Tuesday, September 3, 2002
The Holy Grail of Remote Controls
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "NEWS" @ 03:00 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/08/31/universal.remote.ap/index.html
If you think customizing your PC can be difficult, you should try getting a so-called "Universal Remote" to work.
They each have their own user interface, most of which are not graphical. You have to figure out what keys do what and it is not always intuitive. The only thing worse may be trying to get MapQuest directions via WAP, but that is another rant.
Those in the industry seem to agree. ' "We have managed to take the worst of the PC industry and transplant it into home electronics," said Michael Gartenberg, research director at Jupiter Research, a New York-based new media consulting firm. "There is a reason they call it programming a remote control. Consumers give up." '
Well, a new generation of appliances may be the solution. They have built in web servers to communicate with handhelds and can communicate with software on the Pocket PC, removing the burden from the user. Can you imagine? An age where you go to your grandfather's house and the clock on his VCR isn't blinking!
Thanks to Brian Cooksey for the link.
If you think customizing your PC can be difficult, you should try getting a so-called "Universal Remote" to work.
They each have their own user interface, most of which are not graphical. You have to figure out what keys do what and it is not always intuitive. The only thing worse may be trying to get MapQuest directions via WAP, but that is another rant.Those in the industry seem to agree. ' "We have managed to take the worst of the PC industry and transplant it into home electronics," said Michael Gartenberg, research director at Jupiter Research, a New York-based new media consulting firm. "There is a reason they call it programming a remote control. Consumers give up." '
Well, a new generation of appliances may be the solution. They have built in web servers to communicate with handhelds and can communicate with software on the Pocket PC, removing the burden from the user. Can you imagine? An age where you go to your grandfather's house and the clock on his VCR isn't blinking!
Thanks to Brian Cooksey for the link.
