The Hopp Stop

New TiVo features; Leopard quick take; crazy cabbie

TiVo has started enabling some sharing features on the TiVo Series 3 and HD models. I'm waiting for the software update to come through on my Series 3. Once it does, I will confirm whether I can transfer programs to my Mac for archiving and viewing. See PVR Blog story here for an overview.

So far, I can see the programs on my TiVo using TiVo Decode Manager, but can't copy them (presumably because I need the latest software upgrade). If I can copy the video files and save them as the raw MPEG-2 files for later compression to iPhone/etc. format, that will be very, very cool. E.g., archive an HD version of all Michigan football games. I'll keep you updated, but this could be a major arrow in the quiver for TiVo compared to Comcast/etc. if the functionality works as described by PVR Blog.

Also, I have had Leopard installed on my two Macs since Saturday. So far, I'm enjoying the upgrade. Some enhanced functionality with Spaces, much-improved Finder, and the new sharing features (remote access and .Mac, especially) are very welcome. On the debit side, I ran into the boot blue screen issue with my MacBook (as linked to today in my daily links) but was able to resolve. More importantly, I haven't been able to take advantage of Apple Mail's new functionality, because it crashes EVERY TIME I open it within 5 minutes of being open. Not sure whether it is something to do with one of my e-mail accounts or maybe a residual hack from before, but I have to use Thunderbird until Apple releases an update to Mail.

Time Machine is probably the best feature for the average Mac user who doesn't back up regularly for a variety of reasons. Although I already back up once a week using SuperDuper!, Time Machine has the advantage of integration with the OS and hourly back-ups, so there is some benefit for me. I've got my mom and sister set up with SuperDuper! on their Macs (bought them each a program license and an external hard drive over the last couple years), but I worry that if something goes wrong with their backup setups while I'm away from Michigan, they'll be "naked" during that time. The screen sharing feature of Leopard will allow me to control their Macs remotely and confirm that everything is set up properly, whether via SuperDuper! or Time Machine.

Final note for the post: I used iFuntastic on Saturday to try to upgrade my jailbroken iPhone (meaning that I can install 3rd-party apps) from the old software version to the latest to add a little functionality while retaining the jailbroken status. I won't link to iFuntastic because the damn thing didn't work. I wound up with an iPhone that functioned fine but was no longer jailbroken. Argh. Luckily, the iPhone community released a slick hack method last night: just visit jailbreakme.com from your up-to-date iPhone's web browser and follow the directions. Next thing you know, you have 3rd-party apps back on your iPhone. Good stuff.

I used the voice recorder app on Friday night to record the crazy cabbie that drove Vanessa and I home. This was by far the craziest cabbie I've ever had. Here's a link to a ZIP of the audio file, which should play in RealPlayer or Quicktime: crazy-cabbie-1.zip Who's the baddest motherfucker in this cab! By the way, the profanity from our cabbie at around the 3 minute mark is when he was turning right on 15th at Valencia and almost hit a biker going by him. Here's the other audio file that I was able to grab (major bummer that I missed his initial diatribe about Schwarzenegger requiring that every woman in California wear a bunny suit, every day, and various off-color comments about how conservatively every woman dresses nowadays compared to the early '80s): crazy-cabbie-2.zip