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View Full Version : TiVo - #1 on list of PC world list of products you can not do without

ZeoTiVo
02-01-2008, 09:44 AM
if you want to see the whole list (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9060462&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1) but the fvery first one on the list, and deservedly so is Tivo :up: I cut and pasted that part of the list for those not wanting to link

January 31, 2008 (PC World) It's a nice life. PC World staffers and contributors are continually deluged with the latest technology products, so as you can imagine, we set a high bar on the hardware, software and Web sites that we choose to use ourselves. What are they? To answer that question, we compiled the following list of the top 25 products that we don't just like, but that we absolutely, positively can't live without.

TiVo

Because of my TiVo recorder, I could never go back to the regular way of watching TV. TiVo lets me skip all the commercials and watch an hour show in 45 minutes. If I want to record all programs and movies with a particular actor, TiVo will do it automatically. I can keep up with series such as Heroes, 24 or Lost and still be able to leave the house. And since I got my second TiVo, I don't even have to worry about two shows airing simultaneously. I have the units connected to TVs in different rooms and transfer shows between them. (Newer models have dual-tuners so you can record two shows with just one machine.) I can also move recordings from a TiVo to my PC, where I can convert them for playback on portable devices. And TiVo can download video from the Internet so I can watch it on my TV. But the simplest features, such as pausing a show when you need to get up and do something, are the most important. -- Elliott Kirschling, Test Center analyst




simply put and all inclusive - Tivo should just record the guy saying the same and put out commercials and print ads of it.

Edit - took out registration words- guess they changed the policy
LifeIsABeach
02-01-2008, 10:49 AM
I agree. TiVo and my navigation system (I have a Garmin iQue 3600 but I'm sure any would do just fine) I could not live without.
richsadams
02-01-2008, 10:51 AM
As it should be! :up: We recently moved and had to live w/o TiVo for about three or four days. Thought I was gonna die. I couldn't believe how many really awful commercials were on TV now and how many run on some shows. I really don't know how (some of) the general public lives without TiVo...it must be awful. It's no wonder there is so much unrest in the world. ;)
ZeoTiVo
02-01-2008, 11:29 AM
t must be awful. It's no wonder there is so much unrest in the world. ;)

so TiVo is the western culture's SOMA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma)
MickeS
02-01-2008, 12:09 PM
As it should be! :up: We recently moved and had to live w/o TiVo for about three or four days. Thought I was gonna die. I couldn't believe how many really awful commercials were on TV now and how many run on some shows. I really don't know how (some of) the general public lives without TiVo...it must be awful. It's no wonder there is so much unrest in the world. ;)

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when I stayed at a hotel with only live TV a while ago. Man, there is a LOT of junk on TV!

EDIT: I didn't see any requirement to register to see the whole list.

OpenOffice 2.3 deserves its spot on that list. :)
fallingwater
02-01-2008, 04:34 PM
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9060462&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1

"But the simplest features, such as pausing a show when you need to get up and do something, are the most important."
MickeS
02-01-2008, 05:24 PM
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9060462&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1

"But the simplest features, such as pausing a show when you need to get up and do something, are the most important."

I could pause shows on my VCR too. :) Not sure why he thinks that's a big deal.
etz
02-01-2008, 05:47 PM
Not sure why he thinks that's a big deal.

They also seem to think that 'Google Earth's Google Sky' is one of the items they simply cannot live without. Please. It's nice and all, but can't live without it?
dwit
02-01-2008, 06:02 PM
I could pause shows on my VCR too. :) Not sure why he thinks that's a big deal.

I think he is basically referring to the buffering of live shows. Major difference there between a dvr and a vcr.
fallingwater
02-01-2008, 09:05 PM
I could pause shows on my VCR too. :) Not sure why he thinks that's a big deal.

Because it's (almost) live!

It is a big deal. I've always thought that 'trick play' and the ability to record and play back at almost the same moment are the essential new features of DVR, and that everything else, although neat and clever as hell, is evolutionary, not revolutionary.
ukerin
02-01-2008, 10:38 PM
It is definitely the best invention made in recent times at least.
MickeS
02-01-2008, 10:39 PM
I think he is basically referring to the buffering of live shows. Major difference there between a dvr and a vcr.

D'oh!! I can't believe I didn't think of that. Seriously... major brain fart. I guess it was because he called it "show" which I think of as "recording".

That shouldn't be a big deal either though - who in their right mind watches live TV! :)
richsadams
02-02-2008, 01:17 AM
That shouldn't be a big deal either though - who in their right mind watches live TV! :)+1 :up: ;)
ZeoTiVo
02-02-2008, 07:56 AM
That shouldn't be a big deal either though - who in their right mind watches live TV! :)

Live TV is fine, as long as it is on a TiVo DVR and I am 15 minutes or so behind in the buffer so I can skip all the dull stuff ;)
fallingwater
02-02-2008, 09:24 AM
...major brain fart...

...who in their right mind watches live TV! :)

Uh Oh! :eek:
flaminio
02-04-2008, 11:36 AM
They also seem to think that 'Google Earth's Google Sky' is one of the items they simply cannot live without. Please. It's nice and all, but can't live without it?

Besides, Stellarium (http://www.stellarium.org/) totally blows away Google Sky. If you can't find dark skies for the real thing, Stellarium's the next best thing.

But I agree about TiVo -- it's a "can't go back" device. Commercial skipping aside, I always chuckle to myself when I hear someone say that they've got to get home to watch House or Heroes or some hot new show. I know people who structure their entire lives around the network's schedules. Personally, I'd rather keep my own schedule, and TiVo gives that freedom. I can watch whatever I want, whenever I want.
dmlove51
02-04-2008, 12:07 PM
I really don't know how (some of) the general public lives without TiVo...

You mean the general public doesn't have TiVO? I'm so out of touch. :D
wkearney
02-05-2008, 09:04 AM
+1. I was shocked the first time I tried to watch TV in a hotel after having had Tivo for a while. Even now trying to watch something live is agonizing, what with the six or EIGHT commercials they jam in back to back. They'd only be able to pry my Tivo away only from my cold, dead fingers. We ditched DirecTV in favor of FIOS precisely for this reason ALONE.