Merry X-mas to me! I’m the happy owner of a brand new 2011 VW Golf TDI! I’ve been wanting to get a smaller car for some time as I’ve always liked the gas mileage, handling, and convenience (easier to park) of small cars. My first car was a little Honda Civic hatchback (Tahitian Green!) which I loved to drive. Even though my last two vehicles have been SUVs (Toyota 4-Runner presently and Chevy Blazer before that), I’ve always felt a bit guilty driving them. After all, 95+% of the driving I do is just to haul myself and perhaps one other person around. Burning large amounts of fossil fuels driving such a large and heavy hunk of steel around just seemed excessive. And let’s face it, big, top-heavy SUVs just aren’t very responsive and fun to drive. Of course, an SUV is really nice for many of the outdoor activities we do, but for the vast majority of driving that I regularly do, I yearned for a smaller, more environmentally friendly, and fun-to-drive car.

When the Honda CR-Z was introduced, I was really excited. It was the first small car in recent years that I found compelling. I really liked the styling of the CR-Z as well as the concept of a sport-hybrid – sporty performance coupled with hybrid efficiency. When I took it for a test drive, however, I found that there was quite a significant blind spot on the driver’s side. This is the kind of thing that I would have to deal with on a regular basis and would just grate on me over time. I also was disappointed with the mileage. Even though it’s a sport hybrid, I expected the highway mileage to at least be in the 40s considering the small size of the car (it’s a 2-seater). After all, the Prius’ mileage is in the 50s. Unfortunately, the CR-Z was only rated 31/37 mpg. Mainly for the blind spot issue, but also for the lackluster mileage, I decided to forgo the CR-Z.

The other vehicle I was considering was of course the Volkswagen Golf TDI. I really liked the styling (though not quite as much as the CR-Z) as well as the great mileage (30/42 mpg) and peppiness of the clean diesel engine. On the other hand, I had some doubts about getting a VW. My perception of the VW brand, particularly from a reliability standpoint, wasn’t the best, especially when compared to Honda and Toyota. After some digging, however, I found that while VW’s quality has been lacking in years past, things seem to have improved quite a bit in recent years.

I was also a bit leery about getting a diesel vehicle, particularly after reading about some TDI owners having serious issues with their high pressure fuel pumps. I went back and forth, and at one point was seriously considering the VW GTI which looks just like the Golf but has higher performance and cooler-looking wheels. The cost of the GTI and Golf TDI are about the same, and although the GTI gets appreciably worse mileage (24/33 mpg), it uses unleaded fuel which is currently cheaper than diesel. I was actually leaning towards the GTI until I found out that GTIs must use super unleaded gas. Super unleaded costs about as much as diesel, so the GTI’s relatively poor mileage tipped the scales back in favor of the TDI.

After some more thinking, I decided to go with the TDI. Most of the reported TDI problems were from a couple years ago so my thinking/hope is that VW has most likely already fixed this issue in the 2011 models. I also plan to take my car to a well regarded local VW mechanic (word on the net is that for TDIs, you really want it serviced by a mechanic highly experienced with VWs and TDIs) and will have him do an inspection of the HPFP prior to my warranty expiring. If there are any issues, I’ll just trade the car in for something else.

So I made the plunge and thus far, I’m loving this car! It has more power and handles waaaaay better than anything I’ve ever owned. The interior is very refined looking, one of the hallmarks of Volkswagens (and German cars in general). This is the first car I’ve owned with iPod integration and a Bluetooth phone connection, both of which are awesome! And it’s been a blast driving stick after many years of only driving automatics. The only problem thus far is that I find I’m often going much faster than I think – this car really wants to go! I definitely need to be better aware of that going forward.

Anyhow, here are some pics of my new ride.

Today was a very sad day as Judy and I made the heart-breaking decision to put Latte to sleep. As many of you may know, Latte’s health has been steadily declining for the last year or two. She was originally diagnosed with some kind of disc compression/degeneration issue which affected the nerves running to the rear part of her body. This caused her rear legs to become weaker, and she would often drag her rear legs when she walked. What was worse, her condition meant that she had less and less control over urinary and bowel functions (we’ve had Latte in diapers for the last 6 months or so which, believe me, is definitely not fun).

When Latte was first diagnosed with the problem, the vet prescribed steroids which were actually quite effective for several months (a side effect was that it ratcheted up Latte’s metabolism – she was always hungry!). Unfortunately, the steroids eventually began to lose their efficacy. We recently upped her steroid dosage by 50% which improved things for a few weeks, but her deteriorating condition soon negated any benefits of the higher steroid dosage. Latte’s leg dragging had gotten so bad that the nails in her rear legs had almost completely worn away (which I discovered one day after finding red streaks all over our carpet).

We decided to both be with Latte during her final moments. Latte gets very stressed out when she’s with strangers so we wanted to make sure she felt as comfortable as possible. The process is very humane. The vet first gives Latte a sedative shot which basically makes her slowly fall asleep. The second shot is the one that causes her bodily functions to shut down, and it works very quickly – within seconds after the second shot was administered, we knew that Latte was gone.

I have had many dogs throughout my life, but Latte was definitely the one I grew most attached to and she was the only one that ever had to be put down. This was quite possibly the saddest moment of my life, and Judy’s as well. It was a very tough decision, but we ultimately felt it was the right thing to do. Latte lived a happy and full 15 years which is quite a long time for a Cocker Spaniel. Judy and I have many fond memories of Latte and will always cherish them. Latte Cocker Spaniel Dog, aka Cocker Spaniel Dog, aka Latte Shaggy Dog, aka Barrel Dog (her torso was like a barrel, especially when she got a bit overweight), aka Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Dog, aka The Dog, aka Dog, will sorely be missed.

Lindsey’s surprise birthday gift to Judy was for Judy to meet Misty May who, with Keri Walsh, won Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008 in women’s beach volleyball. Misty was at a book signing for her new book Misty May, Digging Deep in Volleyball and in Life where Judy and Lindsey took the opportunity to meet Misty as well as to take a few photos with her.

Judy, Patty, and I completed the Tour de Tahoe, a scenic 72 mile ride around Lake Tahoe. The ride was well organized and well supported and even though Patty had a slew of mechanical problems (3 flat tires!), we all had a lot of fun.

After our ride, we met up with Ryan, Connie, Emilia, and Kelly for a couple days of bouldering. None of us were in very good climbing shape, but the weather, company, and just being outdoors made for a great time.

Ryan has a more detailed trip report on his and Connie’s site. Here are the pics and vids I compiled (a mix of pics/vids from my camera as well as those from Connie/Ryan). I’m aware of a funky formatting issue with some of the larger/wider videos (the “next” arrow ends up overlapping the video), but won’t have time to fix it for a while.

(click pic for larger version)

Wow, this is pretty cool. The print edition of the Wall Street Journal devoted nearly half a page to its review of the Slide remote. I had already read the online version of the article, but to see the print article with a giant photo of the remote is pretty awesome. Either it was a really slow news day or the Slide remote is just that cool. I prefer to think the latter.

Introducing the hands down, coolest remote in the world: the TiVo Slide! I’ve designed a lot of products in my career, but the Slide is, without a doubt, the one I’m most proud of and feel the most ownership over.

One of the most rewarding things for me about product design is being able to go into a store like Best Buy, see a product, and know that I designed it. Most people have no idea the amount of hard work, dedication, and creativity that goes into designing and creating great products. Understanding what it takes, seeing the end result sitting on a shelf, and knowing that it is, or will be, used and enjoyed by many people is a fantastic feeling. For me, it provides a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, and is one of the main factors that motivate and drive me.

The Slide remote, however, went a step beyond that. To come up with an idea, push that concept through the company, and then design and bring that idea to production represents to me another level of accomplishment. It’s a big part of why the Slide is so special to me.

There were certainly some unique challenges in designing a slider remote. Without giving away anything (we can’t just give away our secrets now, can we?), there were quite a few things to consider. Typical remote considerations like size, shape, button set/size/shape/layout, usability/ergonomics, and aesthetics were complicated by the need to consider all these aspects in both the open and closed positions. In many cases, the various facets would fight against each other (e.g., improving one area in the closed position would result in compromises in another area in the open position).

Of course the sliding mechanism presented plenty of challenges of its own. Just about every remote that anyone has ever used contains no moving parts. As a result, people are accustomed to remote controls feeling very solid. So how do you make something that slides (and is thus inherently not solid) feel like it’s solid, especially in the closed (and predominant use) position?

The challenges were many, but I feel really good about how they were ultimately addressed, and am really happy with the end product. Users seem to agree as initial feedback, both internal and external, has been overwhelmingly positive.

Out of all the early reviewers, perhaps my favorite line is from CrunchGear (emphasis mine):

It’s just the classic TiVo peanut remote shrunk down a bit with a sliding QWERTY keyboard added. But how is it in practice? Pretty much the best thing on Earth.

I have to chuckle a bit at the first line in that quote, but the last line in the quote more than makes up for it and affirms many of the design decisions made.

Here are some additional reviews: Gizmodo, Engadget, CNET, Dave Zatz (ZatzNotFunny), Dave Zatz’s video review, Wall St. Journal, Slash Gear, Electronista, and BetaNews.

We’re currently featuring the Slide remote on the front page of tivo.com (click on pic below for larger size):

Now if you’re astute, you may have noticed the “Watch Video” link. Well, our creative/marketing group decided to have me and our industrial designer do a little promotional video for the Slide remote. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it because even though I absolutely dread watching myself on that video, the unfortunate reality is that the video was a memorable event for me (hey, I didn’t say it was a good memory) and one of the primary purposes of this website is to help capture memorable moments in my life.

The video may be hard to find from the home page on tivo.com (and won’t be there forever) so here’s the direct link. It’s also on TiVo’s YouTube channel:

[sigh] I’ve really got to talk to somebody about changing the default frame in that YouTube video. I look bad enough in the video, but that default frame is particularly bad [deeper sigh].

Now onto some better looking things. Here are some pics of the Slide remote.

Disclaimer: Any and all content posted on this website regarding TiVo represent the views and opinions of the author only and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of TiVo, Inc.

The latest fruits of my labor: the sleek and incredibly sexy TiVo Wireless N adapter. It has the same design language as our original wireless G adapter, but several aesthetic enhancements to the design make it look far cooler.

For starters, the metal base is stunningly beautiful. Whereas the G adapter has a lighter colored brushed metal finish, the N adapter uses a black chrome finish giving it a much classier, sophisticated, and high-end look. It’s drop-dead gorgeous if I do say so myself!

With the G adapter, I was never quite happy with the logo treatment. The logo is printed on a label which is then stuck on – it’s basically a sticker which, perception-wise, just seems a bit cheap. The N adapter’s logo is monochrome silver and back (in and of itself cooler IMO), and the TiVo guy actually protrudes from the plastic, giving the logo depth. And not only is the face of the TiVo logo silver, but so are the sidewalls of the protruding logo.

Design details aside, the N adapter offers much better range and speed compared with our G adapter. And if you have a WPS capable router, then connecting the adapter to your router is as simple as pushing a button on your router and then pushing a button on the adapter.

Here’s some pics of our N adapter. It’s available now on tivo.com and various retailers.

Disclaimer: Any and all content posted on this website regarding TiVo represent the views and opinions of the author only and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of TiVo, Inc.

Today, we introduced the Premiere and Premiere XL which both feature the cool new wide-screen HD UI (High-Definition User Interface for the lay people). They also feature remote controls designed by yours truly.

To the casual eye, the Premiere XL remote probably doesn’t look much different from the current Series3 / TiVoGlo remote. However, there are some important changes.

Perhaps the most obvious is the inclusion of the four colored A B C D buttons which will be used for various functions in the UI. My feelings towards these buttons are somewhat mixed. On the one hand, I generally oppose adding any buttons to the remote. On the other hand, these buttons, particularly with the colors we have chosen, really add some nice visual pop against the glossy black plastic. And of course, I can see the benefit such flexible function buttons provide from a UI standpoint.

The battery architecture was also changed from 4 AAA batteries to 2 AA batteries. AA batteries are generally cheaper and more readily available than AAA, and the charge capacity of 2 AA batteries is actually higher than 4 AAA batteries. This required a slight expansion to the remote’s form, especially in the “waist” area, but the feel/ergonomic difference is virtually imperceptible. Some might even say that the slightly expanded waist feels better.

We also went with a new faceplate design. By “faceplate”, I am referring to the glossy black plastic that surrounds the keys. In the Series3 design, this was a clear piece of injection molded plastic that was painted black and then laser-etched to allow the backlight to shine through TiVo’s antennae and legs.

The Series4/Premiere remote uses a printed, cut, and formed piece of plastic (an applique in technical jargon). From a design standpoint, the appeal of this approach is that it enables the printing of a smooth gradient around the TiVo button (the white glow around the TiVo guy). The gradient/glow looks great in bright ambient light, but also in a dark room because it actually glows when the backlight is on.

Another big change (at least in the eye of this designer ) is that the TiVo button now actually has the true TiVo shape. In previous remotes, the TiVo body is very geometrical – it’s basically a trapezoid. The true TiVo guy has a much more organic body. When you compare the pre-Series4 TiVo button to the Series4 TiVo button, I think you’ll agree it looks much better.

From a backlight standpoint, we changed the backlight color from amber to white which results in brighter and more efficient lighting. We also utilized an improved light diffusion system which basically means that the backlight is more uniform among all the keys (reduced “hot spots” in which certain keys are more brightly lit than other keys). The Activity light (the light that flashes with each key press) color was also changed from red to amber to match what the user sees on the TiVo box itself – the TiVo box flashes an amber LED with each successful remote button press.

I’m also happy that our basic remote (the one that ships with the base Premiere) now has the improved Series3/Series4 form which is much more comfortable and ergonomic (and sexier looking!). It also has the Select button in the middle of the navigation disc. In Series 2 remotes, the Select button is below the nav disc.

So there you have it. There’s a bit more to these remotes than meets the eye. And of course, they’re perfect complements to our great-looking Premiere boxes. Go out and buy one and see for yourself!

Here’s some pics of the Premiere and Premiere XL.

Disclaimer: Any and all content posted on this website regarding TiVo represent the views and opinions of the author only and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of TiVo, Inc.

Pics from Dave and Susan’s wedding and reception including a mesmerizing dance performance by Preston!

A few pics of the lazy Latte lounging.