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Inventor Open Sources "TV-B-Gone," and Why

Posted by kdawson on from the patents-b-gone dept.

ptorrone writes "Inventor Mitch Altman explains why he open-sourced his TV-B-Gone kit, the original stealth keychain fob for defeating TVs in public places. The title of the article is 'Patent-B-Gone' and perhaps the most interesting fact is that Mitch's brother is a patent attorney, but he still decided to release an open source hardware version of the TV-B-Gone, with pretty impressive results."

3 of 340 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A Necessary Addition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't mind if a bar owner wants to put on a TV in his bar. That doesn't bother me. However, where I live (Orange County, Florida), there are television sets (with sound) in the following places that need not have them, and they are there for no other purpose than to show an announcement that could be served with a poster and no sound:

    • Libraries
    • Courthouses
    • Public Works Office
    • School Lobbies
    • University Common Areas
    • Hospitals
    • Waiting Room of the Morgue
    • Airport Baggage Claim

    There is NO REASON for this.

  2. Re:Brilliant! by sleeponthemic · · Score: 5, Informative

    Have you heard about the discrete IR blocker they generally use in these stores? I believe it is marketed as "Black Tape". But don't be fooled. It isn't authentically black :)

    --
    I record my sleeptalking
  3. Re:A Necessary Addition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm an electrician and I've wired a Walmart when it was being built. I can assure you that only ~10% of those black domes contain cameras. It is true that the electronics department has cameras, but the one I worked on only had 2 covering the whole section.

    Posted AC because I'm probably not supposed to tell people that.