It must feel disheartening, but I'd still like to know what you thought of it, if you change your mind. :-)

:) I porbably will still write it out. I did that for the last half of last season, though it was for myself since it never sparked discussion. Besides, I would like to be able to go back and read what everyone else thought.

...it'd be nice to be able to download it legally and without the hassle of every other method I've ever tried

I worked in copyrights when I worked at a local museum so I've always been weird about illegal downloads; they aren't worth it to me. (Actually, my two loves, fan fic and icons, rely on violations that make me uneasy, but the blind eye is turned so...) iTunes is exactly the sort of service I'm happy to pay for and thrilled to see. Also? legal download=less explosure to viruses and miscreants.

If I thought it would allow me to cap episodes I enjoyed, I'd pony up the money in a heartbeat. However, I'm pretty sure those things are coded nine ways to Sunday to keep that from happening.

Besides, I would like to be able to go back and read what everyone else thought.

:-) Are you like me and have to write out your own thoughts before you read any reviews? I don't know why, but I like to clarify my own thoughts before I read what everyone else thought. That's not to say that I'm not still influenced by it, because I am. Others always have so many good insights into things and notice things that I never notice, and so on.

iTunes is exactly the sort of service I'm happy to pay for and thrilled to see. Also? legal download=less explosure to viruses and miscreants.

Exactly on both counts. I never liked the idea of downloading entire TV shows either, but that's not to say that I haven't tried--always unsuccessfully. OTOH, I have downloaded clips--especially when the show was airing first in the UK in the second half of the season.

If I thought it would allow me to cap episodes I enjoyed, I'd pony up the money in a heartbeat. However, I'm pretty sure those things are coded nine ways to Sunday to keep that from happening.

I don't know. There are probably programs that can strip that away. I know that when I buy downloaded music, it's in WMV format. I bought CD players that would play WMV files, but they won't play the coded ones that I've downloaded, so I had to figure a way around that, which means burning them to CD and then ripping them from the CD with another program. I figure that's fair use since I *should* be able to play the music files on my own CD players. *g* Otherwise, what's the point?

If I get an iPod, I'll have to continue do the same, since that won't play my coded WMV files. I suppose I could start buying music from iTunes instead of MusicMatch, but that wouldn't help for the zillions of songs I already downloaded with MusicMatch over the past few years.

My Tivo is hooked up to my computer network, and I can transfer files of TV shows from one to the other or to any computer in the house. There are two programs that have the codes so that you can legally burn them to DVD on your computer, but there is also a program that you can use to strip the coding and turn it into a regular MPG files. (I've never tried burning with my computer, though, because I have an external DVD burner anyway, though it's broken right now.)

Are you like me and have to write out your own thoughts before you read any reviews?

Absolutely. If I start reading others' opinions, it's likely to color my impressions.

I figure that's fair use since I *should* be able to play the music files on my own CD players. *g* Otherwise, what's the point?

I'm with you there. To me, that's the other side of the coin. I don't mind participating in a system where those who produce are fairly compensated but once I've paid, I do expect that it's mine to use for my own personal use and I have precious little patience with companies trying to control my personal use. In fact, I think that stupidity leads to a "screw you, too" attitude and exacerbates the piracy problem.

My Tivo is hooked up to my computer network, and I can transfer files of TV shows from one to the other or to any computer in the house

I spent part of my vacation trying to do exactly that with my TiVo but for some reason it never did hook into my home network. Now that Joe is home with the laptop, I need to remember to get that set up.

Only certain wireless thingees will work, according to my husband. It's worked great for us. I recently got a second Tivo, but we don't have it hooked up to the network just yet.

Yeah, I'd read up on all the transmitters and which versions of firmware worked. I decided to make my life easier and just order a wireless card directly from TiVo. I'm wondering, actually, if there's something wrong with our router. The wired portions work but the wireless part has always been problematic. In any case, that's way more than you wanted to know. *grin*

It's a real pain but having the ability to pull content off my TiVo appeals very strongly to me. Especially now that we've switched to DSL and it does not like sharing the phone line with TiVo.

I decided to make my life easier and just order a wireless card directly from TiVo.

hehe That's what I would have done if my husband wasn't into it.

I'm wondering, actually, if there's something wrong with our router. The wired portions work but the wireless part has always been problematic. In any case, that's way more than you wanted to know. *grin*

*g* No, really, I'm interested. That would suck if there's something wrong with the router. Luckily ours has worked fine, but I think this is our second one.

It's a real pain but having the ability to pull content off my TiVo appeals very strongly to me. Especially now that we've switched to DSL and it does not like sharing the phone line with TiVo.

Yeah. When TivoToGo first came out, I transfered some episodes just because I could. *g* I really didn't have a reason to do it just yet.