Dave Zatz

CNET Interviews TiVo CEO (No Surprises)

CNET’s Molly Wood sat down with TiVo CEO Tom Rogers earlier this week and hit him with a variety of reader-submitted questions. I can’t say there were any shocking revelations. Then again, I have a short attention span and skipped around the video (above). The only item new to me was the revelation that the … Read more

Popbox Releases SDK Ahead Of Launch

While it’s not quite the launch many of us are anticipating, the Popbox folks are releasing their Popapp SDK for developers today. In addition to transforming existing Adobe Flash applications into Popbox-specific experiences, The popbox SDK hooks into the popbox UI to handle remote commands, execute widgets, and load application-specific data. Developers will be able … Read more

WeaKnees Cracks The TiVo Premiere Code

WeaKnees has cracked the TiVo Premiere code, and is now shipping upgraded units with larger drives. Whereas the base Premiere integrates a 320GB drive, WeaKnees offers DVRs with up to 2 terabytes of internal storage which should net you nearly 320 hours of HD recording capacity. But wait, there’s more. If you don’t mind an … Read more

The Future of TV… is TV

As a follow up to the failure of CableCARD and customer service post, I’m back in business. Cox Communications reps continued to reach out yesterday, but I was frustrated and beat down – and not interested in providing any more explanations of the issue or facilitating additional troubleshooting. So they went about resolving the situation on their end. Not sure what was done, but my entire channel lineup is now available on the TiVo Premiere (with it’s own set of issues that we’ll get to). Which dovetails nicely with the question of cutting the cord…

As attractive as it may seem to dump the cable co, it’s not really an option in our household. We enjoy our premium TV. And we enjoy the (usual) simplicity of our setup. There’s no question that over-the-top video is now everywhere. And expanding. Yet, the selection remains unpredictable. As does the quality of content and delivery. (Low-res Alf reruns on Hulu entertain for all of ten minutes. OK, maybe 20, Mr. Shumway.) However, there are options… for tech enthusiasts like us. But for most folks, beyond STBs with integrated Netflix or YouTube streaming, Internet-sourced content in a lean-back environment is a mystery.

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Spoke Too Soon, CableCARD Support Still Sucks.

Back in February, I reactivated the Moxi HD DVR to evaluate Moxi Mate extender functionality. (It’s quite nice.) And had a phenomenal CableCARD install experience. The tech was in and out in 35 minutes, with zero problems. Leading me to believe the CableCARD landscape had seen improvement. But maybe I spoke too soon. As the process of moving that CableCARD to the new TiVo Premiere has been unfun… and unsuccessful. Those cable gateways can’t get here soon enough.

But before we get on to what is essentially a lengthy blow-by-blow bitch session, let me ask if I’m alone in this: What are your experiences migrating CableCARDs? And let us know if you happen to operate in the FiOS TV Nirvana, where cards don’t require pairing. Now, on with my tale…

As I’m wont to do, I regularly tweet my adventures in tech. And I’m perfectly comfortable calling out companies and technologies that don’t perform. Someone at Cox Communication was listening, as they responded last night:

Hello Mr. Zatz- My name is XXXXXXX XXXX, a VP at Cox Communications, I saw your tweets and want to apologize and get you help asap. We tried to call tonight but did not reach you. Can we come out tomorrow? You name the time. My apologies for the problems, they are unacceptable. Thank you,

My reply this morning…

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CES 2010: Where are they now?

Back in January at CES, Mari and I saw a lot of cool stuff — gadgets on the horizon, scheduled for an early 2010 release. But Quarter 1 has come and gone. And we’re left wondering where some of this stuff is.

Popbox
One of my show highlights was the Popbox (pictured above). In which Syabas jammed the mighty processing power of the Popcorn Hour C-200, along with a variety of web services and a fine looking UI, into a much smaller enclosure and intending to launch at the low price of $130. Since we checked in at CES, they’ve gone on to demo at SXSW, changed their corporate email from @syabas to @popbox, replaced their PR agency, and just announced a revised shipping schedule… but no actual shipping date. I’m still very much looking forward to this device. And, given the number of inquiries, so are others.

Lenovo Skylight
In Vegas, I was (voluntarily) sucked right into the Ideapad U10 excitement. However, after the show I realized Lenovo’s Skylight is potentially a better solution for me. It’s a lighter weight device with a singular, lighter weight Linux OS in the ‘smartbook’ category. Sort of what the never launched Palm Foleo might have evolved into. Originally scheduled to ship in April, we now hear the Skylight mini laptop is slated for a worldwide June launch.

Volcano
The makers of the HAVA placeshifters appeared poised to rebrand themselves with the Volcano – a “God box” device, combining DVR, Slingbox, and media extender capabilities. A few weeks after CES, they put out a press release riding the iPad coat tails, re-announcing the product as the Vulkano (ugh) and reaffirming a March launch. I don’t mind this one being a bit late as they have huge ambitions and the prototype was extremely rough around the edges. Some extra time for Monsoon to smooth it out should work to their advantage and they’re now advertising an April, 2010 launch.

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The Evolution of iPhone OS

As most ZNF readers know, Apple held an event yesterday to unveil iPhone 4.0 OS – consisting of 100 new user features and 1500 new developer hooks. And with the introduction of multitasking (of any stripe) and folders for app organization, I’d say the platform is now feature complete. Certainly those were my top two … Read more

DISH VIP 922 Slingbox DVR Launches!

380 million dollars and 2.5 years in the making, the world’s first DVR containing Slingbox functionality has arrived. Of course, this is exactly the sort of hybrid product we expected when Echostar acquired Sling Media in 2007. Although it wasn’t actually until CES 2009 that our suspicions were confirmed. And DISH Network’s 2009 launch plans … Read more