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IBM Patents Tweeting Remote Control

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the just-put-a-clock-in-something dept.

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.

12 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. Wow. by moogied · · Score: 4, Funny

    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."
    1. Re:Wow. by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not so fast...
      You may avoid the twitter enabled remote but your wife also installed a motion-detector webcam that will post to twitter with a link to youtube.

    2. Re:Wow. by moogied · · Score: 4, Funny

      Woah woah woah.. wife? INSTALLING?

      --
      So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
    3. Re:Wow. by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Am I the only one left in the US that doesn't want everyone to know my every move of every day life??

      Frankly, I prefer being anonymous for most of the time, until "I" choose to make myself known to my friends. I call it 'getting together with them for drinks....'

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    4. Re:Wow. by eln · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's not necessarily that I do or don't want anyone to know what I'm doing, it's that I have this overwhelming feeling that nobody gives a shit. I've tried twitter, and I will "tweet" maybe once or twice a month, but even at that pace I pretty much assume that no one cares about what I decide to tweet about and I'm essentially just wasting time shouting into the ether. So, I mostly stick to the occasional humorous (to me, anyway) comment, and don't bother with the day to day details of my life.

      It seems to me that people who regularly tweet about every little thing have some sort of deep-seated need for constant validation from the outside world. They post personal details in order to evoke some kind of response just to show that someone, somewhere is paying attention to them. I find that sort of mentality kind of sad, but apparently it's a lot more common than I would have thought.

    5. Re:Wow. by SoupGuru · · Score: 5, Informative

      "Only around 15% of all the Twitter users are less than 25 years old.

      20% for people over 55 years and 16% for those under 25. Yeap, you read it right, 20% of Twitter users are over 55 years."

      http://crenk.com/twitter-is-for-old-people/

      Kind of scary, isn't it?

      --
      What doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable
    6. Re:Wow. by kpainter · · Score: 4, Funny

      Mine's at home learning Perl right now.

      Women and Perl are a lot alike. You can't figure out how women work either.

  2. Yes! by MyLongNickName · · Score: 5, Informative

    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
  3. Suppress innovation by slim · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hopefully this launches an exciting patent landgrab of devices that are socially enabled.

    ... or suppresses any such innovation, since there's a prior patent.

  4. Re:Guys, I don't get it by Hoplite3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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!
  5. Re:this should be easy by Richard_at_work · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  6. Re:this should be easy by Ardaen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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!