Well, if I tried to cancel TiVo I'd certainly be under the influence of some evil spell and need to be saved from myself. Isn't it really just excellent customer service that they're protecting you from a similar mistake?

I told them I was moving to Germany. During the FIRST call.

(Okay, it was a slight exaggeration; we were considering moving to Germany, but we were cancelling Tivo no matter what.)

But you didn't move to Germany, did you? Quod erat demonstrandum...

iPad question. I am considering giving my iPad2 to my Mother, as she only has a win95 computer that she never uses. The thing that is making me hesitant, is that she doesn't have internet service at her house, and it's the Wi-Fi only model.

So, my question, does anyone use their iPad for hot-spot locations only? I believe the library she lives near has free wifi. Just not sure how much of a pain it is when you don't have regular service. Clearly there is more to do on the iPad then just internet/mail/stream Netflix. But the reason for giving to her, is so she can send/receive emails with family across the land.

Also, I wonder how good she will be with the onscreen typewriter thing. Although, I seem to recall, she hunts/pecks, so maybe that won't be an issue at all.

Just wondering if it's a can of worms worth opening or not. Thoughts? Advice?

I would say,if I ever had an Ipad I would get a bluetooth keyboard. Throw in that purchase and it is no longer a zero cost gift but... And nothing to say on lack of home Interbunny.

Yeah, I have a DVD TiVo, and until recently could play DVDs on it even though I no longer had it hooked up for service, but after I had to reboot it at one point, it just gets stuck on the "but I have to call the mothership!" part and won't even let me play DVDs. Boo. (Good thing is, a cheapo DVD player set me back all of $40)

I keep thinking perhaps I'll get both TiVos going, if I buy another TV, but at the moment, no need.

I am enslaved to my TiVo, but i do think it's kind of shitty for them to lock you out of everything if you don't use their service. Conceptually, that's how I still think of it--you've bought the device, so whatever you can make it do without schedule updates should be legit. But no, the model is that you're paying a license to actually shine that beam onto the disc, or record whatever signal's being fed into it anyhow.

Is their profit margin that precarious that they need to do this to shore it up?

From what I hear, yes, they have very narrow profit margins. I would be curious if the packaging says "must have service to use ANYTHING on/in the box"? I wonder if there is a lawsuit waiting to happen?

I don't think it's the packaging--going from the posts here, it seems to be the software.

I think it's a damned shame they're not making money, since they've revolutionised the way I consume TV to such a degree I don't even remember the transition...it's just always been this way, right?

But I also don't like the idea that it's a lump of circuitry without additional expense. But, hey, MythTV, et al.

What's the cheapest tool people use to take Windows screen grabs with menus expanded? My employer now treats SnagIt licenses like mithril, and the Snipping Tool we get for free doesn't do it.

However, as a Business Analyst, you'd think I'd be able to make the case that I need the tool (Case! BA humour...::sigh::), but no dice.