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IBM Patents Tweeting Remote Control
Fluffeh writes "IBM has applied for a patent on a network-enabled smart remote control that sends out a message to Twitter, Facebook or a blog when you start watching a TV show." Hopefully this launches an exciting patent landgrab of devices that are socially enabled. Your car can tweet when you leave your garage. Your dishwasher can tweet when the load is done. Your skillet can tweet when your eggs are burnt. And they say innovation is dead.
There goes using a remote control to watch porn. The naked walk to my TV to change the channel is gonna get annoying real fast :(
So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
Now when I go to a friend's Twitter, I can know when his toilet has finished filling up after a flush.
I LOVE THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY!!!!!!111!!!!
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Hopefully this launches an exciting patent landgrab of devices that are socially enabled.
... or suppresses any such innovation, since there's a prior patent.
My Mouse Tweets anytime I click on anything, if its inside the web browser it tweets the URL I'm at, if its inside a game it tweets my headshots, and if I'm working it tweets how much I'm NOT on /.
My sidearm can tweet when it's unloaded! The possibilities are endless!
Couple of months ago I was in Agile training at work and our ad-hoc group was tasked with making a better mouse trap. We decided to create a mouse trap (on paper) that would report its status via Twitter. Whether the trap was sprung, caught a mouse, was out of bait, etc.
Seems like it would be great to have a private network of twitter-enabled devices where only you or friends would be able to monitor their status. There's way too many privacy concerns with an open network like Twitter.
Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
There's a lot of twits out there, and they needed their own messaging protocol.
As far as I see it, it doesn't break my leg or steal my car. They can have at it. Just like they had at Second Life and whatever the revolution-of-the-future was before that.
Use the Firehose to mod down Second Life stories!
Twitter is just an extension of MyFace & SpaceBook in that it allows you to create an even greater illusion that the mundane and tedious facets of your everyday life are something that thousands, nay millions of people are desperate to read about. So desperate, in fact, that they can't even wait for a daily rundown and must instead know about them within seconds of them occuring.
Now, not only can you pretend that you've got more friends than some random people on the internet, but also that said friends care in the slightest about what you do.
I really wish people would stop saying the equivilent of 'oooh oooh prior art' without ever reading the actual patent.
The primary reason why AutoProfile is not prior art is because the IBM patent specifically refers to a:
remote controller, suitable for use while viewing media programming and content
and:
The enhanced remote controller allows the viewer to both communicate with a blogging server, and thus to a blogging service, as well as to display responses to and from other bloggers with whom the viewer is communicating. These blog communications may be accomplished without the viewer having to leave the broadcast receiver of the television.
which AutoProfile is not and has no functionality for.
Read the patent before jumping to conclusions.
I think it would be sweet if my toilet seat could tweet, and announce each major feat every time that I excrete. If the flowing bowl's replete I don't want to be discrete; I would tweet to the elite "Look at how I can compete!"
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
This totally infringes on my patent for doing something stupid with twitter.
I really wish people would stop saying the equivalent of 'oooh oooh read the patent' without ever considering how unoriginal these minor variations being patented are.
The primary reason why the patent shouldn't be granted is it's a minor variation on existing ideas that takes no real effort to dream up or create. A 10 minute brain storming session could come up with dozens of ideas of equivalent value. Also, a prototype of the device could probably be created in minutes using a computer or smartphone with an IR port. Or look at a custom pvr setup.
This is hardly a patent protecting any real R&D. This is like patenting different configurations of three blocks of Lego. Oh yes, my patent is original! The top block is shifted one peg farther to the right! It's a completely new design!
I would want it tweeting the location of my tv remote. I am always losing them.