TiVo programmer Ryan Rose has hacked his washing machine to send text message notifications over Twitter when his clothes are done. He did this for a practical reason, to prevent forgetting about his laundry which might sit in the damp washer and mildew. You can follow the washing machine’s activity on Twitter (412 people, including myself, already do) to be instantly informed when Mr. Rose’s laundry is done. Why would you want to? More on that later… Here’s video of “PiMPY” in action:

I’m a big fan of Activity Streams such as Twitter and FriendFeed. Once current user contributions across all the social web sites are freely distributed, with an emphasis on privacy, a new web era will arrive. My vision originates from Professor David Gelernter’s “Life Streams” as defined in his 1993 book Mirror Worlds: The Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox – How It Will Happen and What It Will Mean.

Apparently I am not alone in my opinion that Activity Streams are the next big thing. Some of the most influential people in social media (MySpace, Google, Plaxo, Comcast, Nokia just to name a few) recently attended a DiSo meeting to discuss the future of how their user’s activity will be published. (Ian Kennedy, formerly of Yahoo and now head of Nokia’s Ovi service, kindly recorded the DiSo meeting using his phone.) One of the points discussed during the event was that activity streams are not just generated by people but that machines, like PiMPY, can also broadcast what they’re doing. Mr. Rose’s place of employment is noteworthy, and it got me thinking about the possibilities of machines with their own activity streams – particularly TiVo. (more…)

Leaving comments across the blogosphere…

Control TiVo With Your iPhone for $3
I’m sorry, but a TiVo touchscreen remote is so much less efficient than the Glo remote. I don’t want to look down to change channels. Nor do I want to keep my iPhone on for a two hour Lost episode. I also prefer to adjust the volume on my television.

Boxee Gets ABC
Of course the challenge with services like Boxee, PlayOn, NeurosLINK is keeping up with the providers since as far as I can tell the stuff is being scraped. And should the providers make a change, these other guys will need to race to keep up. PlayOn’s had one or two Hulu outages for example when Hulu changed their site somewhat. Ideally, all the networks get on Hulu. And then Hulu gets on a box. Every episode, every season. (Of course, licensing doesn’t work that way with the various guilds and entities that all must be paid at rates that slide around depending on length of availability, release timing, etc – no one can afford it all.)

Apple TV Stays on its “Hobby” Horse
The bottom line here is that the living room is still a tough nut to crack if offering a separate box. The cable and satellite cos really have a stranglehold on the living room here in the US. (I wish we’d see a UK Freeview-esque movement which might open up the set-top box space.) Additionally, Bruce’s point is well taken. AppleTV is still too much of a closed ecosystem (without hacking) which in keeps many of the early adopters away – who often kickstart new tech adoption.

DISH Network coming to Windows Media Center
Draco? I thought it was Stargate. Too many codenames! Although, it’s possible there are two initiatives. Relaying ViP 211 content to a Media Center and some sort of Internet streaming. Then again, with the whole SlingGuide they may shift gears and this project could suffer the same fate of DirecTV’s MCE tuner.

MPAA vs RealDVD — Why You Care
No mention of the DVD Copy Control Association? They’ve licensed CSS to DVD-burning kiosks. So they, and the MPAA, may not necessarily be against sharing the tech and permitting archiving. (Before HD DVD was killed, Windows Vista archiving was demo-ed/pitched by Microsoft at CES.) But they didn’t produce, validate, or vette Real’s protection scheme. And it’s not Real’s technology to use without license. Having said that, I do agree many large companies are overzealous in claiming DMCA violations that appear to trump pre-existing fair use consumer protections. (In fact, I’m tired of YouTube takedown notices.) At the end of the day, most folks who want to archive their DVDs already know how. (Basically, I don’t believe there’s a market for Real’s software.) And I don’t see individual consumers, who don’t share their files on BitTorrent, being dragged into court for bypassing an encryption scheme or stealing.

Leaving comments across the blogosphere…

Video Of The Day: Engadget’s Netflix HD Streaming Shootout
I haven’t run my own Netflix streaming shootout, but I do own TiVo(s), an Xbox 360, and the Roku box. For ease of use and quickness, Roku wins. But it only outputs 720p HD. Meaning an old HD set like the one in my bedroom, a 30″ Panasonic CRT tube, which only accepts 1080i can’t resolve the input. So it’s 480p or nothing. Unfortunate. The Xbox interface is more efficient and attractive than TiVo, but the hardware is louder and it’s another unit to turn on. We mostly use TiVo, when it works. One movie crapped out half way (repeatedly) but worked/resumed fine on the Roku. It’s definitely an imperfect science at this point. (Plus, Netflix had an outage Saturday night during prime viewing time.)

TechCrunch Tablet Update: Prototype B
Wow, real nice work! Looks like TC’s assembling a solid team to pull this together. But, for the same money I’d rather buy a netbook. And my iPhone makes a pretty decent couch-based web tablet. The screen is small, but it’s a sunk cost and one less device to charge. Now if you got Ben Heck involved, I might feel different…

Belkin Responds to Fake User Review Charges
Honestly, it doesn’t matter what Belkin does in response. Amazon’s review system is broken. Competitors slam each other, companies pump themselves up, upset customers lash out, beta testers shill, etc. And then there’s Spore. They need to limit reviews to paying customers.

How To Fix CES in 2010
Great list. Especially killing the Sands and moving the date. And like I mentioned at the show, I’d like to see a Stage Two booth with all your cool clients in one place – another reason we won’t need the Sands. CES is one big all-encompassing tech event. Yet most of the mobile phone announcements are being held back until MWC in Barcelona next month and most camera announcements are being held back until their show in March. Which means, there’s not too much new to cover from most of those companies. Maybe we kill CES and just focus on the tech niche events. I’m tired of Vegas too – was bummed CTIA permanently (?) moved their spring show there. I really enjoyed the Orlando edition a couple years ago.

Later today, broadband-connected TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD subscribers will be treated to a revamped search experience. And, marking a first, TiVo is finally taking widescreen televisions seriously with a high-def interface utilizing that extra real estate. And, instead of carrying on with the questionable success of “Swivel Search” branding, this new offering is simply referred to as TiVo Search. Combined with a ‘beta’ designation and the visual similarity to those leaked prototype usability videos, I think what we’re really seeing is the foundation of a new (Java-based) TiVo look & feel. Some details from TiVo:

The new interface not only displays in high definition, it has a focus on finding high definition television content. TiVo search automatically recommends high definition television channels and episodes when users schedule a program to record. Additionally, users can now browse shows season by season and select any episode they want utilizing a robust episode guide. The newly tuned search engine also displays the most popular search results of the day automatically, even when typing only a single letter. Depending on availability users may record content from cable/antenna, download it from Amazon Video on Demand, or use WishList searches to record it the next time the content is broadcast.

All of which seems like the natural evolution of DVR search capabilities. But what really caught my eye, beyond the revamped UI, is seeing TiVo head back to their content discovery roots… by introducing a graphical and browseable video selection bar. It provides a richer, more interactive experience featuring video suggestions based on “community” popularity and subscriber’s personalized Thumbs Up/Down show ratings. Unfortunately, it’s probably inevitable that we’ll also see some sponsored placements.

TiVo’s soliciting feedback of their new Search widget and, based on a brief trial yesterday, my first comment is that the fonts are too small. In the size/quantity equation, I’d rather see less information that is more readable.

Nearly two years to the day that Roxio (finally) brought TiVoToGo video transfers to Mac owners, they’ve announced an updated Toast bundle that facilitates shipping video files to a TiVo. Whereas TiVoToGo enables one to download TiVo recordings to a computer, this new feature provides Mac users with a means of transmitting video from computer to television. However, this isn’t entirely new… Video transcoding and delivery have been available to PC TiVo Desktop Plus customers for some time and there’ve even been a few freebie community applications with this functionality.

In discussing the the new Toast software package with TiVo yesterday, it seems that any video capable of being viewed within the OS X QuickTime Player can be transcoded and transferred via the Mac2TiVo utility. However, the similarity to TiVo Desktop Plus end there… as the software will not monitor and transfer web video feeds.

Roxio Toast 10 with Mac2TiVo should be available later this month for $100. As with prior releases, I’d keep an eye out for coupon codes, rebates, and steep discounts through vendors like Buy.com.

Leaving comments across the blogosphere…

Technology Predictions for 2009
TeleNav is already an excellent application on many handset platforms and carriers. For a more “dedicated” experience, I have a feeling the continually delayed Garmin Nuvifone will be too little, too late, and too buggy. So I’m going on the record and stating Apple will either introduce a new iPhone GPS, or more likely, will offer true GPS turn-by-turn software/directions to iPhone 3G customers. For a fee. (And may continue to lock out third parties, though we’ll see…)

GeekTonic Media Gadget Predictions for 2009
One one hand, I can see BeyondTV going away. But I wonder if the enterprise solution can sustain them. If not, what else does Rakesh have cooking? He’s one sharp dude and he knows how to network. But the broader economic conditions suck. Maybe he’ll surprise you with BTV5 instead.

TV Networks won’t abandon local broadcasts. The national companies and local broadcasters have different, and sometimes conflicting, business models. It’s kinda analogous to car manufacturers and dealerships.

If I hadn’t been stuck on the road this week, I would have done a 2008 wrap up. Oh well! As far as predictions, I generally try to stay away from that. Though I have no problem disagreeing with others. I’m still hoping for an Apple digital camera – if not, how about an iPhone HD with (higher resolution) picture and video capabilities.

Video Innovations We’d Love to See at Macworld Expo
There’s no “check mate” unless an AppleTV tuner handles digital cable. It’d certainly be more compelling than the current ATV, but it’s not going to replace a cable- or satellite-capable set-top box. Which is where most of us get our television programming these days.

TiVo Desktop Has Serious Bugs
Yeah, TiVo Desktop is a bastard child. I paid my money but never use it. Maybe we’ll hear of some updates in Vegas this week, but who knows. Although I’d like to see ALL of the ‘web video’ stuff handled in ‘the cloud’, if not natively on the box. Regarding ‘business deals’, I don’t think there are any. I think it’s just cross-promotional handshake agreements.

Switch to Windows Home Server in 2009?
I agree the new HP Windows Home Server units are compelling. But I’m waiting until after CES (and Macworld)… Bet Drobo intros something new and who knows what Apple’s cooking up.

As I discovered earlier this month, i.TV has indeed been working on TiVo scheduling. Their updated i.TV iPhone app now links to your TiVo web account to schedule recordings. And i.TV’s television guide sure beats TiVo’s own mobile site. Assuming you can get it to work. Although I didn’t have good luck (pic below), Alex over at TiVoBlog.com was more successful.

This new feature joins Netflix queue management and various video previews. But the i.TV folks may have even grander intentions, recently unveiling an eWallet – initially, for movie ticket purchases. i.TV’s worth keeping an eye on…