Apple Should Buy TiVo?

I've felt for a long time that a natural extension of Apple's current success with iTunes, the iPod and AirPort would be some sort of "home" server. That server would most likely be located near your television and your stereo, so that it could serve video and audio to those appliances. I also envision it being an AirPort base station and being able to stream audio and video to your Macs.

The trick to the iPod is simple -- Apple got us to carry a hard drive in our pockets by making it cool looking and getting it to play music. So, what benefits could be derived from getting us to put a hard disk with a broadband Internet connection near our home entertainment system?

It looks like the dwindling fortunes of TiVo have some pundits calling for Apple to buy TiVo figuring that TiVo has great technology that needs Apple's genius and marketing muscle. It seems to me that the mere fact that industry analysts are calling for Steve Jobs to do something means he definitely won't do it, but it's an intriguing prospect.

Somehow I think Apple has to get a box onto the television -- and at the "heart" of our homes and maybe even small businesses -- and the Mac mini seems like a good start. And there's no question that Apple needs to pioneer a $9.99 movie purchase solution (or whatever) for downloadable movies they way they have for downloadable music. Frankly, I'm not sure they need to buy TiVo to make it happen, but I'm still waiting on my iHome or iHub or whatever it's going to be called.