by nuggetman · · Score: 5, Informative

    First, the image is much larger than in the page.

    Anyway... here's my thoughts.

    The far left has RCA, SVIDEO, and Ethnernet. Maybe some way to output data over a network to RCA-based stereo systems, something like a PRISMIQ.

    The middle device looks to be the same, except it has DV and optical in addition to RCA and SVIDEO. It could be another PRISMIQ-esque device, or it could also be something designed to go the other way too.

    We can't see the back of the last unit, but I'm gonna guess it's something w/ wireless similar to the first two.

    --
    ...and that's all there is to it.
  17. Re:Take a crack at this link by Dutch_Cap · · Score: 5, Informative
    Let me give you a proper translation:

    After Marimba went public [(got listen on the stock exchange)], Dutch ubertechnician Arthur van Hoff (center) scores again: he and his four collegues sold their ultra-secret start-up strangeberry, located in a small shop in Palo Alto, to Tivo. The transaction took place on the 12th of januari but Tivo only went public with the news yesterday.

    Founded in 2002, Straneberry was still pre-revenue, as they like to call companies who are still developing their technology. The gentlemen are working on a product related to the field of the posting below. After working together at Sun and Marimba, a bond had grown between the two which created a great atmosphere between them. Though occasionally it was hard to not tell friends everything about the activities of Strangeberry. The HIQ in Enschede and the university of Strathclyde are rightfully proud of van Hoff. It's a shame he makes his accomplishments in Silicon Valley, though, and can't pass on his experience in the Netherlands.