After doing some similar research, I came to the conclusion it is either a clever marketing ploy by blog author, or more likely some hidden prototype site their web development team was using and as it was never linked from main page, it was never found by any spiders (yet referrers to authors site showed up in his logs, which is exactly how he found out about it), Turns out the latter is the case
Tell me how I can hack my Tivo to do neat things? Lets see: start by reading here, and here - its not that hard.
Tivo didn't give any implied blessing, Tivo locked down the Series 2 cryptographically to prevent me from copying off the shows I recorded, and making the only conduit the slow and broken TivoToGo. 2 hours to copy a half hour show, I'm glad they take the time to encrypt it on the fly for my protection. Its not for YOUR protection, its for theirs. I think they'd rather make PVRs than settle lawsuits.
Let me reiterate: Tivo saw hackers doing neat things, based largely on the openness of linux, and locked the system down to prevent it. Actually I believe they created a whole API for people to hack and add all sorts of extensions to Tivo..
The only "hack" I can pull off is 'put in a bigger harddrive with exact same system partition', and that explicitly voids my license. I don't know if they've ever done so, but they could as easily blacklist me off the service for doing this, as MSFT could boot me from XBox live for having a mod chip. And whose fault is that? Personally I am running all sorts of hacks on my tivos including web server for control,mfsftp, callerID, changes to menu items, etc. Just because YOU can't pull it off does not mean it cannot be done (pretty easily too)
Actually, I heard that the above hack no longer works on Series 3, which include the partition tables in the cryptographic jibber jabber somehow. Dont know much about S3, but from what I hear they have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get the cablecard to work - resulting in half the features being turned off by default.
I like Tivo as a product, but as a company, they behave as a company, and the fact that they use linux is irrelevant. Last I checked Tivo WAS a company and expecting them to behave any other way is kinda of naive. They are trying to make a decent product and make money at it.
Actually, linux is probably the reason it takes 5 minutes for a tivo to reboot. Yeah, that and the 54Mhz CPU (actually I think S2 went into the 150-250 MHz range) Of course in my case it is also because of all the hacks....
Don't they run off a low voltage DC supply? What bit of the hardware inside would be upping the voltage to that sort of level? I can't think of anything offhand. Anyone know? Its the little noticed but critical part called the SLG (Stupid Lawsuit Generator). McDonald's used to use it in their "coffee" product.
My point was simply that if the device let you watch "whatever (you) want, whenever (you) want", then it would be quite appealing. As it stands now, the iTMS does not allow you (easy) access to whatever you want. It may have a large selection of TV shows available, but not enough to eliminate the "mucking around" with buying (or renting) DVDs. The iTMS movie selection is limited.
Point taken. But its a bit of a chicken and egg issue as there is no good way to watch video content from iTMS without AppleTV. But at the rate their catalog was growing even before this announcement, I am not too concerned about lack of programming. Just about every current mainstream TV show is there NOW. As for Movies, they only appeared a few months ago at all - it will take time.
Another thing to consider when comparing it to the iPod + iTMS success is that many people are accustomed to getting television via a cable/satellite subscription model. They turn on the TV and the content is there. They watch a television show once, and have no need for it afterwards.
With Apple TV, according to the "How it Works" section on their website, you make a purchase from the iTMS and download it to your computer, then Apple TV syncs, then you watch it on your TV. Each of those steps will take time.
How is that simpler than turning on the TV and changing the channel?
Well, much same way iPod is easier than radio - it is not, but you get a level of control over what you watch and when you watch it. I can't imagine they are not going to have their equivalent of a "season pass" - where you subscribe to a show and have it automatically downloaded when it becomes available (think podcast) Now you turn on TV and watch. Essentially we are talking exact functionality of Tivo but the source is iTMS instead of Cable or Sat TV
As for the "whenever you want" part -- again, consider the download time. And AFAIK, most TV shows aren't available on iTunes when or before they air on TV. Cable companies offer DVR service and video on demand.
There I'd have to agree with you, if Apple want to truly compete with Cable, they will have to make episodes available a lot sooner then they do now. That being said, I find more and more of my friends opt not to watch shows as they air, but instead either collect them on Tivo or buy/rent season DVD packs. This is especially true of the "arc" shows with a season long story (think 24). My personal hope, is that this may usher in a new era of content created directly for iTMS (or DVD, or whatever direct-to-consumer way) so that for once the quality of the show will directly impact its bottom line - no more canceling of good shows just because some idiot at FOX thinks we need more reality TV (I am not bitter, honestly, not at all, damn you FOX) This may actually spell the end of TV stations as we know them... ok, I am dreaming now, TV stations and cable companies and advertising industry will never let this happen - they will all be out of a job.
Bottom line is, while Apple is capable of providing simple and integrated solutions to problems, that tends to happen when they start with the problem and design the solution. Here they took an existing solution (iTMS) and made it available on the TV.
Of course, if the media player will let you fast forward and rewind songs, it will at least be better than the Xbox 360's. I don't know how I ended up defending Apple - I am not a big fan of the company and I do not own a single Mac. But I do think there is a lot of potential in AppleTV and specifically BECAUSE just like iPod - it IS an extension of iTMS. The symbiotic relationship that powers iPod will also make AppleTV a success and in the end grow iTMS. I know Tivo's been working on something very similar (direct download of content via internet) and if they don't get their ass in gear, they may be out of business soon.
Its the ultimate device allowing people to turn on their tv and watch whatever they want, whenever they want without all the mucking around with the recording and buying DVDs as long as Apple can distribute it.
fixed that for you. erm, the word "Duh" comes to mind. Yes, indeed you can buy whatever you want only if someone is selling it. I am not sure how else you would expect it to work. I mean you can only buy a DVD if someone is selling a DVD, no? Right now content provider choose DVD as their method of distribution, pay DVD format owners royalties and press disks. They can now also choose iTunes format and create downloads and pay Apple royalties. Of course none of this stops YOU from recording or adding your own content if you want to (and yes, that does include the "not so legal" stuff you download online.)
Now, if you are implying that iTunes is lacking in TV/Video content, you really should check out the selection these days - its pretty impressive and growing fast. And no, it is not complete by any means, but it is pretty extensive and with introduction of this device I would imagine it will be growing even faster as more and more content providers would want to join. Now if only it would be more reasonably priced... I mean $2 per episode is a bit steep IMHO.
Its not about max number of features. Never was, never will be. iPod is a piece of crap functionality wise when compared to my old Archos device that was several years old before iPod even came to market. Yet today Archos is barely alive while iPod dominates the market (and I have to admit, I own an iPod). The reason is that iPod was not really competing with other mp3 players - it was competing with CD sales via iTunes. It offered a way to BUY music and listen to it and it made it VERY SIMPLE. Now AppleTV wants to do the same with video content. The main competition is NOT your PC, mac or X-Box, it is Cable TV and DVD sales and Tivo. Its the ultimate device allowing people to turn on their tv and watch whatever they want, whenever they want without all the mucking around with the recording and buying DVDs. Of course a computer with up-to-date choice of software will always be more powerful in functionality, but its not a simple to use one-size-fits-all package that will sell. Thats the reality of it all.
I am not a bit fan of Apple, but I must admit this product has some serious potential. The question is - are the people ready for it?
If you're only making and receiving calls on your phone, then you won't see these ads anyway. They only show up when you browse the internet on your phone. Christ. Even that piece of information made it in the description -- you didn't even have to RTFA to find that out.
And how long before audio-ads appear when you call someone? Or before they add ADs in your phone's contact book?
they knew about the problem before, and are hoping everyone threw the F*cking things out just like the defective launch PS2
How do you know they knew about it? Who exactly threw PS2s out? You have somthing to back this up or you just talking out your ass? All I know is they are willing to stand by their products, which is more than can be said about 99% of companies. I owned a lot of sony products over the years and I can't say I was dissatisfied with any of them. I own a camera on that list and I see this as a positive development for Sony rather than negative to know that if it breaks because of their fault they will fix it even if it is way past the warranty.
Why don't we put the question to rest and just set every forest in the world on fire? Then we'd know for sure that man was the cause of the disaster!;)
Yeah, although it might make up for tons of natural forest fires we've stopped. Curses!! Foiled again...
Have people not finally come to the realization that, yes the world is warming, the only real debate is whether or not man is directly responsible for it.
Isn't that the most important thing?? The question is not IF there is global warming - world has warmed and cooled down in the past, sometimes a LOT faster that today. The true questions are:
* Is the mankind responsible for a significant enough part of the current warming to make a difference or is the current warming trend part of a natural cycle as it has been in the past? * Regardless of what caused it, is it going to cause a long term problem for mankind? * Can we really do anything about it? * And if we can, SHOULD WE???
These are the real questions. And it seems no one is actually interested in answering them.
No, not just full episodes, an interview with Eleanor Holmes Norton was pulled which is a shame, because it was one of the best bits of Colbert and I was just telling a friend of mine that he should watch it.... Hopefully they will restore that - if anything can sell Colbert Report, its that clip.
The radioSHARK has terrible reception in my experience. Especially AM.
After putting it on 3 USB extenders and moving the unit away from PC and by the window it seemed to work great - although I can't say I used it much for AM. All that being said, this "new" product doesnt even do AM (probably because of PC interference)
As I recall from owning it a while back, it was mostly hollow - no reason it could not have been put in a smaller case (other than there was no reason to ever do it)... most likely if you want "tivo" like functionality, you want it in an always on-stationary computer and if you have a laptop you were always able to stream the radio content from that stationary system (radioshark has built in net streaming). Of course after a while I found RadioTime and NPR web pages (from which I could download other radio content) plus various podcasts - so the RadioShark became pretty much useless (easier to have a boombox next to computer for listening to live radio)
If Cisco were to sue someone for using this, it wouldn't be the cable operators - it'd be Motorola or whomever, their competitors who also offer a similar infrastructure.
By 2000 a company called Next Level Communications(then part owned, now completely owned by Motorola) was selling this technology (or at least something similar, here is a random link to the company description) I doubt Cisco would have much luck defending this patent if they went after Moto.
Couple of projectors in very public places running something like DriftNet which sniffs network and displays passing image files, and combining user's name and photo with the image.... Could be fun....
Nothing like a public humiliation.... Of course the flip side is people intentionally trying to make it on there....
I have always been curious (but not enough to investigate) what would be the environmental impact of widespread usage of wind turbines??
This is completely has not been thought through, but basic conservation of energy states that if wind powers the turbine, wind loses energy. If there was a windmill on every house, will this result in significant weather pattern changes? Or am I overdoing it on glue again?
-Em
P.S. This is not meant to be a troll of any sort. I am not comparing this to anything else nor passing any judgement, just curious what the actual environmental cost in this case is.
If you read the above, we are talking about Linux distribution for running VMWare Server, not VMWare Server itself. Non-free versions come with their own distro, free version doesn't. Not that its too hard to install any flavor of minimal linux but I am surprised noone has released a distro just for this.
There is one, Its VMWare ESX Server http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/esx/ I have used Version 2 at my place of work and its essentially a small RPM based distro maintained by VMware themselves.
I understand that, I was just wondering why there is no similar free distro for VMWare Server (the free VMWare one:-) )
Also, I've noticed that VMWare is a 32-bit program, so how is its support for 64-bit virtual machines? I only have 2GB of RAM at the moment, but can I get a 64-bit Windows VM to recognize 6GB of RAM if I load up my host?
You have to remmember that VMWare is virtualization and NOT emulation - meaning that your CPU is doing the actual processing, not the VMWare software - so if your CPU supports 64 bit, it will be 64 bit capable. I am not sure about the memory question though....
> Just for that VM. Now if the Host OS BSODs....thats bad for all VMs.
Thats why you run a stripped down linux on Host and no apps (at least in server environment):-) I am surprised there is no "vmware-host" Linux distro - something perfectly barebones and lightweight to run vmware server on:-)Of course maybe there is one and I just have not found it yet;-)
I would love to be able to watch a movie whenever I feel like it, without having to depend on one I like being broadcast in the few hours a day when a few TV channels broadcast them. I'm sure this goes for plenty of othe people, too.
Now if only someone invented a box that would let you watch shows whenever you want to without depending on TV schedule.... Maybe digitaly record tv content and let you watch it whenever... that would be cool....kind of a "Tv In-Video Out" device, something that could Replay TV content any time you want to... you know, this T.I.V.O thing could be very cool if someone just would invent it.... too bad its just a Myth, and there is nothing like that..
Yeah, I was surprised when I saw that it didn't have a DVI port. I mean, it's got everything else that it would need to be a really slick product... except that it's analog only.
Erm, outputing analog video source over DVI is completely pointless. Cudos to the company for not making it twice as expensive to give people an ILLUSION of quality while actually making it look worse.
So really it's just a glorified 480i ADC with a network card and a USB port.
Exactly. Except it also has a low power CPU capable of running its own code. Pretty much we are looking at AV equivalent of a linksys wi-fi router. Only unlike cisco they are encouraging people to write their own code.
I'm somewhat unimpressed. The card reader slots really don't add anything for me, either. Except as storage for the machine itself, I can't ever foresee myself using them.
The roots of this device is in capturing analog video into MPEG-4 for viewing on portable devices... you know, like the ones that READ flash media. The card slots ARE EXACTLY for storage for the machine.
Given the cost of this device ($230) what they packed in there is pretty impressive.
Maybe I am overthinking this, but there is a danger here of turning the problem AGAINST yourself. The bottom line with current battle with DRM is the idea that anything is hackable/breakable. Companies come up with DRM, and someone figures out a way around it. It is always a loop that ends with breaking the protection, and the company is always playing catch-up to the "hackers" (i.e. tinkerers and all sorts of knowledge seekers).
Now, creating a "DRM" of sorts to protect/anonymize P2P traffic turns the issue around - where hackers are now working AGAINST you to BREAK the P2P protection. The fundamental issue stays the same - anything can be broken - but now you are on the loosing side of the equation.
While I agree with you, there is no way to do this in pure java - it will HAVE to have a DLL or some form of native code and it will be highly dependant on hardware. That being said, I agree that it I would be more inclined to run open source code for something like this...
Slashdot Mirror
After doing some similar research, I came to the conclusion it is either a clever marketing ploy by blog author, or more likely some hidden prototype site their web development team was using and as it was never linked from main page, it was never found by any spiders (yet referrers to authors site showed up in his logs, which is exactly how he found out about it), Turns out the latter is the case
-Em
-Em
-Em
Point taken. But its a bit of a chicken and egg issue as there is no good way to watch video content from iTMS without AppleTV. But at the rate their catalog was growing even before this announcement, I am not too concerned about lack of programming. Just about every current mainstream TV show is there NOW. As for Movies, they only appeared a few months ago at all - it will take time.
Another thing to consider when comparing it to the iPod + iTMS success is that many people are accustomed to getting television via a cable/satellite subscription model. They turn on the TV and the content is there. They watch a television show once, and have no need for it afterwards.
With Apple TV, according to the "How it Works" section on their website, you make a purchase from the iTMS and download it to your computer, then Apple TV syncs, then you watch it on your TV. Each of those steps will take time.
How is that simpler than turning on the TV and changing the channel?
Well, much same way iPod is easier than radio - it is not, but you get a level of control over what you watch and when you watch it. I can't imagine they are not going to have their equivalent of a "season pass" - where you subscribe to a show and have it automatically downloaded when it becomes available (think podcast) Now you turn on TV and watch. Essentially we are talking exact functionality of Tivo but the source is iTMS instead of Cable or Sat TV As for the "whenever you want" part -- again, consider the download time. And AFAIK, most TV shows aren't available on iTunes when or before they air on TV. Cable companies offer DVR service and video on demand.
There I'd have to agree with you, if Apple want to truly compete with Cable, they will have to make episodes available a lot sooner then they do now. That being said, I find more and more of my friends opt not to watch shows as they air, but instead either collect them on Tivo or buy/rent season DVD packs. This is especially true of the "arc" shows with a season long story (think 24). My personal hope, is that this may usher in a new era of content created directly for iTMS (or DVD, or whatever direct-to-consumer way) so that for once the quality of the show will directly impact its bottom line - no more canceling of good shows just because some idiot at FOX thinks we need more reality TV (I am not bitter, honestly, not at all, damn you FOX) This may actually spell the end of TV stations as we know them... ok, I am dreaming now, TV stations and cable companies and advertising industry will never let this happen - they will all be out of a job. Bottom line is, while Apple is capable of providing simple and integrated solutions to problems, that tends to happen when they start with the problem and design the solution. Here they took an existing solution (iTMS) and made it available on the TV.
Of course, if the media player will let you fast forward and rewind songs, it will at least be better than the Xbox 360's. I don't know how I ended up defending Apple - I am not a big fan of the company and I do not own a single Mac. But I do think there is a lot of potential in AppleTV and specifically BECAUSE just like iPod - it IS an extension of iTMS. The symbiotic relationship that powers iPod will also make AppleTV a success and in the end grow iTMS. I know Tivo's been working on something very similar (direct download of content via internet) and if they don't get their ass in gear, they may be out of business soon.
-Em
Now, if you are implying that iTunes is lacking in TV/Video content, you really should check out the selection these days - its pretty impressive and growing fast. And no, it is not complete by any means, but it is pretty extensive and with introduction of this device I would imagine it will be growing even faster as more and more content providers would want to join. Now if only it would be more reasonably priced... I mean $2 per episode is a bit steep IMHO.
-Em
Its not about max number of features. Never was, never will be. iPod is a piece of crap functionality wise when compared to my old Archos device that was several years old before iPod even came to market. Yet today Archos is barely alive while iPod dominates the market (and I have to admit, I own an iPod). The reason is that iPod was not really competing with other mp3 players - it was competing with CD sales via iTunes. It offered a way to BUY music and listen to it and it made it VERY SIMPLE. Now AppleTV wants to do the same with video content. The main competition is NOT your PC, mac or X-Box, it is Cable TV and DVD sales and Tivo. Its the ultimate device allowing people to turn on their tv and watch whatever they want, whenever they want without all the mucking around with the recording and buying DVDs. Of course a computer with up-to-date choice of software will always be more powerful in functionality, but its not a simple to use one-size-fits-all package that will sell. Thats the reality of it all.
I am not a bit fan of Apple, but I must admit this product has some serious potential. The question is - are the people ready for it?
-Em
And how long before audio-ads appear when you call someone? Or before they add ADs in your phone's contact book?
-Em
How do you know they knew about it? Who exactly threw PS2s out? You have somthing to back this up or you just talking out your ass? All I know is they are willing to stand by their products, which is more than can be said about 99% of companies. I owned a lot of sony products over the years and I can't say I was dissatisfied with any of them. I own a camera on that list and I see this as a positive development for Sony rather than negative to know that if it breaks because of their fault they will fix it even if it is way past the warranty.
-Em
Yeah, although it might make up for tons of natural forest fires we've stopped.
Curses!! Foiled again...
Isn't that the most important thing?? The question is not IF there is global warming - world has warmed and cooled down in the past, sometimes a LOT faster that today. The true questions are:
* Is the mankind responsible for a significant enough part of the current warming to make a difference or is the current warming trend part of a natural cycle as it has been in the past?
* Regardless of what caused it, is it going to cause a long term problem for mankind?
* Can we really do anything about it?
* And if we can, SHOULD WE???
These are the real questions. And it seems no one is actually interested in answering them.
-Em
No, not just full episodes, an interview with Eleanor Holmes Norton was pulled which is a shame, because it was one of the best bits of Colbert and I was just telling a friend of mine that he should watch it.... Hopefully they will restore that - if anything can sell Colbert Report, its that clip.
-Em
After putting it on 3 USB extenders and moving the unit away from PC and by the window it seemed to work great - although I can't say I used it much for AM. All that being said, this "new" product doesnt even do AM (probably because of PC interference)
-Em
As I recall from owning it a while back, it was mostly hollow - no reason it could not have been put in a smaller case (other than there was no reason to ever do it)... most likely if you want "tivo" like functionality, you want it in an always on-stationary computer and if you have a laptop you were always able to stream the radio content from that stationary system (radioshark has built in net streaming). Of course after a while I found RadioTime and NPR web pages (from which I could download other radio content) plus various podcasts - so the RadioShark became pretty much useless (easier to have a boombox next to computer for listening to live radio)
>That thing is huge.
As in This RadioShark
By 2000 a company called Next Level Communications(then part owned, now completely owned by Motorola) was selling this technology (or at least something similar, here is a random link to the company description) I doubt Cisco would have much luck defending this patent if they went after Moto.
-Em
Couple of projectors in very public places running something like DriftNet which sniffs network and displays passing image files, and combining user's name and photo with the image.... Could be fun....
Nothing like a public humiliation.... Of course the flip side is people intentionally trying to make it on there....
-Em
I have always been curious (but not enough to investigate) what would be the environmental impact of widespread usage of wind turbines??
This is completely has not been thought through, but basic conservation of energy states that if wind powers the turbine, wind loses energy. If there was a windmill on every house, will this result in significant weather pattern changes? Or am I overdoing it on glue again?
-Em
P.S. This is not meant to be a troll of any sort. I am not comparing this to anything else nor passing any judgement, just curious what the actual environmental cost in this case is.
Why do people reply without really reading???
If you read the above, we are talking about Linux distribution for running VMWare Server, not VMWare Server itself. Non-free versions come with their own distro, free version doesn't. Not that its too hard to install any flavor of minimal linux but I am surprised noone has released a distro just for this.
-Em
I understand that, I was just wondering why there is no similar free distro for VMWare Server (the free VMWare one
-Em
You have to remmember that VMWare is virtualization and NOT emulation - meaning that your CPU is doing the actual processing, not the VMWare software - so if your CPU supports 64 bit, it will be 64 bit capable. I am not sure about the memory question though....
-Em
> Just for that VM. Now if the Host OS BSODs....thats bad for all VMs.
:-) :-)Of course maybe there is one and I just have not found it yet ;-)
Thats why you run a stripped down linux on Host and no apps (at least in server environment)
I am surprised there is no "vmware-host" Linux distro - something perfectly barebones and lightweight to run vmware server on
-Em
I would love to be able to watch a movie whenever I feel like it, without having to depend on one I like being broadcast in the few hours a day when a few TV channels broadcast them. I'm sure this goes for plenty of othe people, too.
Now if only someone invented a box that would let you watch shows whenever you want to without depending on TV schedule.... Maybe digitaly record tv content and let you watch it whenever... that would be cool....kind of a "Tv In-Video Out" device, something that could Replay TV content any time you want to... you know, this T.I.V.O thing could be very cool if someone just would invent it.... too bad its just a Myth, and there is nothing like that..
-Em
Yeah, I was surprised when I saw that it didn't have a DVI port. I mean, it's got everything else that it would need to be a really slick product ... except that it's analog only.
Erm, outputing analog video source over DVI is completely pointless. Cudos to the company for not making it twice as expensive to give people an ILLUSION of quality while actually making it look worse.
So really it's just a glorified 480i ADC with a network card and a USB port.
Exactly. Except it also has a low power CPU capable of running its own code. Pretty much we are looking at AV equivalent of a linksys wi-fi router. Only unlike cisco they are encouraging people to write their own code.
I'm somewhat unimpressed. The card reader slots really don't add anything for me, either. Except as storage for the machine itself, I can't ever foresee myself using them.
The roots of this device is in capturing analog video into MPEG-4 for viewing on portable devices... you know, like the ones that READ flash media. The card slots ARE EXACTLY for storage for the machine.
Given the cost of this device ($230) what they packed in there is pretty impressive.
-Em
-- Open standard for _robustly pseudonymized P2P;
Maybe I am overthinking this, but there is a danger here of turning the problem AGAINST yourself. The bottom line with current battle with DRM is the idea that anything is hackable/breakable. Companies come up with DRM, and someone figures out a way around it. It is always a loop that ends with breaking the protection, and the company is always playing catch-up to the "hackers" (i.e. tinkerers and all sorts of knowledge seekers).
Now, creating a "DRM" of sorts to protect/anonymize P2P traffic turns the issue around - where hackers are now working AGAINST you to BREAK the P2P protection. The fundamental issue stays the same - anything can be broken - but now you are on the loosing side of the equation.
Just a thought
-Em
While I agree with you, there is no way to do this in pure java - it will HAVE to have a DLL or some form of native code and it will be highly dependant on hardware. That being said, I agree that it I would be more inclined to run open source code for something like this...
-Em