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[Ripclawe]

oh this will be fun to hear about in the next couple of months.


http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/10/21/tvbgone041021.html

SAN JOSE, CALIF. - A keychain device that enables people to turn off TVs just about anywhere is flying off the shelves, its inventor says.

Cornfield Electronics, which makes the device, is rebuilding its website because of the rush of orders.

The TV-B-Gone ($14.99 US) remote control was made public Monday in Wired magazine and on the web.

"I thought there would just be a trickle, but we are swamped," the inventor, Mitch Altman of San Francisco, told the Associated Press. "I didn't know there were so many people who were into turning TV off."

The device, an on-off switch, works on about 1,000 TV models, offering users relief from unwanted pictures and noise in airports, restaurants and bars.

It's like a universal remote control programmed to run through about 200 infrared codes that turn TVs on or off.

Aim the device, push the button and most TVs will go off.

Altman, an electrical engineer, says he tested the device all over the world and most people didn't react when the TV went off.

He doesn't like television and doesn't own one.

 

[belgurdo]

This will end in at least one person being shot over turning the tube off in a place they shouldn't

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

This will end in at least one person being shot over turning the tube off in a place they shouldn't

As it should.

 

[Ripclawe]

This will end in at least one person being shot over turning the tube off in a place they shouldn't

Sport Bars.. you know it.

 

[etiolate]

"I thought there would just be a trickle, but we are swamped," the inventor, Mitch Altman of San Francisco, told the Associated Press. "I didn't know there were so many people who were into turning TV off."

Yankee fans

 

[Drinky Crow]

Oh man, going into sports bars and turning off games in the 4th quarter would ROCK.

SOLD

 

[explodet]

"There's the pitch. And he hits it deep to right field! It's back, Back, WAY BACK...."

*click*

 

[xsarien]

Very cool, but easily stopped with a strategically placed, small piece of paper (or whatever) over the TVs IR sensor. Most places have an external cable or satellite tuner anyway.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Kids watching videos in schools will abuse this so very much.

 

[UltimateMarioMan]

If I look out my window I can see my neighbors TV. Oh the fun I could have!

 

[Dan]

There is no useful, productive or civil application for this.

 

[iapetus]

From Slashdot:

I've created a device to counter this anti-social and selfish TV-deactivator. And what's more, it's easier and cheaper to construct. Just curl the fingers of your right hand into a tight roll, tucking the tips in towards the palm, and use this device to strike a sharp blow to the arrogant fool who thinks he has the right to mess with your expensive consumer hardware.

Patent is, of course, pending, but I'll be offering a free license for use in this sort of situation.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Now to get the sweet Patent for encrypted infrared codes for new TVs
= Monies for me CHA CHINGA!

 

[belgurdo]

There is no useful, productive or civil application for this.

Probably for those who get off on being a self righteous, antisocial dick like the inventor

 

[sprsk]

Oh man, going into sports bars and turning off games in the 4th quarter would ROCK.

SOLD

and thus drinky crow joined the ranks of those 12 year olds with a stupid laser pointers.

 

[Jak140]

I had a watch like this three years ago, but it could change channels and volume too, so it was actually, ya know, useful.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

like any nerd on slashdot would talk to let alone hit someone (that isnt a level55 crystal orge in the cave of antoichistreh)

 

[iapetus]

like any nerd on slashdot would talk to let alone hit someone (that isnt a level55 crystal orge in the cave of antoichistreh)

Hey, congratulations! You've just made a really old joke that wasn't funny when it first appeared (on Slashdot) in 1873. And just like then, you've failed to spot the irony of who's making the 'joke' and where. (Clue: you're posting on a gaming message board. Claiming coolness superiority over someone else by accusing them of... gaming... isn't really going to cut it.)

 

[belgurdo]

I had a watch like this three years ago, but it could change channels and volume too, so it was actually, ya know, useful.

I wanted one of those so bad when I was a kid, until it dawned on me that it would serve no functional purpose ("wow! I can change the channels of the big screens and HH Gregg and stand there watching them for 5 whole seconds before leaving!")

 

[demon]

My freshman year of highschool I had a Casio watch that was basically a universal remote for TVs and VCRs. I had SO much fucking fun with that thing in school....I was practically a legend, I'm surprised I never really got caught. I drove my English teacher absolutely mad; the school ended up paying hundreds of dollars for needless VCR repairs. :lol

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

Hey, congratulations! You've just made a really old joke that wasn't funny when it first appeared (on Slashdot) in 1873. And just like then, you've failed to spot the irony of who's making the 'joke' and where. (Clue: you're posting on a gaming message board. Claiming coolness superiority over someone else by accusing them of... gaming... isn't really going to cut it.)

hey im the 9.8 on hotornot with the beautiful body



and I didnt need to kill a level 56 crystal orge to get it either.

 

[Spectral Glider]

There is no useful, productive or civil application for this.

Really, at least give me a keychain that turns off cell phones....or some punk's stupid thumping bass that rattles the piss out of his piece of shit car. Now that would be useful.

 

[fennec fox]

There's a pizza place I go to now and again (it's next to the laundromat). It's usually empty, the employees aren't watching TV, and the TV is blaring TBS or USA or something, to the point where you can't keep a conversation going. I reach up and turn down the volume. It's fine.

 

[aoi tsuki]

My freshman year of highschool I had a Casio watch that was basically a universal remote for TVs and VCRs. I had SO much fucking fun with that thing in school....I was practically a legend, I'm surprised I never really got caught. I drove my English teacher absolutely mad; the school ended up paying hundreds of dollars for needless VCR repairs. :lol

Yeah, i had the same watch in high school. The range was surprisingly good for it to be so small, but my battery died after a couple of weeks of hardcore use in class.