[mythtv-users] Let's get our heads straight here on listings solutions

Joe Borne joe.borne at gmail.com
Mon Jun 25 13:16:08 UTC 2007


 > On Fri, Jun 22, 2007 at 07:37:17PM -0400, Joe Borne wrote:
> > [deletia]
> >
> > >> You really aren't following the logic here. Every action is in some way
> >
> >  >  Sure I am. I am merely not fixating on the distance between where
> > > we are and where we want to be and despairing because that gulf seems
> > > insurmountable.
> >
> > Actually you're not. If you were you wouldn't keep citing examples and
> > metaphores that don't even remotely apply. So far: you've tried to
> > compare a for-profit to a charity, assumed an entire industry would
> > embrace an idea they already know is unprofitable, and now below you
>
>         They "know" no such thing.
>
>         They also already provide the data we're interested, at no
> cost but not in a format that's easily digestible for our purposes.
>
> > presume that someone who makes his living predicting technology and
> > sociological trends cannot see past the next 90 days (also wrong, as I
> > said "60 days".)
>
>         Futurologists are like weathermen.
>
> [deletia]
>
>         I need to put that on a bumper sticker.

I swore I wasn't going to wade back into this debate, since the
original author of the idea in question posted such a lucid, and
polite response. So I wont' respond to the above jabs that really
don't serve to move us in a productive direction.

But I can't let the whole "futurology" comment pass, as I really don't
want to be lumped into that camp. I am oft quoted as saying that
weatherman are one step up from crystal ball gazers. Futurologists
are, with a few notable exceptions, one step up from weatherman, IMHO.

But what I do is wholly different in that it applies more to the
"micro" than the "macro" prediction field. IT business analysis and
outcome prediction is a discipline that's wholly grounded in sound
science. There is always room for interpretation of the data, but
proper application of post modern psychological techniques has a high
success rate. Every corporation in America utilizes these tools to
varying degrees.

Apple Computer (just "Apple" now, as I understand) is a great example
of a company that uses BA work with incredible results. They examine
the psychology of the desires of their customers and then work
backwards to a solution. The results speak for themselves. You may or
may not like their products, but their success is undeniable.

The RIAA and more recently the MPAA is a great example of the reverse.
Rather than look into the needs and desires of their customers and
finding a way to satisfy them, they instead looked for the best way to
serve themselves and exploit their customers. They have since then
attempted every tactic in the book to convince people that DRM is
good. Once again, the results speak for themselves.


So how does that apply to us?

Well, the problem we face here is neither strategic, nor tactical
(another bizarre fallicy voiced by my logic challenged detractor), but
motivational. None of the ideas voiced here have provided enough
motivation for the station owners to perform this task for us. In
addition , it would require tremendous effort to gather, organize and
control this data. Our erstwhile brothers overseas have tried this
with a meager 13 stations and have found it a daunting task.

I am all for ambitious ideas and for the creation of something better
than the Direct Data solution. However, we have a patient with a fatal
wound. Before Vietnam, doctors used to treat critically injured people
by patiently going about repairing every single problem. Quite often
the result was a perfectly repaired corpse as the body simply could
not endure the trauma. During Vietnam doctors started treating the
most life threatening issues first. They gave the patient time to
recover and then addressed the remaining issues in descending order
over several surgeries. This improved survival rates dramatically.

We have a similar situation here. Unless we fix this in the next 60
days, our guides will go dark. There are those who would argue, but in
essence the PVR abilities of MythTV would die. This cannot be allowed
to happen.

So my goal with the original post was to try to pull us out of the
folly of envisioning a perfect solution, and get us focused on fixing
the life threatening injury. Since even the most cursory analysis
shows that perpetuating Data Direct, or inserting a new commercial
provider is the most viable solution, we should focus our efforts
there.

Once we are past September, and we are all still scheduling our
favorite shows for time-shifted viewing, we can look to the future.
Then I will be more than happy to see any and all ideas, no matter how
far-fetched, be entertained. The beauty of open source is it's mimicry
of the evolutionary process. The best ideas will thrive and the others
will die off naturally.

Best Wishes.


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