I know I could be considered a complete MS lackey (something about MS paying me has a bit of an influence in that) but I must confess... I really love my TiVo (both of them).  I purchased the first TiVo on my wife's insistence and never regretted it.  It is simple to use and packed with great features.  I also have a Windows Media Center and love the features of it as well (check out this post by Ed Bott for an superb comparison of the two devices) but was too cheap to buy a new PC and moved it away from the TV (hmm... keep using my 500MHz Celeron or steal the 3.2 GHz MCE form the living room no one is using?).

My fondness for the TiVo, I'll admit, is partially an over-inflated wish for fair play.  TiVo was the first break the ground for the DVR/PVR market only to see their share of the market slowly be nibbled away by competition and cable/satellite providers offering cheaper (and arguably poorer) solutions.  When Engadget started their TiVo deathwatch my heart sank.  It's so funny how we love to root for the underdog.

Thankfully Comcast and TiVo have worked out a partnership deal which will have TiVo writing the software for Comcast's PVR boxes.  This great news will mean I won't have to worry about replacing my TiVo boxes any time in the immediate future (and the stock market agreed, if only mildly).

Long live TiVo (but please go buy a Windows Media Center PC... it helps put food on my table ).

Omar pointed out today that Wikipedia has a good article on Hotmail.  Lots of interesting facts including the origin of the service's name, "Hotmail".

From Bengt, the original Hotmail logo:

Aditya and Omar only made it 10ft from the conference room before they felt the need to start working again... they worked a bit then walked the next 10ft to their offices.

No, I don't know how Aditya keeps the laptop there... I suspect the legs of his jeans are covered with rosin.

I was at a special Microsoft campus recently and had the distinct privilege of being allowed into the top secret research wing.  The most interesting work being done at this facility is Microsoft Research's ultra-secret experimentation with worm holes.

If anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from me.

The building name has been blurred out, of course, for security reasons (click for larger version).

Headline from the Onion:

Gmail User Pities Hotmail User

A quote:

"I feel so bad for you, needing to squeeze into 250 MB of storage space,"

I love it!   Read the full story.

Hey computer industry writers… you want to get geeks interested in your tech article?  Incorporate espionage into your gadget review.   Throwing in a reference to 007 or some other, handsome, non-geek-like, gadget-swinging spy is like rubbing bacon grease on dog treats, it’s really not necessary… but it really gets the dog excited and is a whole lot of fun to watch (there’s nothing more entertaining than nerd drool).

The latest thing that caught my eye was in an eWEEK Labs write up by Cameron Sturdevant of a new Mobile Edge bag:

Bluetooth Bunker Protects Devices
Taking a page from a spy novel, Mobile Edge offers stylish computer carriers with a Wireless Security Shield Pocket.

Gasp!  Spy novels?!?  Tell me more.

Taking a page from a spy novel, Mobile Edge offers stylish computer carriers with a Wireless Security Shield Pocket—made of radio-blocking material that forms a physical firewall between mobile devices and hackers or virus-infected Bluetooth devices—big enough to accommodate a PDA and a small cell phone handset.

My testing at eWEEK Labs proved that no radio signals penetrated the pocket, thus protecting my Bluetooth-enabled devices from possible viral infection just by being in close proximity to a compromised wireless device.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “My cell phone is small and portable… if I’m going out for the evening I don’t want to carry a briefcase just to protect my valuable cell phone.  There’s no way I’m going to show up on the red carpet at the Oscars carrying a huge bag!”

No worries.  Aditya and I are starting a new business based around our new, hacker-proof shield for your cell phone.  Our “Bluetooth bullet-proof vest” is small enough to fit in your pocket yet packed with enough radio-wave-blocking technology to keep out even the most advanced hackers.  Your new cell phone will be snuggled in, safely protected from all radio signals, ensuring your phone will never get a virus from another infected device.  As an added bonus our new product will also protect you from all the cancer-causing radio waves emitted by your cell phone.  Even if you don’t have a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone the health benefits of the “vest” are worth the investment.  Imagine the feeling of security that will wash over you, knowing that both you and your device are now totally protected from harmful cell phone RF.

Want to be one of the next generation of tech gazillionaires?  Get in on the ground floor with our new company!  Angel investors may submit proof of fiscal liquidity directly (no checks or credit cards please, just send cash in small, unmarked bills).

Jef Raskin
1944 - 2005

But, in a pinch, Frito's seem to work just fine.  I recommend you pop the chocolate icing in the microwave for a few seconds... helps prevent chip breakage.

Mmm... chocolate Frito's... just like mom used to make.