TiVo Premiere now free on contract for $20 monthly, as TiVo introduces (and enforces) tiered subsidies
November 14, 2010 No Comment
Well, it seems we finally know why TiVo was waxing poetic about software in recent months — it’s the way the company primarily plans to charge for its DVR hardware from now on. Following a week-long experiment of free-on-contract DVRs conducted last month, TiVo’s opening up subsidized and partially subsidized pricing tiers to the entire US for those willing to chain themselves to a pricier $20 monthly fee. You can now get a TiVo Premiere for $0 on a two-year contract or $100 with a one-year arrangement, or pick up a TiVo Premiere XL for $300 on a one-year deal — the same price the regular old 45-hour TiVo Premiere cost originally. TiVo’s also kept the original $12.95-a-month plans around in case you want to pay full price for your hardware, which would normally make better financial sense after about three years, if not for the fact that there are still lifetime subscriptions available for $400 if you’re truly in it for the long haul. We’re all for expanding our buying power in this arena, but there’s one group of customers who are liable to get mighty pissed at the new arrangement — the regular Joes and Janes headed to Best Buy right now to pick up a $99 TiVo Premiere “on sale.” You see, retailers apparently didn’t get the memo about the new tiered pricing and are advertising the arrangement as a $200 discount instead, which leaves TiVo’s fine print the unenviable role of explaining that they’re going to pony up $20 a month from now on. 2.1.2 When purchasing a TiVo Premiere box from a third party retailer at $99.99 (includes an instant $200 savings off MSRP) for the TiVo Premiere box or $299.99 (includes an instant $200 savings off MSRP) for the TiVo Premiere XL box, you may only subscribe to the TiVo Service on a monthly basis for $19.99 a month with a one (1) year commitment (renews monthly after one year). Choices, choices. [Thanks, Daniel and Chris R.] TiVo Premiere now free on contract for $20 monthly, as TiVo introduces (and enforces) tiered subsidies originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …On the Canals of Copenhagen, A Mixed Use Development is Home to a City in a Building (Video)
November 14, 2010 No Comment
Photo: seier + seier under a Creative Commons license . In Copenhagen, a new building is now offering 62,000 square meters for residential, commercial, and communal use. Completed just a few weeks ago, the 8 House is the latest coup de maître of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels , whose remarkable work recently won him the European Prize for Architecture. Designed a… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …NYT’s Chan Pens Two Puff Pieces to Offset Thursday’s ‘Obama Rejected at G-20′ Faux Pas
November 14, 2010 No Comment
Don't go overboard with it, but have some pity on Sewell Chan at the New York Times. On Thursday evening online and in Friday's print edition, Chan was among three Times reporters who composed a report ripping President Obama's lack of results at the G-20 summit. The piece's original title — “Obama's Economic View is Rejected on World Stage” — originally appeared online and actually made its way into the print edition . The headline apparently didn't sit well with someone at the Times. As I noted in a previous post (at NewsBusters ; at BizzyBlog ), it was changed to “Obama Trade Strategy Runs Into Stiff Resistance” sometime on Friday. That was apparently not enough to satisfy whoever is charge of politically correct revisionism at the Times. Chan seems to have been assigned the thankless task of composing not one, but two, kiss-and-make-up pieces to smooth things over. read more
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Article by WorldNews.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. “Then tall Hector answered, ‘…I would feel deep shame if like a coward I stayed away from battle. All my life I have learned to be brave and to fight always in the front ranks of the Trojans, winning glory for myself…” -Homer, The Illiad With the recent United States Supreme Court decision rejecting an appeal by a gay rights group to openly allow gay men and women to serve in the country’s armed forces, until now, it has always been about the citizens “military” might. In other words and similar to Ancient Greece, the ideal citizen had to first prove himself/herself on the battlefield or in combat in order to be accepted as a true…
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President Barack Obama ended his 10-day trip today with a return visit to the 44-foot-high bronze Great Buddha statue in Japan, noting he was “only 6″ when he last visited the sacred site. (Nov. 14)
Continue reading …Scientists put color on your bling with micro carvings, gangsters pacified
November 14, 2010 No Comment
Remember that time when you sipped some herbal tea and thought, “I really want a pink gold ring ?” Yeah, that was some good tea alright, but the brainiacs at the University of Southampton have actually found a way to achieve this potential fashion trendsetter. The idea is simple: rather than coating metals — especially naturally colored ones like gold and copper — with paint, these folks alter their color by using an ion beam to carve fine patterns that are smaller than visible light’s wavelength. The resultant metamaterial dramatically boosts the metals’ light absorption efficiency, thus reflecting a different color depending on the pattern’s radius and etch depth. So for instance, gold can reflect colors ranging from orange to red to green to brown with its ring pattern etch depth ranging from 85nm to 205nm, respectively. See? We told you it’s simple, but there’s also some visual aid after the break to wrap up this science lesson. Continue reading Scientists put color on your bling with micro carvings, gangsters pacified Scientists put color on your bling with micro carvings, gangsters pacified originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Saturday Night Live Unites Bush and Kanye West to Bash the Former President
November 14, 2010 No Comment
As NewsBusters has been reporting all week, the media have used the occasion of George W. Bush's published memoirs “Decision Points” to rekindle their hatred for the 43rd president. Not surprisingly, NBC's “Saturday Night Live” took its shots at Bush by uniting him with Kanye West during “Weekend Update” (video follows with transcript and commentary): read more
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AUNG San Suu Kyi has emerged from seven years of house arrest to deny she feels any antagonism towards Burma's ruling generals. At the same time she…
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Highlights of this day in history: Nazi Germany bombs English town of Coventry during World War II; ‘Moby-Dick’ published; Nellie Bly begins globe-trotting trek; Leonard Bernstein makes conducting debut; Composer Aaron Copland born. (Nov. 14)
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Image: Sandia National Laboratories Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have announced a breakthrough that could lead to break-even nuclear fusion reactions within 2-3 years. The goal of nuclear fusion research is to make energy from sea water, producing only the harmless gas helium as a result of the fusion reaction. It is the holy grail… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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