As many have written me, the TiVo folks have finally started releasing "TiVo to Go," which is a new feature for most Series 2 TiVos. If you have your machine networked with your computer, you can record a show on your TiVo and then transfer it to your PC. (A Macintosh version is somewhere in the future.) From your computer, you can then — with additional software, soon to be released — burn the show to a DVD. If you go to this page, you can find out all about the process and even sign up, as I just did, for a "priority upgrade," which means they move you up on the list to receive the new software.
I look forward to this upgrade but a tiny part of me resents having to wait in line. I owned one of the first TiVos made, and have continually upgraded and purchased new models, and I think they should cater to "charter subscribers" before they service Johnny-come-latelys to the wondrous world of TiVo. It's odd — and yes, I know it's probably not healthy — to have an emotional connection to a product. I think TiVo is the best thing to happen to television since Chuck Barris retired. If nothing else, I find it so liberating that I never have to fret about being home on time to watch a certain show or to hassle with setting the VCR. I can go about my life, comfortable in the knowledge that the latest broadcast of The Daily Show will always be there to watch when I'm ready to watch it…and I can pause it or rewind it or watch part and then stop and go get lunch and watch the rest tomorrow. It makes you feel like you own your TV instead of the other way around.