My TiVo monthly fee is $4.95. Yes, less than five dollars a month.
You left out the fact that you only get that price because you already have direcTV. Standalone Tivo subscribers are paying $12 a month now, I believe, which is a rip.
Secondly, the DirecTivos are crippled, in that you buy the device, but you can only record from DirecTV (and not cable, over the air, a VCR or DVD player, etc) which is stupid.
The RCA PVR is $599 according to the article, and you can already get a TiVo or a Replay box with a lifetime-of-the-unit pre-paid program guide subscription for that kind of money.
The important difference is that your Tivo stops working when Tivo, Inc. goes out of business. The RCA PVR is yours forever.
It's not just this instance, it's the principle of the thing. Those of us who dislike Tivo's monthly fee because we see it as a stepping stone to "rent-an-appliance". I don't want my microwave to be replaced with some IP-based device that I have to pay a monthly bill for, just because it downloads menus automatically so they call it a "microwave service".
There isn't anything about Tivo that intrinsically makes it a service, other than the fact that they've chosen to sell it that way.
Simply the fact that my Tivo could become useless (even if I paid a 'lifetime' fee!) if Tivo, Inc. goes under is reason enough to steer clear of the whole thing.
As I've said before, I can buy a fully functional computer with a big hard drive, fast CPU, CD-burner, and TV in for $400. So how come Tivo can't make a profit selling Tivos for $300?
I think the answer is that they can. Up until now, they just haven't had to. Now that they have to compete that will change, which is great for consumers whether you love or hate Tivo Inc.
Thank god! The stupid monthly fee is all that's been holding me back from Tivo.
All I really want is a disk-based recorder, without paying some lame monthly fee. (And yes, the fee is LAME). To date, all the reasons I've been givin for Tivo charging a fee boil down to "because they can". That's fine, that's their perogative, but I'm not buying.
Maybe once this RCA device is out, it will put some pressure on Tivo to get their act together. Sorry, but at $200, they should be able to make a profit. (I can buy a whole computer for that, and all that's in Tivo is a hard drive that wholesales these days for about $30 and some MPEG chips.)
If Apple releases a new product-- I don't imagine they will, myself-- it will not be a device that people look at and say, "Oh, neat." It will be a device that people will look at and say, "I want one now. Take my money, Apple. Gimme gimme gimme."
That's exactly how I felt the morning of the iPod announcement! Shortly after the product launch I went straight to apple.com to order two. And then I saw the price.
Which has barely come down.
At all.
Even though those tiny hard drives can now be had for $99.
I still don't own one.
Apple does a hell of a job creating things that people instantly want. They don't do such a good job of turning that want into sales, though.
the Tosh had to be heavily dismantled for a RAM upgrade - much more so than Apple notebooks I've seen.
The knife cuts both ways. The Dell and HP laptops I've owned both featured the RAM slots on the bottom, under a simple pop out door that you can open with a dime.
Compare this to the Apple iBook, which requires removing the delicate and easy to break keyboard to get at the RAM buried underneath...
Maybe it's time to switch banks? It's pretty sad that you use something called "Netbank" and their product only works in IE.
Find something else. E*Trade Bank offers competitive rates and features and their site works in IE, Mozilla, and anything else you care to throw at it. I don't always like everything they do, but they do have their shit together as far as browser support.
Yup, it would be nice if the carriers cared, but they don't. Cingular Wireless, for example, does not care if you are getting junk SMS. They will just tell you to cancel SMS, take it or leave it.
In fact, Cingular (or someone posing as Cingular) recently spammed their customers in California with a message indicating their intent to send marketing messages in the future, and giving the user the opportunity to "opt-out" ahead of time.
Since they get paid every time an SMS is sent (Either on a per SMS basis or as part of a monthly package) they could care less about stopping it.
Could you explain why, when I install Ximian Gnome, your software overwrites all the shortcuts in the "foot" menu and replaces them with your own offerings?
This, frankly, sucks. Folks trying Linux are just getting familiar with their systems and the programs that are typically installed. Then they get the bright idea to install Ximian because it looks "friendly", and you come along and take away all their programs.
Keep in mind that most folks won't know how to get those shortcuts back (if it is even possible). Your software is advertised as being ideal for newbies, yet in practice, it is actually hostile. This is typical of open source software, in that your own self-serving interests (promoting Ximian) are placed above that of the user.
In other words, we don't need a guide. If the game is worth owning it's been ported, because PC users have already separated the wheat from the chaff for us. ^_^
How come there is no Counter-Strike for Macs then? Civilization? Emperor?
Come on! There are lots of great games on the Mac! Like, Warcraft III................. um............ oh, Breakout................. and Super Breakout. And that puzzle game, with the Apple logo!
Since you asked, check out E*Trade bank. If you keep a minimum balance, ($5,000), they don't charge any fees at all. They pay interest. You get free online bill pay, and free checks when you run out. They have live humans that answer the phone.
And get this - they reimburse you for ATM Fees charged by other banks. Few weeks ago, I went out of town and used a Bank of America ATM. On my statement, I had (-$1.50), and right above it, a deposit (+1.50) for the same amount.
The 60-hour Series 2 TiVo is $350 - $50 rebate from Best Buy, and probably any other electronics store. Without the subscription, you can still pause live TV, and record shows if you know the date and time.
From what I understand, this is 100% wrong. The series 2 ones don't work at all without the subscription. Got a link with any info that says it works?
In my experience, yes, Mac OS X is slow. My definition of "slow" is "noticeably slower than other computers of similar cost".
For example, I use an HP Omnibook 500. It is a Pentium III 700 mhz with 256 MB RAM. Windows 2000 is very responsive on it. I am refering to things like scroll speed, switching between applications, and operating menus.
The other computer is the iBook 600mhz, also with 256 MB RAM and OS 10.2. On this machine, I notice substantial GUI lag, especially when using web browsers. In fact, quite a few apps lag at TEXT ENTRY. I mean, I'm typing into a form field on a web page and it's lagging! And of course, the things like slow scroll speed are obvious to the naked eye.
Now, I'm sure if you ran something like SETI, you would find that the Mac is far faster. Unfortunately, I don't use SETI for my daily work, I use things like email, browsers, word processing, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver! For these, OS X is significantly slower than a 2 year old Wintel, let alone hardware of an equivalent cost.
GUI lag is the most frustrating kind of lag. In order for the GUI to "work", it needs to respond IMMEDIATELY. This immediate feedback keeps the user informed - did they click the right thing? Etc. When it lags, the user must wait to find out if they are "wrong" before making a correction. That is annoying, and that is what OS X suffers from.
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You left out the fact that you only get that price because you already have direcTV. Standalone Tivo subscribers are paying $12 a month now, I believe, which is a rip.
Secondly, the DirecTivos are crippled, in that you buy the device, but you can only record from DirecTV (and not cable, over the air, a VCR or DVD player, etc) which is stupid.
The important difference is that your Tivo stops working when Tivo, Inc. goes out of business. The RCA PVR is yours forever.
It's not just this instance, it's the principle of the thing. Those of us who dislike Tivo's monthly fee because we see it as a stepping stone to "rent-an-appliance". I don't want my microwave to be replaced with some IP-based device that I have to pay a monthly bill for, just because it downloads menus automatically so they call it a "microwave service".
There isn't anything about Tivo that intrinsically makes it a service, other than the fact that they've chosen to sell it that way.
Simply the fact that my Tivo could become useless (even if I paid a 'lifetime' fee!) if Tivo, Inc. goes under is reason enough to steer clear of the whole thing.
As I've said before, I can buy a fully functional computer with a big hard drive, fast CPU, CD-burner, and TV in for $400. So how come Tivo can't make a profit selling Tivos for $300?
I think the answer is that they can. Up until now, they just haven't had to. Now that they have to compete that will change, which is great for consumers whether you love or hate Tivo Inc.
All I really want is a disk-based recorder, without paying some lame monthly fee. (And yes, the fee is LAME). To date, all the reasons I've been givin for Tivo charging a fee boil down to "because they can". That's fine, that's their perogative, but I'm not buying.
Maybe once this RCA device is out, it will put some pressure on Tivo to get their act together. Sorry, but at $200, they should be able to make a profit. (I can buy a whole computer for that, and all that's in Tivo is a hard drive that wholesales these days for about $30 and some MPEG chips.)
Like the billions they've got in the bank, for example, or the fact that their margins are the highest in the PC industry.
Remember when they said they were building "the computer for the rest of us"? Why do they price them so that "the rest of us" can't afford them?
That's exactly how I felt the morning of the iPod announcement! Shortly after the product launch I went straight to apple.com to order two. And then I saw the price.
Which has barely come down.
At all.
Even though those tiny hard drives can now be had for $99.
I still don't own one.
Apple does a hell of a job creating things that people instantly want. They don't do such a good job of turning that want into sales, though.
The knife cuts both ways. The Dell and HP laptops I've owned both featured the RAM slots on the bottom, under a simple pop out door that you can open with a dime.
Compare this to the Apple iBook, which requires removing the delicate and easy to break keyboard to get at the RAM buried underneath...
Which is to say, not very.
Why do I need a voice line in order to get DSL service in the first place? I don't want a voice line and I can't be the only one.
Because of this, anyone who wants DSL must also pay (Verizon, in Los Angeles) $26/month for a voice line they have no intention of using.
Is it like that everywhere or just here?
Find something else. E*Trade Bank offers competitive rates and features and their site works in IE, Mozilla, and anything else you care to throw at it. I don't always like everything they do, but they do have their shit together as far as browser support.
In fact, Cingular (or someone posing as Cingular) recently spammed their customers in California with a message indicating their intent to send marketing messages in the future, and giving the user the opportunity to "opt-out" ahead of time.
Since they get paid every time an SMS is sent (Either on a per SMS basis or as part of a monthly package) they could care less about stopping it.
Miguel,
Could you explain why, when I install Ximian Gnome, your software overwrites all the shortcuts in the "foot" menu and replaces them with your own offerings?
This, frankly, sucks. Folks trying Linux are just getting familiar with their systems and the programs that are typically installed. Then they get the bright idea to install Ximian because it looks "friendly", and you come along and take away all their programs.
Keep in mind that most folks won't know how to get those shortcuts back (if it is even possible). Your software is advertised as being ideal for newbies, yet in practice, it is actually hostile. This is typical of open source software, in that your own self-serving interests (promoting Ximian) are placed above that of the user.
In short your software is stupid.
Thank you.
Mono? I don't feel well.
How come there is no Counter-Strike for Macs then? Civilization? Emperor?
Come on! There are lots of great games on the Mac! Like, Warcraft III................. um............ oh, Breakout................. and Super Breakout. And that puzzle game, with the Apple logo!
1.2 always crashes on eBay, especially when you've got a couple tabs open. Anyone else have that problem?
Where's my Loch Lomond?
And get this - they reimburse you for ATM Fees charged by other banks. Few weeks ago, I went out of town and used a Bank of America ATM. On my statement, I had (-$1.50), and right above it, a deposit (+1.50) for the same amount.
Apple is going to crumble on DRM, just like everyone else.
Everything related to E*Trade Financial works great in Mozilla.
nope...
I live in LA and purchased through the Dell store for small business. No sales tax was charged.
From what I understand, this is 100% wrong. The series 2 ones don't work at all without the subscription. Got a link with any info that says it works?
If this was really the case, I'd own one already.
More RAM is nice, but it doesn't fix the core problem of the unresponsive interface.
For example, I use an HP Omnibook 500. It is a Pentium III 700 mhz with 256 MB RAM. Windows 2000 is very responsive on it. I am refering to things like scroll speed, switching between applications, and operating menus.
The other computer is the iBook 600mhz, also with 256 MB RAM and OS 10.2. On this machine, I notice substantial GUI lag, especially when using web browsers. In fact, quite a few apps lag at TEXT ENTRY. I mean, I'm typing into a form field on a web page and it's lagging! And of course, the things like slow scroll speed are obvious to the naked eye.
Now, I'm sure if you ran something like SETI, you would find that the Mac is far faster. Unfortunately, I don't use SETI for my daily work, I use things like email, browsers, word processing, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver! For these, OS X is significantly slower than a 2 year old Wintel, let alone hardware of an equivalent cost.
GUI lag is the most frustrating kind of lag. In order for the GUI to "work", it needs to respond IMMEDIATELY. This immediate feedback keeps the user informed - did they click the right thing? Etc. When it lags, the user must wait to find out if they are "wrong" before making a correction. That is annoying, and that is what OS X suffers from.