Reprieve

Belying the conventional wisdom that it would break off the relationship to pursue its own DVR technology, DirecTV today announced a three-year extension of the frequently-stressed alliance with TiVo. Interestingly, the companies agreed not to assert patent rights against the other. TiVo is currently suing DishTV for infringment, so I'm thinking Murdoch's minions were more motivated by fear than friendship. Unfortunately for us DirecTiVo users, the agreement seems to freeze the status quo, and so is unlikely to extend "modern" TiVo services like music- and photo-sharing to our boxes. Boo!