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Inventor of the TV Remote Control Dies
An anonymous reader writes "Yes, kids, you used to have to walk across the room to change the TV channel. That changed with the introduction of the 'Flash-Matic,' a revolutionary device that was 'Absolutely harmless to humans!' and could 'even shut off annoying commercials while the picture remains on the screen.' Eugene Polley, inventor of the now ubiquitous TV remote-control died Sunday of natural causes at age 96. In 1996 Polley received an Emmy for his invention, but during his 47-year career, he was awarded numerous patents and worked on projects ranging from advances in radar to push-button car radios."
While ignoring the fact that this is again just another one of those things that were invented to help Americans remain fat and lazy (seriously, can't even get up to change a tv channel?), this device was quite much copied from Nokia's symbian phones.
Even back in the 90's you could control your TV with your Symbian based phone, as they had infrared. I used to do that. It was fun to shut down TV in school classes too. I don't see a need for duplicate device, just use your phone.
Do you think they've tried turning his batteries round and smacking him against the coffee table?
In 1996 Polley received an Emmy for his invention, but during his 47-year career, he was awarded numerous patents...
You hit one of Slashdot's trigger words. Expect a long and boring patent debate that accomplishes nothing to follow.
I will get up and change the channel the old fashioned way for the rest of the day, when i was a kid there were no remote controls, my father's TV had two big giant channel knobs on it, the first one was VHF 2 thru 13 and a "U" between the 2 and the 13 and to get UHF you put the first knob on the "U" and then it activated the second channel knob for UHF channels
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
... I wonder what the MPAA / RIAA / The Bad Guys would say about muting their precious commercials?
I'm sure a "do not mute" flag would quickly appear in the DVB stream.
In the 1970s some remote controls used ultrasonics - ultra to humans, not to parrots... not sure if the bird was changing the channels on purpose or not, but it would make a whistle and the channel would change.
I've tried MyCLeanPC and I had THE BEST homosexual ANAL sex EVER! AND I'm not even GAY!
And MYCLeanPC told me that there wasn't any GOD! It also has plans to build Nukular bombs to blow up America!!!
Then it sent me to the Democratic Party's website!
MyCLEANPC - Your gateway to Liberal Republican ...stuff!!.
That's right, if you want to break the law and have access to things that are not allowed
Have you seen the waistlines of the fat slobs who don't even have to get up to switch channels?
Have gnu, will travel.
I can't believe this guy. He is so committed to getting in the current slashdot poll, that he's become the newest "Currently Dead Inventor".
I will create a post in the poll comments to record his memory forever - the inventor is dead! Long live the Inventor!
"I split coffee all over my wife's nightie
To honor him, every channel should show him at the same time for 5 minutes straight. People will start using their remotes to change the channel, only to get nowhere. Only then will they truly understand the importance of the remote control.
My folks were in the TV sales business and I never encountered a remote like the article describes. The first remotes I saw in the 50s were wired: a big box with the channel and volume controls was connected by a thick cable to the TV. The channel tuning was mechanical (a cylinder in the set had a separate tuned circuit for each channel and channel changing required rotating the cylinder to switch in the correct one), so when you changed the channel, the tuner in the set would go *clunk* clunk* *clunk* until it got to the right one. The next ones I remember were Zenith wireless. The remote consisted of several metal cylinders that emitted a tone when struck by a mechanical pushbutton on the remote. Trouble with those was other household sounds would trigger the TV, like the metal tags on a pet's collar.
And I'll bet almost no one here has ever encountered a vertical or horizontal "hold" control. In those days, we had to establish picture sync ourselves, AND WE LIKED IT!
He will be respectfully tucked in between the cushions of a couch.
I don't think so, Nikola Tesla has been dead for 69 years.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing. Emo Philips
I believe I've mentioned this on here before, but my grandfather had one of the early TVs with an ultrasonic remote up until the 90's.
The problem is certain sounds would cause it to change the channel -- particularly jingling keys or coins, flushing the toilet, or using a vacuum cleaner.
I suspect he enjoyed demoing that for people more than he liked watching TV.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Tabatha Southey (Toronto Globe and Mail Columnist) suggests that it would be most appropriate for Mr. Polley to be buried under some couch cushions.
RIP and thank you for relieving the few calories of energy it took to get our fat asses up and over to the TV to change the channel.
myke
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
Show a little respect! I think we should all have 60 seconds of -mute- in his name.
I guess his batteries died. :-)
(sighs)
My wife, when a child, was her parent's remote control.
The greatest value of my invention will result from its effect upon warfare and armaments, for by reason of its certain and unlimited destructiveness it will tend to bring about and maintain permanent peace among nations. U.S. Pat. 613,809, p. 7, ll.107-112.
What actually happened was that the invention of the remote control resulted in certain and unlimited discord between husbands and wives, and among siblings.
The name of the person should be written in the 1st phrase, not just before the end
or if you lose it, a 6' long broom stick works well enough to change the channel, adjust the volume, and turn of the TV from the comfort of your chair. Hint: tape a cotton ball to the end of the stick that hits the buttons, so you don't accidently break them when you miss your target. Put white masking tape on your buttons so they are more easily visible.
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FTA:
I do this all the time.
The flash-magic being invented for just this purpose is great for arguments*, it will help me to shut up the mute-haters once and for all !
*) todo: fact-check.
I also invented one. It's called a "long stick" or a pole that you bash the TV with.
Once upon a time someone would have had to walk across the hospital room to pull the plug. Now....
Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
He doesn't use batteries, you insensitive clod! But be careful about running a vacuum cleaner near his grave or he'll start flipping over randomly. (If you're not old enough to know about clicker remotes and vacuum cleaners, GET OFF MY LAWN!)
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
... the explanation for death
That's... an oddly specific assurance.
...he may just need new batteries.
Proverbs 21:19
I'm old enough to remember wired remote controls, but I never ran into the vacuum problem. Is that good enough?
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
My dad invented one in 1962 called "Chuck"... as in "Chuck, get up and change the channel." "Chuck, get up and turn the volume down." "Chuck, get up and turn the God-damned boob-tube off and go out side!" (Yes, my dad calls it a "boob-tube" to this day... His favorite phrase back then was "Garbage in, garbage out!")
I don't have any trouble with TV remotes, but strangely enough a remote switchbox I bought just last year so that I could operate a plug-in lamp from across the room seems to turn off whenever I vacuum in that room.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
.. but the frequency range of birds hearing is even worse than that of humans. You can hear higher frequencies than your average parrot. It was probably just coincidence - the birds whistling happened to be on an audible frequency that also triggered the primitive badly filtered electronics in the TV.
Was that how he told you to take out the garbage?
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
A TV I bought in the 1980s did not have one, but 1990s did. They were an expensive option the early years. of course, in the early years you just had a half-dozen broadcast channels, so it wasnt as important to surf.
The next turning point was when there were more buttons on the remote than on the TV. I was somewhat taken aback at some point to learn that a remote was no longer an accessory, but in fact a required item because you could not set up your TV (or VCR or whatever) properly without it. (And "universal" remotes often lacked the necessary functions as well.) But these days, I watch so little TV, I hardly care anymore.
Our TV used to do strange things when you jingled coins in your pocket. I think it used ultrasound. Haven't thought about that in years.
I'm not familiar with that particular problem. At a place I worked once the walkie talkies would drive the fax machine crazy though.
And now we wait the death of the man who invented needle nose pliers whose contributions to the television were just as important (for those not old enough this was the backup when the knobs broke :)
When they tried to bury him, apparently the coffin has broken - the lid has come off,
In his honour it has been sellotaped back on.