They will take my remote control away only when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.
May 7th, 2006 by Sonny
Someone Has to Pay for TV. But Who? And How? - New York Times
THEY will take my remote control away only when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.
This thought followed my first reading of a patent application for a new kind of television set and digital video recorder recently filed by a unit of Royal Philips Electronics at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The design appears to threaten the inalienable right to channel-surf during commercials or fast-forward through ads in programs you’ve taped.
A second, calmer reading of the patent application revealed that the proposed design would uphold the right to avoid commercials, but only for those who paid a fee. Those disinclined to pay would be prevented from changing channels during commercials. If the viewer tried to circumvent the system by recording the program and skipping the ads during playback, the new, improved recorder would detect when a commercial segment was being displayed and disable the fast-forward button for the duration.
The developers of this technology insist that it would “give consumers the freedom of choice” to pay for the ability to skip commercials. What I truly hate about that is the way the language is twisted and spun to make the taking of a currently enjoyed freedom as a good thing. There’s no way in hell I would ever pay money for that crap, no fucking way.
Is the next step the forced insertion of a urinary catheter to make sure you don’t get up to go to the bathroom during a commerical? I’m sure somebody somewhere is looking into that right this minute…
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