Yesterday, I was flying back home to San Francisco. After boarding the plane, I received a phone call from my parents, who told me that Jon Stewart had appeared on 60 Minutes, but they had missed all but three minutes of his appearance and there would be no re-run. (Perhaps they were looking at their own TiVo guide data.)

My parents live in Chicago, in the Central time zone. Due to the time zones, network programs will air in the Pacific time zone two or three hours after the Central time zone. With TiVo’s remote scheduling feature, I could schedule a recording on their Web site, but I’d just stepped out of range of the nearest hot spot when I went down the jetway. Thankfully, TiVo’s Web site isn’t a graphics-laden monstrosity. From my seat on the plane, I fired up my laptop, connected to the Internet with GRPS, and logged in to the TiVo Web site. A quick search later, and I’d set the show to record on my TiVo in California just as the flight crew was ordering the deactivation of electronic devices. When I arrived home, the program was waiting for me!