[mythtv-users] Google's Summer of Code 2006 idea

[Dean Wilson]

I know it's getting a little late for ideas, but I thought this might
be useful...  If anyone can provide feedback (or a pointer as to how
to get it accepted for google's summer of code) I'd appreciate it!

One of the things I've always hated is when TV shows I watch get
canceled due to "low numbers."  This is particularly frustrating,
since I think that the data gathering that Nielson uses is inaccurate
and antiquated, considering they could easily gather data directly
from DVR users as to what shows individuals watch.

I would like to set up a method for MythTV to gather and present this
information.  Due to privacy concerns, the program should probably be
opt-in (as opposed to opt-out, which could be accidentally overlooked)
 However,  I think many users would want the networks to know what
shows they're interested in.

Care would have to be taken that they system would be tamper-proof to
ensure that the data was valid.  (The temptation to increase the count
of your favorite shows by a few thousand viewers might be too much for
some people.  Obviously we'd want accurate numbers, in order for the
results to have any meaning to companies such as Nielson.)

This information could not only be provided to companies like Nielson,
it could also provide information as to how many MythTV users are out
there (and possibly what hardware they're using?)  This information is
valuable, because it points to how many people have been successful in
setting up and using MythTV.  This is important because when people
first start researching MythTV, they find the mythtv-users group,
which is primarily filled with people writing in with problems.
Information showing how many people are happy with MythTV could only
help the cause.  ;)

I'm not sure what the procedure is for submitting ideas such as this
one for the Summer of Code.  If there's something more that I need to
do, would you point me in the right direction?

Thanks for your time,
~Dean Wilson

On 5/1/06, Isaac Richards <ijr at case.edu> wrote:
> As you may be aware, MythTV is a 'mentoring organization' for this year's
> Google Summer of Code.  This means that a few students can get paid for doing
> some summer work on Myth.  Should be fun. =)
>
> Looks like student applications should be going live very soon, and are open
> until May 8th.  So, if you're interested, get an application in soon.  I have
> no idea how many students we'll eventually get assigned.
>
> http://code.google.com/soc/
>
> We've put up a few project ideas: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/SoC2006
>
> Not tied to those few ideas, of course.  Feel free to submit your own ideas if
> you're thinking of applying to work on this stuff.
>
> Note:  If you're _not_ a student going to apply, sorry, but I'm not looking
> for more project ideas anymore.
>
> Isaac
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