Way back on February 24, I wrote this about the rumored Apple TiVo buy-out:
Microsoft has said many times that it wants Windows at the center of everyone's digital lifestyle, as the hub for digital content and family life. At the same time, Apple has put strong stakes in this ground, with the iPod, the iTMS, and iLife (iPhoto, GarageBand, iMovie, etc.). In effect, Apple is way ahead of Microsoft in making the digital lifestyle a reality. What they lack is the central hub.
Apple has been trying to make Mac OS X that hub by leveraging the success of the iPod/iTMS. They've even made it easy for Windows users to stream music from one system to another through the iTunes Sharing feature, which is completely cross-platform and so easy to use anyone can get it working in 5 minutes. But Mac OS X is tied to Apple's core products -- Apple computers. And therein lies the problem. Only geeks have computers in their family rooms connected to their TVs.
And today Think Secret reports that "Reborn Mac mini set to take over the living room". The Apple-TiVo deal died a death (although I secretly hope they're collaborating furiously in the background) but Apple's intentions have always been very clear: we will own your digital lifestyle. And so they should! Front Row was a surprise to me and many, I think, but it's been positively received and is clearly the foundation for one of Apple's infamous rapid-iterative-improvements product deployments. (Hey, it worked for OS X, why not a key app like Front Row?)
Personally, I can't wait for an OS X-based PVR. Not sure I'd be the first in line to buy one but I'd definitely be looking over early adopters' shoulders with keen interest.
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