Dave Zatz

Rent Used DVR, Get G-String Divas For Free

Wonder what happens when the cable company recycles your DVR? In at least one case – nothing. The previous owner’s risqué programming was preserved for grandma: The titles included several NC-17 rated programs that can be found on premium channels, including HBO’s “G-String Divas.â€? Allman said she wasn’t concerned as much about finding the programs … Read more

PS3 Getting Movie Downloads This Summer?

Speaking of movie downloads, along with Sony’s $100 PS3 price cut announcement they unveiled an upcoming model with larger 80GB hard drive… and reported to at least one media outlet: the size is designed to support HD movie downloads. Gizmodo has more. Considering Microsoft offers Xbox movie and television downloads, plus Sony is a movie … Read more

Deal of the Day: Nokia 770 @ $140

True, the 700 is Nokia’s previous iteration of the Internet Tablet — But at $140, via Mobile Planet, maybe it doesn’t matter. It offers WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and, while you probably won’t get Skype compatability, it looks like many of the other new N800 software features will be available. I’m tempted…

Direct Amazon Unbox On TiVo Ordering Arrives

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Amazon Unbox ordering has finally landed on TiVo. (Never mind that false alarm last month). The TiVoCast Downloads area is listed as “Download TV & Movies” (how exactly does that describe the web video?) and houses Amazon Unbox along with other downloadable content.

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The Unbox application includes the most downloaded and newest videos which, I assume, does not represent the entire catalog. I’d like see them add genres and alphabetically organize the content. I’d also appreciate being able to see my rental history.

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Dave Subscribes To Mozy

A few weeks ago I expressed some doubts regarding online backup service Mozy, and wasn’t interested in subscribing to the Unlimited plan. However, I still don’t have a good backup plan in place… So it’s crazy not to spend the equivalent of one Starbucks drink ($4.95/month) for some off-site insurance. My first priority is preserving … Read more

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs. Widgets are Walled Gardens: Connected Home 2 Go Seven-Oh-Seven Comes and Goes: Connected Home 2 Go Verizon Dodges CableCARD Deadline: Connected Home 2 Go Top 10 Apple iPhone interface mistakes: Rakesh Agrawal

XM Gets A Second Chance

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My level of crankiness seems directly proportional to my caffeine intake, and I’ve been cutting back… Perhaps that’s why XM is also getting a second chance this week.

One of the reasons I canceled my satellite subscription last year was due to the encroaching ’80s pop onto some of my favored niche stations (Chrome, Groove). Not that I have anything against ’80s pop (my musical tastes are both eclectic and poor), but I thought the (selling) point of satellite radio is to provide unique content not commonly found on FM… Why would they dilute these musical genres?

Well before killing my sub, in January 2006, I emailed the station programmer at Chrome and this is how it played out:

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