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TiVo HD PVR coming September 13th?

August 28, 2006 By Leave a Comment

A rumor is spreading that the new TiVo HD PVR Series 3 will be announced September 12th and will be available September 13th.

Matt Haughey of PVRblog noticed two comments, one on one of his articles and one on the Engadget article with the pictures of the Series 3, stating this. However, despite extensive searches, these are the only claims made to that effect. When Matt posted an article describing the rumor, the poster who posted the rumor-comment revealed himself as MK153, working at Best Buy.

Apparently he has found a reference to the Series 3 in the Best Buy inventory system. It shows an In-Stock date of 9/17/2006, showing Best Buy SKU’s and UPC codes, and a price of $799.99.

How an In-stock date of 9/17 translates to an available date of 9/13 isn’t clear… if this rumor is true, that is great news, but there is the possibility it is just that – a rumor…

Filed Under: PVR

Desktop switch to Ubuntu

August 24, 2006 By 2 Comments

I’m trying it – again. Maybe this time Linux Desktop is ready for me.

After reading all the good reviews on Ubuntu Linux, I’ve decided to switch. Taking stock of the applications that I use on a regular basis that are not linked to web browsing or E-mail:

The day before I was going to make the actual switch we were browsing through a bookstore and I ran across Ubuntu Hacks, a book with 100 tips and tricks for beginners and experts. It had some interesting hacks in there that I could apply, most notably a step by step on installing several virtual machines.

After looking through some of the descriptions I decided on VMWare Server. This is a free download, and an amazing product. As opposed to the Windows Virtual machine, I didn’t have any issues with the Windows Genuine Advantage tool installation. Plus I love the fact that I now have an image of Windows that is completely pristine, no applications installed, that I can use to rebuild a Windows machine in minutes.

Installing Quicken was a bit of challenge, since I misplaced my installation disk. Once located, it was a breeze.

I haven’t installed anything else yet, since it’s the thick of summer down here, and yardwork and relaxation are also important, but I can’t wait to get my hands back on the box.

Filed Under: Linux, Windows

TiVo series 3 spotted in the wild!

August 23, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Engadget has an article with pictures of the new series 3 TiVo in beta test. Still very beta (it doesn’t seem to have TivoToGo), but it seems to sport 2 CableCARDs. Can’t wait to get my hands on one of those babies once they are released!

Filed Under: PVR

Google Talk adds file sharing, voicemail and music status

August 18, 2006 By Leave a Comment

The Google Talk blog announced that Google Talk has been updated. If you’re using Google Talk now, it should automatically update over the next few days. If you can’t wait or are a new user. you can download it here.

File sharing is done by dropping one or more files onto a chat window. These files can been regular files, but also photos or music. If you drop photos on the chat window, it will show smaller previews of the photos immediately. And you’re not limited to just files – you can share whole folders.

Voicemail is pretty standard: if the person you’re trying to reach isn’t there to answer, you can leave a voicemail message instead. Interesting is that the voicemail is sent as an email attachement to them, so they can listen to the voicemail whenever they check their email.

Music Status and Music Trends allow Google Talk to show what you’re currently listening to, and submits that information to Google Music Trends. Whenever your song in one of the supported players (currently iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp, and Yahoo Music Engine) changes, Google Talk changes too.

Interesting new features – I’ll definately play around a bit with the new Google Talk!

Filed Under: Windows Tagged With:

TiVo says court orders EchoStar to halt DVR sales

August 18, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Several sources report this morning that a federal court in Texas has ordered EchoStar to halt the use and sale of several of its digital video recorders after a jury has ruled that EchoStar infringes on a TiVo patent (US Patent No. 6,233,389, issued to TiVo in May 2001, known as the “Time Warp” patent).

EchoStar is seeking to block the permanent injunction while it launched an appeal. If the injunction remains in effect, it would require EchoStar to turn off many DVRs used by its Dish Network customers within the next 30 days.

Filed Under: PVR
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