Business 2.0 :: Magazine Article :: What Works :: Is TiVo NeXT?

Business 2.0 :: Magazine Article :: What Works :: Is TiVo NeXT? "Everyone who has TiVo (TIVO) loves TiVo; it is to television what Macintosh was to computing -- a revelation. Which is exactly why Apple (AAPL) should buy TiVo and once again redefine the intersection of culture and technology.
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TiVo should find a soft spot in Jobs's heart for other reasons. In January, TiVo announced that upcoming devices would use Apple's Rendezvous networking technology to allow TiVo-equipped TVs to play music and display photos stored on a Mac. Also, TiVo is similar to Jobs's erstwhile NeXT Software -- an expensive and risky endeavor, but eerily prescient. When Jobs returned to Apple, he brought NeXT with him, and its core technologies are burrowed deep into OS X, the elegant operating system at the center of Apple's new "iLife" media strategy.
Jobs could do the same with TiVo. With a depressed market cap and nearly 625,000 customers, TiVo is a steal. Jobs would have to unwind some messy licensing agreements, but he's done that before. His next step would be to apply Apple's design elegance and create an "iTV" device that integrates with Macintosh OS X, the Internet, and your cable or satellite box. Talk about a revolution. Once Apple turned on the marketing and PR offensive, we'd have one hell of a Hollywood drama unfolding. And with Jobs in the lead role, it'd be awfully fun to watch."

Via David Farber