Have you been waiting fruitlessly for Ebenezer Comcast to make good on its promises to sell you a cheap TiVo knockoff digital recorder, while you forlornly watch live, unpausable TV in the cold with your physically-disabled son Timothy? Well, Alviso-based TiVo isn't waiting for Marlowe and those three ghosts to show up at Comcast's door -- we've got it on a tip that they're going to be giving TiVo recorder units away this Friday, to people like you, Mr. Cratchet!

TiVo recorders (don't call 'em TiVos), like information and Martha Stewart, only want to be free! (You still have to pay for either the monthly fee or the lifetime subscription, though.) Show up at TiVo's HQ between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday (or while supplies last) with an original Comcast bill (issued within the last two months) and a new toy or piece of clothing to donate to the Family Giving Tree charity, and the TiVo DVR is yours to keep. God bless us, every one, indeed!

According to the fine print, the line doesn't start until 9 a.m., you must bring a photo i.d. corresponding to the name on your Comcast bill, and the offer is only open to new TiVo subscribers.

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