more on TiVo to Bring TV to iPod and PSP

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: David Boyes <dboyes () sinenomine net>
Date: November 30, 2005 2:48:26 PM EST
To: dave () farber net, ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: RE: [IP] more on TiVo to Bring TV to iPod and PSP


> However, I've just done some searching, and MythTV
>   appears to conform to the widely-held but never-stated
>   "If you don't know Linux you ain't worth shit" philosophy.
>   MythTV is effectively unavailable to non-Linux outsiders.
>   You have to buy the parts, install it and configure it yourself.
>   Shades of ham radio.  Wait a minute, you can buy prebuilt
>   ham radios, but not MythTVs.  How come?

It took years for prebuilt ham kits to arrive. Contact me offlist --
I'll be happy to help you build one.

> There is an incomprehensible MythTV "store" at mythic.tv,
>   but the only prebuilt it offers is a $1600 model for HDTV.
> Why don't people get it???  There's a MARKET out there, guys!

Plain and simple: commercial manufacture = legal target. If everyone
assembles their own, there's no way to stomp it with tactical legal
weapons. Once you produce it as a product, all the commercial liability
laws come into play, and you just painted a target on your chest for the
MPAA/RIAA folks to come after you. We've seen clearly over the last year
that the Betamax decision is no longer sufficient protection, and the
revival of the broadcast flag discussion is just the beginning of the
assault.

I can't think of anyone that can pitch a business model that
deliberately invokes risk of massive legal assault to any venture
capital firm and have a prayer of succeeding.




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