The Yin Blog

The iPhone 4S and that "Talking Tina" episode of "The Twilight Zone"

Remember the "Talking Tina" episode of "The Twilight Zone"?

Well, that's a little like how I felt earlier this weekend. We were wondering why my wife's data usage had gone through the roof ever since she switched to an iPhone 4S a little over a month ago. She doesn't stream videos or music, doesn't video chat, or do anything that hogs data. At home, she uses wi-fi. And yet Verizon was sending alerts every other day about how close she was getting to exceeding the 2 GB limit.

When I checked the data usage info on our account, I saw that the phone was sending out huge amounts of data in the middle of the night! (When it should have been using wi-fi, no less.)

A call to Verizon didn't really help, as they suggested "restoring" the phone, and/or turning Siri off. Apple apparently had a software issue in earlier operating systems where the phone claimed to be using wi-fi, but was still on 3G. Maybe that would help, but what was the phone doing in the middle of the night???

Googling -- love the irony there, using Google to figure out what was wrong with the iPhone -- identified a likely source of the problem: the iPhone supposedly sends error reports back to Apple. What kind of stupid phone sends so many error reports that it causes users to exceed the data limit???

As I ranted about its stupid engineering, my wife's iPhone all of a sudden came awake by itself! (cue Twilight Zone music)

I was just waiting for it to say, "Hi, my name is Siri, and I don't like you at all."

Double yikes!! But anyway, turning off the error reporting has solved our data usage problem. For my part, though, I am even more pleased to have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Geoff Manne on how EchoStar is messing with TiVo

Geoff Manne has an interesting post at Truth on the Market about the Tivo/EchoStar litigation, in which he argues that EchoStar is essentially abusing the court process by dragging out patent infringement litigation against it, including "designing around" TiVo's patent by making what appear to be non-substantive changes in the technology:

EchoStar is seemingly within the reasonable bounds of due process to suggest that such an outcome might be required if its new technology is sufficiently different than its old. But the question is really one of process: who gets to decide if the technology is sufficiently similar—the District Court that heard the original case and issued the original injunction, or EchoStar? Seen this way, it is evident that the costly, strategic behavior lurking just under the surface of this case and that pervades EchoStar’s conduct belies the innocence of its arguments and points out the enormous cost that establishing such precedent could impose on innovation and the economy more broadly.

Geoff's conclusion:

It is difficult to see how either due process or economic efficiency is furthered by EchoStar’s position. This case demonstrates that a determined infringer can make minor changes, drag out judicial proceedings, and seek to run out the clock on a patent, thereby squandering both judicial resources as well as incentives for innovation. This is particularly true for devices that involve software or other complex products where inconsequential changes can be exaggerated. An EchoStar victory in this case will dim technological progress and diminish the role of the courts in enforcing the property rights that facilitate that progress.

I'm a big fan of TiVo, even to the point of abandoning within days the digital video recorder that Comcast offered for free for 6 months.  While I'm a happy and loyal TiVo customer, I don't think I'd ever be an investor, because I'm too worried about how easily its business model can be duplicated.  If the courts administer a judicial smackdown to EchoStar, though, that should help sustain TiVo's business, for which I'll be grateful.

14 or so hours 'til my new HD TiVo goes online!

Back when I was setting up the utilities for our new home in Portland, I was confronted with the cable company vs. phone company dilemma.  I opted for the cable company (Comcast) partly because I was concerned about having satellite TV in a location where it rains so much.  And Comcast's triple-bundle deal was pretty good.

However, I was prepared to abandon my beloved TiVo because the two Series 2 machines that I have aren't HD compatible, and Comcast threw in free use of an HD DVR for 6 months.

WIthin a couple of days of using the cable DVR, though, I couldn't stand it.  It's not just that we're used to the comforting doo-doo-doo sound that TiVo makes when you fast-forward; it's that TiVo's interface is technologically superior in just about every way you can imagine.  When you super fast-forward and then hit play, TiVo is smart enough to rewind a few seconds back.  That way, when you see your show start again (after speeding through commercials), the auto-rewind gets you to the right spot without forcing you to rewind manually.  Not so with the Comcast DVR.

And then when it comes to scheduling recordings . . . .  I can't believe how stupid the cable DVR is.  Although I selected the option of recording only first run and not repeats, it somehow gets confused by cable network shows like "Burn Notice."  I ended up having to delete manually a bunch of repeat episodes -- ones that I'd watched within the last 30 days(!).

So, I called up TiVo, found out that I was eligible to upgrade my dual-tuner Series 2 TiVo and get a new HD TiVo for $100 off.  Cool deal!  It arrived today, and the Comcast tech is scheduled to come tomorrow to put in the cable smart cards, and then I will be reunited with my beloved TiVo!

Signs of the end of TiVo?

As I've blogged before, I absolutely *love* my TiVo . . . .  But I'm afraid that I see signs of the end of its viability as a company.

With my move to Oregon less than a month away now, I've been getting utilities set up.  For water, gas, electricity, and garbage/recycling, there was no choice, but for telephone/Internet/TV, it was basically between Qwest/DirectTV or Comcast.  (VerizonFiOS is available in parts of Portland, but apparently not where we're going to be living.  Boo.)  From doing some research online, it seemed like the choice came down to Qwest's being cheaper but possibly slower online and definitely more frustrating on customer service, compared to Comcast's higher expense.

Anyway, the part relevant to TiVo is that both Comcast and DirectTV apparently scramble their signals, so you need their unscrambling boxes to watch anything.  This is great for them, since they can sell you their DVR service, but it looks to be pretty bad for TiVo, which can't do the nifty "season pass" recording and all the other smart stuff it's known for.

The best company in the world

. . . in my view is TiVo.

Not just because it invented a device that has become indispensable for me, but also for truly incredible customer service.

My upstairs TiVo, which had been having some problems already, died for good the other night.  We'd bought it used off ebay and gotten a decent life out of it, so I wasn't too bothered.  The biggest downside was that all the new TiVos were far fancier than I needed for a backup DVR.  Still, I figured on spending about $150-200 for a new TiVo.  So I started by calling TiVo to cancel the monthly subscription on that device.

"Would you like to send us the broken TiVo and we'll send you a replacement?" the customer service woman asked.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked, not exactly sure what she was offering.

She explained that I could send the broken TiVo and they would send a new TiVo free of charge.  It was a service they offered for long time customers.

After looking further at my records, she noted that I had a 40 hour, single tuner TiVo.  Unfortunately, she pointed out, TiVo didn't make any more of those, so all they could offer would be an 80 hour, dual tuner TiVo.  A few people complain about that, she said.

Sure enough, less than a week later, a brand new shiny TiVo arrived at my doorstep.

As a customer, I totally love TiVo.  I'm not sure how I'd feel as an investor, but my wife did point out that in a time when cable and satellite companies are offering their own DVRs, it's probably a good business practice to keep a loyal customer hooked, ensuring a further monthly subscription fee.

amazon.com earns my loyalty

So I decided to give in to the I-pod fad, as I will be doing some traveling this semester.  It turned out that amazon.com had a good deal on the 4 gig mini, and I placed my order last week.  Since I'm cheap and opt for the super saver shipping, I expected the usual three or four day delay between ordering and shipping.  By Saturday, my account indicated that my order would be "shipping soon."  However, on Sunday I got a mysterious e-mail telling me that there was an unexpected delay with my order.  Yet, my account status still read "shipping soon."

Today, I e-mailed amazon, just asking how long of a delay I should expect.  I wasn't upset, as I don't really have a need for the I-pod right now (though I would like to test it out).

Not only did I get a response within about 4 hours -- ironically, during which time, my account status changed to reflect that the item had shipped! -- but the response, effusive with apologies, came with a $10 gift certificate!

As Homer would say, "Woo Hoo!"

(Speaking of Homer, who can listen to this and not burst out laughing?)

The impact of TiVo on ad rates?

Ever since I got TiVo, I've mostly stopped watching commercials on TV.  The only exception is when I watch something "live," but even then, I sometimes pause the show long enough to be able to skip past commercials and "catch up."

But I'm not perfect with the TiVo remote control, so sometimes I end up catching the last few seconds of the last commercial before the program starts up.  So that got me wondering; as TiVo and other digitial video recorders become more popular, will ad rates for the same show start to diverge in price based on their placement?  It might make sense that those ads right before the program starts again would be more expensive.

C-Span, the USA PATRIOT Act hearings, and TiVo

Did you catch the PATRIOT Act hearing on C-Span on Friday night?  I knew it would be interesting to watch because I'd read earlier that day that Rep. Sensenbrenner (the committee chair) walked out of the hearing, fed up with what he perceived as obstructionism by the Democratic members of the committee.

Indeed, Sensenbrenner did walk out after adjourning the hearing when the witnesses (invited by the Dems, I think) weren't yet done testifying.  Rep. Nadler continued to speak, but his microphone was periodically cut off, only to come back, and then be cut off again.

Sensenbrenner's argument was that very little of what the witnesses had to say concerned the USA PATRIOT Act (the subject of the hearing) but instead focused on complaints about Guantanamo Bay, etc.  Of course, the Republicans weren't above playing this game.  Rep. Pence spent his allotted time berating the representative from Amnesty International about that organization's characterization of Guantanamo Bay as a "gulag."  (Hey, it's an overblown comparison, but it's the nature of rhetoric. . . .  It's not like Republicans don't do things like that.  Just consider Sen. Santorum's infamous "man on dog" comment while discussing his opposition to gay marriage.)

Anyway, I can kind of see the point that I think the Democrats were trying to make, which is that if you are going to be talking about renewing counterterrorism powers for the government, it's relevant to consider how responsibly the government has used those -- and other -- powers.  Still, I think that only goes so far.  A lot of what the Democrats don't like about the war on terrorism -- Guantanamo, the detention of Padilla and Hamdi, etc. -- falls under the Department of Defense, not the Department of Justice.  Focusing on DOJ excesses would therefore be more persuasive to me as a basis for listening to witnesses testify during PATRIOT Act hearings.

In any event, I wish that TiVo had some way of knowing what C-Span will be broadcasting, because I'd probably go ahead and TiVo all the hearings on the PATRIOT Act. . . .

TiVo lets me down. . . .

It finally happened.  TiVo let me down.

Because we've had relatives in town, and because we took off for Orlando for the last weekend, I've had a lot of TV to catch up on.  Not only that, I haven't deleted any episodes from this season's "24" yet (which worked out well because we were able to introduce my mother-in-law to it).  Finally, I record most programs in "High" quality, not the lowest setting; so my TiVo will store about 38 hours, not 80 (as it's rated).

The upshot is that apparently I exceeded its memory, and it started to delete programs to make room for new ones to be recorded.  Did it delete last week's "Alias" (which I hadn't watched yet)?  No, it kept that.  (I must have had it on "Save until I delete").  But it did delete the season finale of "The Amazing Race," which I hadn't watched (though Yahoo! spoiled it for me already).

D'oh!

What's most annoying is that the programs TiVo needed space to record were this week's "Alias" (blah) and "Mythbusters" (repeats about 20 times a month), as well as "Survivor" and "The Apprentice" (watch and delete).

My Tivo is going to overflow

I didn't get a chance last night to watch "24," so it's still sitting in my Tivo.  And tonight, there's the first Hollywood episode of "American Idol," plus the season finale of "The Amazing Race 6" (which dating couple will win?), and a new episode of "Veronica Mars."  It's so much I even have to resort to the vcr (which has been relegated to backup status).  That's 5 hours of prime TV . . . .  And tomorrow brings new episodes of "American Idol," "Lost," and "Alias."  And Thursday brings "The Apprentice," and Friday brings "Battlestar Galactica," and Saturday brings "MI-5," and Sunday brings "Boston Legal."

Help!!!!