Clones Are Overwhelming TiVo

jfruhlinger writes "The first line from this CRN/Associated Press story says it all: 'Debra Baker tells people she has TiVo. But she really doesn't.' As cable companies offer their own DVR boxes to customers for no upfront cost and a lower monthly fee than the original, people are using TiVo as a verb but are frequently not using using the product or service itself in real life. The article notes that the cable company's DVRs don't have some of the archtypical TiVo features, such as the ability to guess what you'd like recorded based on your viewing habits."

You'd think it would go the other way.

[Neil Blender]

All my clones own Tivos. That's seven subscribers when before, it'd only be one.

It happens all the time.

[Eric_Cartman_South_P]

I've heard people tell me "I have a good computer" but then I look and see it's not an Apple. Same thing I guess.

God's Machine - "Michael Powell"

[routerwhore]

I do love my Tivo, but I turned off the personal viewing feature long ago when I realized it had a twisted personality. It kept recording porn and cartoons...

Re:God's Machine - "Michael Powell"

[kalidasa]

I do love my Tivo, but I turned off the personal viewing feature long ago when I realized it had a twisted personality. It kept recording porn and cartoons...

Don't you mean when it realized you had a twisted personality?

Sorry, but that was just too good to pass up.

It's very upsetting to Tivo, they are constantly..

[i_want_you_to_throw_]

reaching for the Kleenex,.....err tissues. There's nothing worse than when someone takes your idea and Xerox.... err copies it.

Re:Similar

[Neil Blender]

Similar to saying "I had a burger and coke for lunch," when you really had a burger and Pepsi. TiVo is becomming part of American culture.

Yeah, It's kind of like when you say, "I just took a shit and wiped my ass with kleenex." In reality, you didn't actually take the shit anywhere.

I use band-aids

[QuantumRiff]

There really generic bandages, but I call em that, Oh, and I have a "Swiss-army" knife. Who the Hell Cares?? My aunt has AOL, ask her, she has the "internet at home"

Did anyone else see

[Eezy Bordone]

Clowns Are Overwhelming TiVo? That really freaked me out for a minute.

Re:they also lack the ability to

[LostCluster]

You'd still have a hard time determining the difference between a rerun and a flashback-heavy "new" episode.

Re:How is this different then say . .

[thelenm]

My wife used to work for Intel and they sent her and a bunch of cow-orkers to a class on trademarks. She told me about how you're not supposed to refer to "a Pentium", but it's called "a Pentium processor [intel.com]" or some such because the trademark was not to be used as a noun. Since then I try hard to use my best, trademark-correct language for humor's sake, as in "Could you please hand me a Kleenex(TM)-brand facial tissue?" or "Curse these blasted Band-Aid® brand adhesive bandages that never stick for more than an hour!" It's interesting (and difficult) to try and figure out what these kinds of products are actually called other than Kleenex, Aspirin, Band-Aid, etc.

Yoda Style

[DA-MAN]

Begun this clone war has....

Re:You'd think it would go the other way.

[LostCluster]

Overhead at TiVo Headquarters: "Can't sleep, clones will eat us..."

Re:Better than TiVi

[Anonymous Coward]

ever get the feeling you keep having to repeat yourself [slashdot.org] ?

Yeah I have a er, tivo thing

[jriskin]

I always find it awkward telling people I have PVR. Usually it goes like this:

Them: "What do you think of Tivo?"
Me: "Tivo's are great, I love mine"
Me: "Well, actually I don't have an actual tivo, I built my own, its called SageTV, its pretty much the same as a real Tivo, but I can access my TV from any computer in the house, save stuff on DVD, no monthly fee, etc..."
Them: "you built a Tivo?"
Me: "Uh, well its a thing for your computer"
Them: "Oh..." (blank stare)
Me: "Tivo's kick ass!"
Them: =)

Re:If other people make a better / cheaper product

[huchida]

I prefer quality, but I also like things smaller and cuter. That's why I went out and bought a MiniTivo. It only holds 1/20th as many shows, but it does come in pink.

Re:From what I've seen

[Dun Malg]

Perhaps he meant: (though probably not)

[/sarcasim]: to simulate taking a cutting or ironic tone

not to be confused with-

sarchasm: a deep hole or canyon into which one pushes those who give you snotty back-talk

Re:Similar

[Halfbaked Plan]

I'm confused. Are you equating the coke with shit? Or do you get shitfaced at lunch?

Re:The Scientific Atlanta interface sure isn't TiV

[Halfbaked Plan]

I had a Scientific Atlanta DVR that I got at an estate sale. I paid $10 because nobody else seemed to know what it was. It had an 80 gig hard drive it it but no smartcard.

We can't get cable here. So I yanked the 80 gid drive out of it and sold the box without drive or smartcard on eBay for $80.

Indeed, I am a very happy Scientific Atlanta DVR customer, even though I despise almost all television and only powered the thing up once to see that it worked. It got me a free 80 gig drive with a $70 cash rebate.