Randy Weber

Looks like there may be some more options for TiVo lovers. TiVo is about to launch their long-awaited HD-capable DVR on September 17th. It supports cable cards so no more boxes needed.

For Cox cable subscribers, there may be an additional solution.

The TiVo software will be made available for Cox users on DVR units. And the even better news is that no hardware upgrades will be required. The TiVo software will be downloaded to the existing Cox Motorola DVR boxes. This option won’t be available until 2007…

Happy Days!

After getting a haircut in Fort Worth, I was hungry for some pizza. Sandy pointed me to Mellow Mushroom by TCU. So I headed out to to Bluebonnet Circle.

She said it would be crowded and she was right. But it was worth it. The pizza was great. The service was good. Somewhat pricey for a pizza, but it was so good I’m not complaining. I had the Kosmic Karma. The crust was kind of thick. It was chewy. The sauce was pesto. I loved it.

Their pizza choices are pretty eclectic. I’m adding Mellow Mushroom to my list of good, unique pizzas.

How likely is this to be successful? More evidence that the bubble is back.

Google has been getting very aggressive with some of their recent deals. Their willingness to throw some money around to partners and to do one-off deals is increasing (Dell, AOL, Fox Interactive/MySpace, and the Associated Press come to mind).

I ran across this on ZDnet. It sums up nicely why they’re beginning to do this.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt, at last months Q2 earnings conference call, reconfirmed:

we are in the search business, so we need all of the information. We want to partner with people to get information so our search end users can see it.

We’re also in the advertising business, and we’d like to provide advertising services to people who have their own proprietary content. So depending on where we are in that spectrum, we either do an advertising deal or a content deal or a hybrid deal.

But ultimately our goal at Google is to have the strongest advertising network and all the world’s information, that’s part of our mission.

Google has finally realized that they’re going to have to share the wealth to acheive their vision. This is good news for those with valuable content. So hold out for the money.

Lifehacker had a thought provoking post about websites that changed your world. This took me on a trip down memory lane. Here’s what I came up with:

• AOL’s walled garden in the early 90’s (I know it’s not a web site, but it is where I got the online bug in the first place. I had some huge access bills, some topping $100!)
• MS Outlook Web Access (now I don’t have to bring my work PC home everyday, this has been huge for me, it was the best thing since sliced bread)
• back in the day it was MetaCrawler, now it’s Google (I’m still waiting for the next big thing)
• Yahoo Mail (I love it, warts and all)
• Wells Fargo online banking (I’ve written/mailed fewer than 20 checks since the late 90’s, this kicks ass!)
• amazon.com (I don’t always buy from them, but it’s a great place to research products)
• match.com and Yahoo Personals

Why does googlesux.com redirect to the Boston Red Sox’s home page? Is there some inside joke that I’m missing?

Signal vs. Noise had a nice post about ways to make money with software. They discussed:

• advertising
• subscriptions
• support fees
• combination

They liked subscription fees the best. 

They conspicuously left out licensing to other companies. A few astute commenters pointed this out.

For web-based applications, licensing is a great way to make money through co-brand and private-label relationships. The partner might use any of the models listed above to make money from your application or they might use it as a draw to get people to buy related products or services of their own.

Partnership models can include

• sharing revenue
• paying per use
• paying a fixed licensing fee

Avoid the temptation to do an exclusive deal with a major player. Exclusives are not the way to go because you’re stuck with one partner that may or may not continue to invest in the relationship. If you’re working with them on a revenue sharing or per-use arrangement, this will kill you.

Looking for companies with related products or services is a great place to start for seeking out these types of partnerships.  Don’t underestimate the value of business development.

I’ve been going to Amore’s for years. It’s not unusual for me to go multiple times per week. The service is good, as is the food. The prices are very reasonable. I generally get a slice of cheese pizza and a salad with house dressing, but the other things on the menu are also worthy of your consideration. It’s BYOB so bring some nice wine.

Am I the only one that saw the Travelpod tent and thought of Larry Page and Sergey Brin? I can see them taking their new 767 to Burning Man and staying in something like this.  Of course, they’ll need to upgrade the bed.

This is perhaps the best company motto I’ve ever seen. It belongs to online dating site Online Booty Call (definitely NSFW). From their latest press release:

Reaching the one million member mark with only a single reported marriage is a tremendous accomplishment. We don’t ask for your life story because we don’t care. We think online dating should be easy and fun and not a lot of work. We want members to party and have fun. Our motto is: ‘Finding the pieces without the puzzle.’

I would never have found this if not for the efforts of Dave Evans. Thanks.