layout: post title: "Om Malik: TiVo, the digital hub, powered by Strangeberry?" created: 1075435200 categories:
- Home Server
Om Malik comments on the TiVo Strangeberry acquisition:
So what are they really building? My best guess is that Strangeberry crew, all former Sun folks, developed a piece of software that actually makes finding devices on the home networks as easy as turning on the power switch. And it is using some variant of Apple’s Rendezvous technology. I remember these guys had released some variation of Rendezvous for Java in the early days of their operation. Rendezvous is a technology which can and does work with all sort of networks - Wi-Fi, Ethernet or powerline networks.
Update: Om follows up on last week's post. In this corner, TiVo -- in the other corner, Microsoft.
Well, I've talked about the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) stuff before, and if you have a look at their download page, it does use Java. This is all, of course, in opposition to the Microsoft-backed Universal Plug and Play Forum…
After the tech implosion, all this consumer-facing home gateway stuff just went away. Now that VoIP is heading strong into the residential space, and stuff like Bluetooth is finally gaining ground, and WiFi is everywhere, and online music sales are growing....well, it might just be time to look at residential home gateways again. Did I mention that Cisco bought LinkSys?
I still see these platforms eventually moving towards the same space as commodity broadband home routers. They started out in the $200 - $300 range, and now are almost free. Of course, services and software bundled on top is where the money is going to come from. Open-source mesh networking folks that are experimenting with Linux-based wireless APs might be on to something: lots of boxes with a common platform means great potential for building services.
All in all, TiVo seems to continue making good decisions.