Comments on: Gates touts TiVo deal at CES

Amid speech that serves as state of union address on Microsoft's digital media strategy, firm's chair talks up TiVoToGo deal.

[Prndll]

HA!

This is just ANOTHER reason to stay far far away from XP and TIVO.

[David Arbogast]

why?

2 Companies cross-licensing technology and working together to bring new and enhanced functionality that is in high demand to the consumer is a reason to avoid those products?

I guess you can always sit around and wait for somebody to spend thier capital developing and distributing a similar set of products and technologies for free. But I wouldn't hold my breath. Perhaps you are just one of those people who don't have a desire to have information more easily available.

[Prndll]

HA!

This is just ANOTHER reason to stay far far away from XP and TIVO.

[David Arbogast]

why?

2 Companies cross-licensing technology and working together to bring new and enhanced functionality that is in high demand to the consumer is a reason to avoid those products?

I guess you can always sit around and wait for somebody to spend thier capital developing and distributing a similar set of products and technologies for free. But I wouldn't hold my breath. Perhaps you are just one of those people who don't have a desire to have information more easily available.

[David Arbogast]

Linux and Microsoft

So... TiVo runs Linux, right? This must mean that either the media connect technology from Microsoft is going open-source, it is linked in a way that allows TiVo to pay royalties without releasing the source, OR TiVo is not honoring the GPL.

Regardless, consumers are buying a Linux device, and paying Microsoft for technology that TiVo decided it could not substitute with another GPL solution. Imagine that, technological and financial benefits for TiVo in Microsoft software, along with increased user functionality.

This article is unfortunately void of any technical information, but I would speculate that a Microsoft video format is also being used in the mix somewhere, since streaming MPG2 requires far more overhead... but without further information, this is just a guess.

[David Arbogast]

Linux and Microsoft

So... TiVo runs Linux, right? This must mean that either the media connect technology from Microsoft is going open-source, it is linked in a way that allows TiVo to pay royalties without releasing the source, OR TiVo is not honoring the GPL.

Regardless, consumers are buying a Linux device, and paying Microsoft for technology that TiVo decided it could not substitute with another GPL solution. Imagine that, technological and financial benefits for TiVo in Microsoft software, along with increased user functionality.

This article is unfortunately void of any technical information, but I would speculate that a Microsoft video format is also being used in the mix somewhere, since streaming MPG2 requires far more overhead... but without further information, this is just a guess.

[Llib Setag]

MS Ditital Hub's a dud at CES 2005

What really happened during Citizen Gates CES Media Blitzkreig:
SF Gate News article / Associated Press AP:

Bill Gates touts 'digital lifestyle,' despite technical bugs

RACHEL KONRAD, AP Technology Writer
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
(01-05) 21:19 PST LAS VEGAS (AP) --

Despite suffering technical glitches that prompted jokes and guffaws, Bill Gates promised Wednesday that Microsoft Corp. would help millions of consumers stay seamlessly plugged into a world of digital music, movies, video games and television shows.

But while promoting what he calls the "digital lifestyle," Gates showed how vulnerable all consumers -- even the world's richest man -- are to hardware and software bugs.

During a demonstration of digital photography with a Nikon camera, a Windows Media Center PC froze and wouldn't respond to Gates' pushing of the remote control.

Later in the 90-minute presentation, a product manager demonstrated the ostensible user-friendliness of a video game expected to hit retail stores in April, Forza Motor Sport. But instead of configuring a custom-designed race car, the computer monitor displayed the dreaded "blue screen of death" and warned, "out of system memory."

The errors -- which came during what's usually an ode to Microsoft's dominance of the software industry and its increasing control of consumer electronics -- prompted the celebrity host, NBC comedian Conan O'Brien, to quip, "Who's in charge of Microsoft, anyway?"

Gates, who was sitting next to O'Brien on a set staged to look
like NBC's Late Night set, smiled dryly and continued with his
discussion.

Although he accepted guffaws from audience members in the theater, the technical hiccups didn't prompt Gates to engage in a
hard-hitting analysis of computer reliability and security.

It will likely take Microsoft years to understand the consumer electronics market and produce simple, glitch-free products for
consumers' living rooms, analysts say.

"Microsoft was founded by programmers and is still run by programmers, and the bias of programmers is that software can do anything," said Paul DeGroot, an analyst at Kirkland, Wash.-
based Directions on Microsoft. "While Microsoft's goal is to turn the PC into a superhub that does everything -- plays music,
works as a cell phone, stores your photos -- they're running up against the fact that most people buy discreet components that
do particular things."

This was also announced on Channel 4 KOMO News - ABC in Seattle, WA. as well...

Redmond, we have a problem...

[Steven N]

Software can do anything...

Especially crash...

And also:

I think I 'll stick to my good old HIFI set.
I don't need the buzzing of a PC's CPU through the speakers that are attached to my amplifier with 0.007% distortion.

[Llib Setag]

MS Ditital Hub's a dud at CES 2005

What really happened during Citizen Gates CES Media Blitzkreig:
SF Gate News article / Associated Press AP:

Bill Gates touts 'digital lifestyle,' despite technical bugs

RACHEL KONRAD, AP Technology Writer
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
(01-05) 21:19 PST LAS VEGAS (AP) --

Despite suffering technical glitches that prompted jokes and guffaws, Bill Gates promised Wednesday that Microsoft Corp. would help millions of consumers stay seamlessly plugged into a world of digital music, movies, video games and television shows.

But while promoting what he calls the "digital lifestyle," Gates showed how vulnerable all consumers -- even the world's richest man -- are to hardware and software bugs.

During a demonstration of digital photography with a Nikon camera, a Windows Media Center PC froze and wouldn't respond to Gates' pushing of the remote control.

Later in the 90-minute presentation, a product manager demonstrated the ostensible user-friendliness of a video game expected to hit retail stores in April, Forza Motor Sport. But instead of configuring a custom-designed race car, the computer monitor displayed the dreaded "blue screen of death" and warned, "out of system memory."

The errors -- which came during what's usually an ode to Microsoft's dominance of the software industry and its increasing control of consumer electronics -- prompted the celebrity host, NBC comedian Conan O'Brien, to quip, "Who's in charge of Microsoft, anyway?"

Gates, who was sitting next to O'Brien on a set staged to look
like NBC's Late Night set, smiled dryly and continued with his
discussion.

Although he accepted guffaws from audience members in the theater, the technical hiccups didn't prompt Gates to engage in a
hard-hitting analysis of computer reliability and security.

It will likely take Microsoft years to understand the consumer electronics market and produce simple, glitch-free products for
consumers' living rooms, analysts say.

"Microsoft was founded by programmers and is still run by programmers, and the bias of programmers is that software can do anything," said Paul DeGroot, an analyst at Kirkland, Wash.-
based Directions on Microsoft. "While Microsoft's goal is to turn the PC into a superhub that does everything -- plays music,
works as a cell phone, stores your photos -- they're running up against the fact that most people buy discreet components that
do particular things."

This was also announced on Channel 4 KOMO News - ABC in Seattle, WA. as well...

Redmond, we have a problem...

[Steven N]

Software can do anything...

Especially crash...

And also:

I think I 'll stick to my good old HIFI set.
I don't need the buzzing of a PC's CPU through the speakers that are attached to my amplifier with 0.007% distortion.