Zatz Not Funny!

Win A TiVo With Lifetime Service

TiVo’s giving away a Series2 dual-tuning TiVo with Lifetime Service each month through July. All that’s required for entry is an email address. Interesting factoid #1: The package is valued at $549.98. Interesting factoid #2: Contradicting speculation on the TCF, “Each DVR requires its own TiVo service subscription and activation, and it cannot generally be … Read more

Deal of the Day: Half Price Harmony 880

Amazon has the Harmony 880 on sale for $155.49 plus a $30 rebate good through 1/29. The 880 retails for $250. Instead of macros, Harmony remotes group related functions into activities. For example: Hit ‘Play DVD’ and Harmony will turn on the TV, set it to the proper input, and power up the DVD player. The 880 has a color screen and internal rechargeable battery with docking cradle. As with all Harmony remotes, the 880 has access to a huge database of devices — before we moved, we had 6xx models controlling our Lutron lights and projector, in addition to the standard stuff. I currently use the 880 in the den to operate my TiVo Series3 and Xbox 360. Download network icons at Squareworld to setup soft keys for your favorite channels.

Deal of the Day: 20GB MS PMP @ $135

Today’s Woot is a Microsoft portable media player (PMP) for under $135. True, it’s a fake brand (Enza Dream’eo? Could there be a worse name?) and the unit may die at any moment — but 20GB with a roomy 3.5″ screen at about half the price of an iPod is a decent deal… as long … Read more

Dave’s Holiday Shopping Agenda

It’s that time of year again! No, not the season of giving… Rather, it’s the season of trampling your neighbors to get the best deal for yourself at the Walmarts of the world. I’ve put together a small list of what I want, where to get it, and at what cost. The odds of my … Read more

Interesting News Dave Hasn’t Covered

Never enough time… Copy and collate Internet video with Tioti. (TechCrunch) Tag DRM-ed Amazon products as such. (Defective by Design) Buy an HD DVD player, get three HD DVDs free. (EngadgetHD) Another Apple iPod touch screen patent application. (Apple Insider)

Deal of the Day: TiVo Series3 @ $680

The newly opened TiVo Community Store is running a great promotion: Get the TiVo Series3 for $680 after applying a 15% off coupon. No tax and free shipping! The secret word of the day is TCDEAL. You better hurry, because this offer expires Sunday.

Deal of the Day: TiVo With 1yr Service, $125

I just received a limited time promotion TiVo affiliate email: Now through 10/31 you can pick up a new 80 hour Series2 TiVo including 1 year of service for only $125. This is the lowest I’ve ever seen the 80hr model offered for (and cheaper than the YWCA deal)… wonder if they’re finally closing them out? (In favor of the Series2 dual-tuning model, which is somewhat compliant with next year’s “no NTSC tuner without ATSC tuner” FCC mandate.)

If this had been available a few weeks ago, I could have saved $30 on my mom’s unit. I’m still getting her up to speed… the first lessons have covered VCR controls (pause, ffw, rewind), instant replay, and using the guide. We’ve also gone over the Live TV button as a means to recover if she ever gets lost. Maybe this week we’ll move on to recording!

If you pick up a unit, remember davezatz@yahoo.com referred you. ;)

Netflix Offers Million Dollar Bounty

If you’ve got some free time and programming skills, Netflix has a job for you… www.netflixprize.com. Reuters says: Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc on Sunday announced that it would pay $1 million to the first person to develop software to improve the accuracy of Netflix’s movie recommendation system by 10 percent. Netflix’s Web-based recommendation … Read more