Critiquing TiVo

I'm not a TiVo owner, but as my numerous ReplayTV-mentioning writeups over the years can attest, I am (more accurately, my wife is) a PVR fan. Jim Barton, cofounder, senior vice president, and CTO of TiVo, has written a thorough treatise in ACM Queue (Slashdot provides commentary). His article covers the initial vision, development and evolution of his company's PVR platform, service and ecosystem, along with a few hints on what the company's got planned for the future (if it survives, that is). It's recommended reading for TiVo fans and consumer electronics developers alike.