Universal Remote's Days Are Numbered 429
theodp writes "While the universal remote has served humanity with distinction, its days are numbered, and your smartphone is to blame. Whether you want to control your music, your television or your PowerPoint presentation, there's probably a solution using your phone. Try as it might, the universal remote simply can't navigate the digital world the way the smartphone can — it's a lot easier to put the remote's abilities in the smartphone than vice versa."
Tim, my man... (Score:5, Funny)
I feel you, man. It sucks to post these non-stories, but it's slim picking and what you gonna do?
That's it, right?
Fixed that for you (Score:5, Funny)
While the screwdriver has served humanity with distinction, its days are numbered, and your hammer is to blame. Whether you want to control your nails, there's probably a solution using your hammer. Try as it might, the screwdriver simply can't hammer the nails the way the hammer can -- it's a lot easier to put the screwdriver's abilities in the hammer than vice versa.
Re:Like my grandma is going to buy a smart phone.. (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, my wife would love it if every time I left the house she was stuck watching Top Gear repeats all day because my phone was the only thing that controlled the TV.
Harmony FTW.
Re:Yeah.. (Score:5, Funny)
Naysayers!
I've completedly ditched my dedicated DVD player, 42" flat panel, and the rest of my home theatre system, because I can now watch movies on my SmartPhone.
I have also thrown away my desktop computer, because my phone can access the web and everything I want is on the web. Likewise, I've given away my PS3 and X-Box 360 because my smartphone has games on it.
Next week I'm having a garage sale, and will be selling most of my tools, too. My smartphone makes a very effective hammer, measure, and leveling device... and I'm certain that my carrier will soon be selling accessories to replace my screwdriver, chain saw, and plow.
Re:Yeah.. (Score:5, Funny)
voice rec? no thanks.
i don't want to have to pause a conversation to say "scroll down" or "change to channel X" when I can just hit a button or two while I still talk to someone and do the same thing.
Pushing buttons is easier than talking. And a lot easier late at night or early in the morning. And your TV won't ever mistake a casual conversation with someone for a command to record cinemax late at night that leads to questions about why exactly that program was DVRed..
Re:Yeah.. (Score:5, Funny)
Personally I`m waiting for voice recognition to become practical. I think that's more the future of how we control our devices.
You mean you haven't programmed your device to recognize commands such as
Well, what are you waiting for?
Re:Yeah.. (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, I really want to be lying on the couch underneath a blanket, and fiddling with/rolling over onto my touchscreen smartphone.
That's why you need a Snuggie! Those old fashioned blankets make it impossible to do simple things like change the channel or answer a phone.
Re:Yeah.. (Score:5, Funny)
"Are you too stupid to use a blanket? Were you born in the darkest jungle and have therefore never heard of a robe? If you said yes to both of those questions, boy do I have a product for you! CALL NOW!"
Re:Like my grandma is going to buy a smart phone.. (Score:3, Funny)
So is mine when I am at work, but while I am home watching TV, nobody is paying me.
It takes at most, 3 seconds to perform most actions on a TV, allowing me to change channels 20 times per minute. The smartphone takes about 1 second to perform an action. Thanks to this, it is now possible watch 3 times less tv in the same amount of time.
Re:Fixed that for you (Score:2, Funny)
Depends on the screw and the nail, and the hammer and the screwdriver. A lot.
A small machine screw isn't very suited to a hammer, but a framing nail isn't very suited to a screwdriver. If you give me a sledge, a drywall screw is going to work an awful lot like a nail (but you hold the screw).
Re:Yeah..Soft keys. (Score:2, Funny)
So 6 K (Keys) should be enough for anybody?
Re:Yeah.. (Score:3, Funny)
What would upset the balance and thereby the (relative) peace in the world is if they make it so that it's easy to re-program any phone to talk to any device.. well, my wife's phone would be able to control the TV! Oh the freggin humanity!! Wives can't be relied upon to change the channels!
The remote is the modern day specter a man holds in his castle - anything to upset that and it'll be Armageddon, I tell ya!!
Re:Yeah.. (Score:5, Funny)
I know they're called mobile phones but this is ridiculous.
Re:Yeah.. (Score:1, Funny)
Or do they have to reprogram their phones?
That's the thing. Given the ubiquity of technology eventually it will be possible to create public resources that phones will reconfigure themselves for. You'd only have to grant them access.
As soon as someone enters your house, they'd (well, their phones, but eventually face recognition too) be picked up on your monitoring station and granted whatever privileges you specify. This would include providing them access to any needed applications.
I'm not saying it's the best solution to the problem. Especially given some of the objections other posters have mentioned.
Of course, this is another >10 years away given the current glacial pace of integrated tech. Companies like Apple that keep locking things down aren't helping.
Re:Yeah.. (Score:3, Funny)
The best part about them was their ability to 'jam' other people's remotes. I think I costed my mates a set of 'worn out' remote batteries each time I visited.