Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Ultimate Universal Remote Control

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ultimate-is-a-strong-claim dept.

TheMayor writes: "CNN.com has a story about how researchers at Maya Designs, Inc. and Carnegie-Mellon are trying to come up with a remote control that controls everything in your house. From the TV to the blender, these guys want to make an all-in-one piece to turn everything on and off. Now I wonder if I could remotely flush my toliet?"

2 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Super-Remote Control Defined. by mcrbids · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The biggest pain in the ass with "universal" remotes is that you have to spend at least a whole afternoon programming the !@# thing. Very !@# convenient...

    So, what if you had a setup where you could call the company, their support staff'd ask for your model numbers, and they'd program it remotely!

    Oh, and can you imagine, on this remote control, a big, back-lit display so that you could see what !@# button to push to turn the !@#!@ thing down?

    So, what you have is a device that:
    1) Can communicate with the parent company,
    2) Has alot of buttons,
    3) A small CPU in it,
    4) A large backlit screen.

    Sounds an awful lot like a cell phone, eh?

    No, really! Just put an I/R LED at the end of your cell phone, it'd make an EXCELLENT UNIVERSAL REMOTE.

    --
    I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
  2. PDA? by AndyAMPohl · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I like remotes that only need one hand to operate, and that you don't need to look at to see what you're pressing. I don't know. Might seem crazy.