Hmmm ... saw this linked from an article that eagle243 pointed out. Now, I'm not not a TiVo (or other similar systems) user, probably due to the continuing lack of "real cable" in downtown Chicago (our building has a satellite thing, but not a "brand name" one). Anyway, at this site: http://www.mythtv.org/ , there are instructions on how to build your own version of a TiVo system on a Linux box. I was thinking that one of those very cheap "Lindows" systems that Tiger Direct sometimes features might be an ideal base for this. Must be just feeling "my inner geek" today.
By the way ... I still have about 175 posts to run through on my Friends List ... hopefully I'll have this done by kick-off.