> I had a deal on tivo a while back, and I was thinking of picking it up,
> especially since the Tour de France was on at 6 AM.  Knowing that Ethernet
> remains a possibility though, would make it a 'must buy'.  Does anyone
> know what kernel version they ship with?

Even if you don't buy the ethernet, there is a serial port out the back of
it and it also has PPP on the drive already so you can easily setup a
115,200 connection to another machine.  It's not blazing fast, but it gets
stuff on and off it.
The serial port is supposed to be used for controlling a satelite reciever
like direct TV.  I just for direct TV myself and it really works well with
the Tivo.  I just plugged the serial port into the back of the box and
then threw the box behind my TV.  You can't even see it at all, and it
made it so that I didn't have to clear out room in my already over packed
entertainment center/place/thingy/shelf/whatever.

As for a kernel, it's been a while since I checked.  But on the older
version of the software it was a 2.0 based kernel.  In there case they
really don't need to stay on the cutting edge, in fact I would prefer they
didn't.  My Tivo works and works well, and if it ain't broke I sure don't
want them to fix it so that I end up with a supriseone day and have a new
electronic door stop.

Brian Cluff