What's funny is that a.com domain name has much more value than any other TLD.. but to purchase any new TLD costs 3 times as much as a.com
How are you determining a.com domain has much more value? It seems to me its the length of the domain name, not the extension, that matters. And it also depends on your line of work.
Sure, hbo.com is valuable. So is hbo.tv.
The other TLD's are expensive because its still possible to get short domain names in their namespace.
I (and many others) consider it an invasion of my privacy for information about myself to be collected or compiled without my express consent.
So do I. However, TiVo does not do that. Please read about what they collect before spouting off.
From their site FAQ: " TiVo does collect Anonymous Viewing Information; that is, information about viewing choices made while using your DVR, but that does not identify you as an individual or household. In other words, there is no personally identifiable information associated with the viewing information that could identify the viewing information as coming from you or your household. TiVo also collects Diagnostic Information from a small number of randomly sampled DVRs for quality control purposes. If you don't want even your Anonymous Viewing Information or Diagnostic Information used in any way, simply tell us by calling our toll free number (1-877-367-8486)."
All of those examples are just compiling and sending aggregate information...
No, they're not. The examples you gave tie the information to me personally. TiVo does not do that with the data they collect from your device. All they know is SOMEBODY WITH A TIVO took these actions listed here. They compile that information together with all the other TiVo's, and look at the data in aggregate.
There is no invasion of privacy, because that would require them to be collecting PRIVATE DATA from you.
...they are going out of business. How exactl do you propose they pay you a cancellation fee? If they had any money to pay you, they'd still be in business!
The American missionaries who converted the tribe in the 1950s taught them Christian modesty, and they now favour shorts and T-shirts, largely supplied by visitors and aid agencies. The footwear of choice is the plastic flip-flop.
No comment necessary?
RottenTomatoes Cream of the Crop say its good
on
Critics Pan Nemesis
·
· Score: 2
So an answer to your question, yes, I can do all of the above.
First of all I didn't say you couldn't. My point was there is definitely a market for a device that does this. Hell, I bought a Slimp3, which is basically the same thing without the ability to view photos on the TV, and it cost $250, and it was worth it!
Yes, you could run cables all the way from your PC to your stereo/tv, but with this TiVo device it makes it easy to control the listening/viewing from the comfort of your living room. Those A/V cables you're using, you have to operate everything through your computer. Not very user friendly.
I've been a Tivo subscriber for 2.5 years now, and while I love my Tivo (Series 1, 90+ hours), $13 a month is starting to get old.
FWIW, if you had bought the lifetime service, you would have already saved over $100 in monthly fees, and pay nothing else going forward.
Really, there are too many things competing for a consumer's monthy share of the paycheck.
Competing, yes. The nature of capitalism. TiVo will find out if this idea works, and adjust it (or fail) if not.
And it's been said that the world's favorite operating system and supporting programs will be billed monthly in the not-too-distant future.
The idea being that you would pay less for it up-front, with a running monthly fee for the ability to use the latest version. Not that you would continue to pay $300 for Office, and a monthly service fee ON TOP of that.
With an economy in not-top-shape (here in the US, anyway) and the unemployment rate rising, who can afford to pay for all these monthly services?
The rich can afford to pay for ALL these monthly services. But you and I will have to pick and choose which monthly services we want. TiVo will be vying for your dollars along with everyone else.
As for increasing my $13/month to Tivo for new services... I'd consider a one-time charge to add software to it, similar to when I install an application onto my PC. But not a monthly billed increase.
Strange that you say that, when your past actions don't indicate that you really feel that way. You could have purchased the lifetime service from TiVo, and saved money already. Yet you pay the monthly fee.
I didn't say both answers would be No. I said IF either answer is no, THEN you MAY be in their target market.
The person I was replying to was implying these addons served no useful purpose. There are plenty of devices out there that will, for $250 or more, give you a nice interface to play MP3's on your stereo, with or without your home computer as the intermediary.
Now TiVo is coming out with one of these devices as well, and it will also support displaying photos, and it will have the advantage of integration with the already-slick user interface of TiVo.
I could turn your question around on you. Why are computer-centric *nix zealots so against a user-friendly device that doesn't run on their computer?
Or I could answer your question directly and say, because non-TiVo users spout ignorant bullshit and get modded up by equally ignorant moderators?
Monthly fee. You may be willing to pay it, but I'm not.
Fine. Don't pay it. End of story. I couldn't care less if you aren't willing to pay it. Good for you.
However, if you want to post on slashdot and pretend that your no-monthly-charge, put-together PVR with the web-downloaded TV guide hack is as elegant as my $13 a month TiVo, please expect a strong rebuttal.
I don't care about downloading programming, etc, etc, all that stuff is available free on the web, I won't pay for it.
This is what drives me up the wall. I don't pay $13 a month merely for programming content. I pay $13 a month because TiVo, the company, takes care of making sure the content is accurate, the format is compatible with my PVR, the guide is updated if channel lineup changes occur, the PVR automatically uses the data to update recording times, the PVR handles my season passes automatically, etc.
Can't do a lot of cool stuff that it should be able to.
You're right, I'd love a TiVo BJ, but that hasn't made it in there yet.
The new Tivo's will come with a NIC, right?
No, they have a USB port where a USB/ethernet device can be plugged in, such as those found on 9thtee.com.
I should be able to connect to the Tivo and download mpegs.
You can. You've been able to for years. It's not officially supported (yet), but this is one of the reasons the TiVo Series 2 has USB ports -- so TiVo can make addons that support new feature ideas, without risking the entire device to lawsuits that may require them to stop production on certain products.
I should be able to send shows to friends, download them to my laptop, burn them to VCD, etc.
You can easily save shows out the S-Video port, to anything that can handle S-Video, such as a VCR, DVD recorder, etc. You can use the unofficial software I talked about above to pull video off the TiVo. Honestly I've never felt the need to do either one. However, there is nothing stopping TiVo from coming up with addons to add these features. I am sure this is why they added USB ports and are now talking about networkable features that are in the works.
Obviously I realize why Tivo will never include this functionality.
It doesn't look like they've allowed for updated Tivo over broadband yet. I dropped my land line for a cell phone and broadband (had the cellphone already anyway). Tivo looks great, but is un-usable.
This is like the 5th highly rated comment in this article that is just plain wrong.
If you have a standalone TiVo (series 1), you can buy cards that fit in your TiVo and give you an ethernet port. Or you can buy the AirTivo device, and have WiFi connection instead!
If you have a standalone Series 2 TiVo, you can buy a USB device that plugs into the port and gives you an ethernet port. You could also buy a wireless AP and connect it to this port to give you wireless connectivity as well.
In either case, if you bought compatible hardware, you simply punch in a special code instead of a dialup phone number into the TiVo menu, and your TiVo will use your existing LAN connection to the net to download all its data each night. No software hacking required.
The TiVo forums refer to this as "broadband un-support," because while it works great in the TiVo, it is not yet officially supported.
I've used it for well over a year now, back when you used to have to muck with the software to get it to work.
Are there any good PVRs out there that you don't need to pay a monthly service fee to use?
No.
I mean, come on. TV listings are hardly worth $5/month or whatever. I can get all of that off the web for free.
Then do it.
However, if you think it's too much of a pain in the ass to write and maintain a program that can consistently generate accurate results for your home-brewed PC-based PVR, then you just may be interested in a TiVo, where everything is easy to use, and it costs a mere $13 a month for the entire service.
I also really don't want some company (and possibly TIA in the future) sifting through my TV viewing habits.
1. They're aggregate, not tied to you. 2. You can turn it off. 3. What are you afraid of? That Mr. BigWig will know you are one of 100,000 people watching X-files reruns at 3AM. WTF cares? Worry about something that matters.
Are there any PVR solutions out there that just let you record TV shows and watch 'em later?
The beauty of TiVo is what happens when you don't have to worry about setting your device up to record shows. You tell it what you like, and it does everything for you.
The second generation TiVo has been around for quite some time (months even), and it does not have broadband support. Unless they'll be selling hardware upgrades (which is doubtful considering the warranty situation), you'll probably have to get a third generation TiVo.
Wrong. TiVo 2 comes with USB ports. These are meant for addons. There are plenty of USB-Ethernet solutions available. In fact, TiVo 2 comes with (albeit somewhat hidden) support for these devices already. You can change your telephone dialup # to a special code, and TiVo will use the USB/Ethernet connection to download program guide data and system updates (and to update the clock).
Presumably these new addons would utilize this broadband over USB technology.
Of course, that's not to stop you from getting the Turbonet Ethernet Adapter Board [9thtee.com] for your TiVo from The 9th Tee [9thtee.com].
It's amazing that you linked to 9th tee's turbonet product, and yet completely missed the USB/Ethernet stuff I was just talking about for TiVo 2's.
I have the freedom of recording whatever I want on my pc with my video capture card
Yes, you do. On the contrary, I have the freedom to enjoy using my extremely user-friendly, feature-filled TiVo. Of giving programs thumbs-up and having it record similar programs. Of easily setting up Season Passes for all my favorite shows. For setting up wishlists based on favorite actors, directors, and keywords, and having any matching programs automatically record. And this all comes in a nice-looking black box that blends in with the rest of my home stereo equipment.
without paying a fee
I don't "pay a fee." That implies I'm getting nothing in return. I buy a service. I could also fork out $250 and get that service for the lifetime of my TiVo. If you had a TiVo, you wouldn't be complaining about $15 a month. I'd pay 2-3x that for what TiVo does.
without my viewing habits being tracked
This is the worst mud you can come up with to sling at TiVo?
Yes, horrors, TiVo aggregately tracks your viewing habits. I like this. I would prefer future content be tailored to what I like to watch. I like the idea that maybe my viewing preference information will make its way back to the bigwigs... maybe more West Wings, and Sopranos, and Six Feet Unders, and Andy Richters will show up on TV then!
I wonder what kind of nasty stuff they have cooked up in this Tivo 2 of theirs....
Sigh... You're the stereotypical slashdotter. I bet you get all hot and bothered with every "Your Rights Online" post they make here, don't you?
I am willing to trade a little meaningless privacy for a lot of added value.
Yes, that's right, it is MEANINGLESS to me if "they" know what I watch on TV! If I want to watch something deviant, I'll buy it on DVD like the rest of the world.
Living in my parents basement, never leaving the house, having no human contact, there is no way that I'll ever get the flu. The germ that destroys humanity may already be breeding in my filth, but I've learned to live with it.
This is actually worse than living outside. You're not exposing your body to enough bugs. You're immune system needs to get a workout to keep you healthy.
Listen to George Carlin's rant on germs. He claims he stayed healthy because he grew up swimming in raw sewage* (the Hudson River, circa 1940's), "you know... to COOL off!"
Get his CD, "You are all diseased." Track 3. George Carlin "was tempered in raw shit!" That's how he avoided get polio. It's really funny.
BTW, he doesn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom, "unless he shits on them."
* Another GC'ism: "Why do they call it raw sewage? Do some people cook the stuff?"
Slashdot Mirror
When I buy a game for my kid's Gamecube, I don't have to worry to much about it.
Correct. I believe your kids have already asked Santa Clause for BMX XXX. Unlike the PS2 version, the GameCube (and XBox version) is uncensored.
P.S. If you hear them yelling "SCORES!" from the game room while playing BMX XXX, they are probably not referring to points earned...
What's funny is that a .com domain name has much more value than any other TLD.. but to purchase any new TLD costs 3 times as much as a .com
.com domain has much more value? It seems to me its the length of the domain name, not the extension, that matters. And it also depends on your line of work.
How are you determining a
Sure, hbo.com is valuable. So is hbo.tv.
The other TLD's are expensive because its still possible to get short domain names in their namespace.
Which is more valuable:
mynameisjonathanfrakes.com
or
number2.cc
I (and many others) consider it an invasion of my privacy for information about myself to be collected or compiled without my express consent.
So do I. However, TiVo does not do that. Please read about what they collect before spouting off.
From their site FAQ: " TiVo does collect Anonymous Viewing Information; that is, information about viewing choices made while using your DVR, but that does not identify you as an individual or household. In other words, there is no personally identifiable information associated with the viewing information that could identify the viewing information as coming from you or your household. TiVo also collects Diagnostic Information from a small number of randomly sampled DVRs for quality control purposes. If you don't want even your Anonymous Viewing Information or Diagnostic Information used in any way, simply tell us by calling our toll free number (1-877-367-8486)."
All of those examples are just compiling and sending aggregate information...
No, they're not. The examples you gave tie the information to me personally. TiVo does not do that with the data they collect from your device. All they know is SOMEBODY WITH A TIVO took these actions listed here. They compile that information together with all the other TiVo's, and look at the data in aggregate.
There is no invasion of privacy, because that would require them to be collecting PRIVATE DATA from you.
It's not an unimpeded, unstoppable invasion of privacy, like what TiVO was doing.
TiVo sends aggregate information. How is that an invasion of privacy?
...they are going out of business. How exactl do you propose they pay you a cancellation fee? If they had any money to pay you, they'd still be in business!
Unless the Christian missionaries put guns to their heads, I don't see what's sad about it.
... scary stories do just fine.
Guns aren't necessary when dealing with primative cultures
You don't see what's sad about convincing people they should be ashamed of nakedness? (And "Lord knows" what else they convinced them of.)
Sheer idiocy: "... 95 percent (by volume in gigabytes) ..." (If it's a percentage, then why does the unit matter?)
The unit still matters.
For example, he wanted to be sure you knew he wasn't talking about information measured by "volume, in liters."
The American missionaries who converted the tribe in the 1950s taught them Christian modesty, and they now favour shorts and T-shirts, largely supplied by visitors and aid agencies. The footwear of choice is the plastic flip-flop.
No comment necessary?
Check out RottenTomatoes
Overall it's getting a 53% positive rating. However, the so-called "cream of the crop" reviewers are 88% positive.
Replay alrady does this and more
Now compare the prices.
So an answer to your question, yes, I can do all of the above.
First of all I didn't say you couldn't. My point was there is definitely a market for a device that does this. Hell, I bought a Slimp3, which is basically the same thing without the ability to view photos on the TV, and it cost $250, and it was worth it!
Yes, you could run cables all the way from your PC to your stereo/tv, but with this TiVo device it makes it easy to control the listening/viewing from the comfort of your living room. Those A/V cables you're using, you have to operate everything through your computer. Not very user friendly.
What makes them think that people will pay extra to listen to music?
Oh, I dunno.
I've been a Tivo subscriber for 2.5 years now, and while I love my Tivo (Series 1, 90+ hours), $13 a month is starting to get old.
FWIW, if you had bought the lifetime service, you would have already saved over $100 in monthly fees, and pay nothing else going forward.
Really, there are too many things competing for a consumer's monthy share of the paycheck.
Competing, yes. The nature of capitalism. TiVo will find out if this idea works, and adjust it (or fail) if not.
And it's been said that the world's favorite operating system and supporting programs will be billed monthly in the not-too-distant future.
The idea being that you would pay less for it up-front, with a running monthly fee for the ability to use the latest version. Not that you would continue to pay $300 for Office, and a monthly service fee ON TOP of that.
With an economy in not-top-shape (here in the US, anyway) and the unemployment rate rising, who can afford to pay for all these monthly services?
The rich can afford to pay for ALL these monthly services. But you and I will have to pick and choose which monthly services we want. TiVo will be vying for your dollars along with everyone else.
As for increasing my $13/month to Tivo for new services... I'd consider a one-time charge to add software to it, similar to when I install an application onto my PC. But not a monthly billed increase.
Strange that you say that, when your past actions don't indicate that you really feel that way. You could have purchased the lifetime service from TiVo, and saved money already. Yet you pay the monthly fee.
1. Yes
2. Yes.
Wow. That sure was hard. >$200!
I didn't say both answers would be No. I said IF either answer is no, THEN you MAY be in their target market.
The person I was replying to was implying these addons served no useful purpose. There are plenty of devices out there that will, for $250 or more, give you a nice interface to play MP3's on your stereo, with or without your home computer as the intermediary.
Now TiVo is coming out with one of these devices as well, and it will also support displaying photos, and it will have the advantage of integration with the already-slick user interface of TiVo.
So shut your pie-hole.
Why are Tivo Zealots so, well, zealous?
I could turn your question around on you. Why are computer-centric *nix zealots so against a user-friendly device that doesn't run on their computer?
Or I could answer your question directly and say, because non-TiVo users spout ignorant bullshit and get modded up by equally ignorant moderators?
Monthly fee. You may be willing to pay it, but I'm not.
Fine. Don't pay it. End of story. I couldn't care less if you aren't willing to pay it. Good for you.
However, if you want to post on slashdot and pretend that your no-monthly-charge, put-together PVR with the web-downloaded TV guide hack is as elegant as my $13 a month TiVo, please expect a strong rebuttal.
I don't care about downloading programming, etc, etc, all that stuff is available free on the web, I won't pay for it.
This is what drives me up the wall. I don't pay $13 a month merely for programming content. I pay $13 a month because TiVo, the company, takes care of making sure the content is accurate, the format is compatible with my PVR, the guide is updated if channel lineup changes occur, the PVR automatically uses the data to update recording times, the PVR handles my season passes automatically, etc.
Can't do a lot of cool stuff that it should be able to.
You're right, I'd love a TiVo BJ, but that hasn't made it in there yet.
The new Tivo's will come with a NIC, right?
No, they have a USB port where a USB/ethernet device can be plugged in, such as those found on 9thtee.com.
I should be able to connect to the Tivo and download mpegs.
You can. You've been able to for years. It's not officially supported (yet), but this is one of the reasons the TiVo Series 2 has USB ports -- so TiVo can make addons that support new feature ideas, without risking the entire device to lawsuits that may require them to stop production on certain products.
I should be able to send shows to friends, download them to my laptop, burn them to VCD, etc.
You can easily save shows out the S-Video port, to anything that can handle S-Video, such as a VCR, DVD recorder, etc. You can use the unofficial software I talked about above to pull video off the TiVo. Honestly I've never felt the need to do either one. However, there is nothing stopping TiVo from coming up with addons to add these features. I am sure this is why they added USB ports and are now talking about networkable features that are in the works.
Obviously I realize why Tivo will never include this functionality.
You do?
It doesn't look like they've allowed for updated Tivo over broadband yet. I dropped my land line for a cell phone and broadband (had the cellphone already anyway). Tivo looks great, but is un-usable.
This is like the 5th highly rated comment in this article that is just plain wrong.
If you have a standalone TiVo (series 1), you can buy cards that fit in your TiVo and give you an ethernet port. Or you can buy the AirTivo device, and have WiFi connection instead!
If you have a standalone Series 2 TiVo, you can buy a USB device that plugs into the port and gives you an ethernet port. You could also buy a wireless AP and connect it to this port to give you wireless connectivity as well.
In either case, if you bought compatible hardware, you simply punch in a special code instead of a dialup phone number into the TiVo menu, and your TiVo will use your existing LAN connection to the net to download all its data each night. No software hacking required.
The TiVo forums refer to this as "broadband un-support," because while it works great in the TiVo, it is not yet officially supported.
I've used it for well over a year now, back when you used to have to muck with the software to get it to work.
Visit 9thtee for the necessary addons.
Are there any good PVRs out there that you don't need to pay a monthly service fee to use?
No.
I mean, come on. TV listings are hardly worth $5/month or whatever. I can get all of that off the web for free.
Then do it.
However, if you think it's too much of a pain in the ass to write and maintain a program that can consistently generate accurate results for your home-brewed PC-based PVR, then you just may be interested in a TiVo, where everything is easy to use, and it costs a mere $13 a month for the entire service.
I also really don't want some company (and possibly TIA in the future) sifting through my TV viewing habits.
1. They're aggregate, not tied to you. 2. You can turn it off. 3. What are you afraid of? That Mr. BigWig will know you are one of 100,000 people watching X-files reruns at 3AM. WTF cares? Worry about something that matters.
Are there any PVR solutions out there that just let you record TV shows and watch 'em later?
The beauty of TiVo is what happens when you don't have to worry about setting your device up to record shows. You tell it what you like, and it does everything for you.
I think you may be looking for a VCR?
I don't know about you, but my computer can already play MP3's and view photos. Why pay $250 to do that again?
Sigh. What is with these lame, ignorant posts getting modded up tonight?
1. Can your computer play MP3's on your stereo in the living room, which just happens to be hooked up to your TiVo?
2. Can your computer display photos on your big TV in the living room for the entire family to see?
If you answered No to either question, you just may be in their target market. Golly.
The second generation TiVo has been around for quite some time (months even), and it does not have broadband support. Unless they'll be selling hardware upgrades (which is doubtful considering the warranty situation), you'll probably have to get a third generation TiVo.
Wrong. TiVo 2 comes with USB ports. These are meant for addons. There are plenty of USB-Ethernet solutions available. In fact, TiVo 2 comes with (albeit somewhat hidden) support for these devices already. You can change your telephone dialup # to a special code, and TiVo will use the USB/Ethernet connection to download program guide data and system updates (and to update the clock).
Presumably these new addons would utilize this broadband over USB technology.
Of course, that's not to stop you from getting the Turbonet Ethernet Adapter Board [9thtee.com] for your TiVo from The 9th Tee [9thtee.com].
It's amazing that you linked to 9th tee's turbonet product, and yet completely missed the USB/Ethernet stuff I was just talking about for TiVo 2's.
I have the freedom of recording whatever I want on my pc with my video capture card
Yes, you do. On the contrary, I have the freedom to enjoy using my extremely user-friendly, feature-filled TiVo. Of giving programs thumbs-up and having it record similar programs. Of easily setting up Season Passes for all my favorite shows. For setting up wishlists based on favorite actors, directors, and keywords, and having any matching programs automatically record. And this all comes in a nice-looking black box that blends in with the rest of my home stereo equipment.
without paying a fee
I don't "pay a fee." That implies I'm getting nothing in return. I buy a service. I could also fork out $250 and get that service for the lifetime of my TiVo. If you had a TiVo, you wouldn't be complaining about $15 a month. I'd pay 2-3x that for what TiVo does.
without my viewing habits being tracked
This is the worst mud you can come up with to sling at TiVo?
Yes, horrors, TiVo aggregately tracks your viewing habits. I like this. I would prefer future content be tailored to what I like to watch. I like the idea that maybe my viewing preference information will make its way back to the bigwigs... maybe more West Wings, and Sopranos, and Six Feet Unders, and Andy Richters will show up on TV then!
I wonder what kind of nasty stuff they have cooked up in this Tivo 2 of theirs....
Sigh... You're the stereotypical slashdotter. I bet you get all hot and bothered with every "Your Rights Online" post they make here, don't you?
I am willing to trade a little meaningless privacy for a lot of added value.
Yes, that's right, it is MEANINGLESS to me if "they" know what I watch on TV! If I want to watch something deviant, I'll buy it on DVD like the rest of the world.
If you want to be that nitpicky, then it's "the first part of the world war".
Yeah, and the Civil War was not civil. And the Hundred Years War didn't last 100 years. I could go on.
Lighten up, it was a grammar joke, not a history joke.
we had a homeless man who we gave a household job to steal a check out of my wife's checkbook.
You got some homeless guy to steal a check from your wife? That's pretty low!
"My girlfriend and I decided we would use the extra money to donate to some charities for Christmas"
Clearly he was talking about the guy that stole his Mac.... Melvin Christmas.
The really strange part is how most of them include some variation on the phrase, "The song 'Hot Shot City' is particularly good."
WTF is going on!
Living in my parents basement, never leaving the house, having no human contact, there is no way that I'll ever get the flu. The germ that destroys humanity may already be breeding in my filth, but I've learned to live with it.
This is actually worse than living outside. You're not exposing your body to enough bugs. You're immune system needs to get a workout to keep you healthy.
Listen to George Carlin's rant on germs. He claims he stayed healthy because he grew up swimming in raw sewage* (the Hudson River, circa 1940's), "you know... to COOL off!"
Get his CD, "You are all diseased." Track 3. George Carlin "was tempered in raw shit!" That's how he avoided get polio. It's really funny.
BTW, he doesn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom, "unless he shits on them."
* Another GC'ism: "Why do they call it raw sewage? Do some people cook the stuff?"