Apple Universal Remote? [Archive]

MacRumors

Jul 7, 2005, 06:44 AM

qzak

Jul 7, 2005, 06:50 AM

sounds cool. theres gotta be something more though, Apple wouldn't just release a remote control and thats it ?

Roy Hobbs

Jul 7, 2005, 06:50 AM

I would buy this in a heart beat!!!!

BornAgainMac

Jul 7, 2005, 06:51 AM

I hope next will be the Media Center Mac, two button mouse (at least), and Tablet Book Mini, downloadable HD movies, video iPod.

mintlivedotcom

Jul 7, 2005, 06:51 AM

It shall control our purchasing additional Apple products.

Sharewaredemon

Jul 7, 2005, 06:51 AM

A truly universal remote would be so great.

I'd buy something like that.

alexeismertin

Jul 7, 2005, 06:56 AM

.. If its got an Apple logo on it the brainwashed will buy it

HiRez

Jul 7, 2005, 06:56 AM

Finally! Is this the next step for "Bonjour", to move beyond the PC? I wonder what OS this remote is going to be running on, to be rendering custom UI controls in real-time. Maybe Java? Interesting that Java (Micro) was the platform that was supposed to provide this kind of universal appliance communication technology, but it never really happened as envisioned. Perhaps Apple can finally make it work.

G-Funk

Jul 7, 2005, 07:12 AM

I hope that is would be a passage way to new an innovative technology from apple. as it always gave us :cool:

ibjoshua

Jul 7, 2005, 07:13 AM

If they could get manufacturers on board then we would eventually be able to control these devices with any Bluetooth enabled computer, not just this foreseen remote.

i_b_joshua

fratrow

Jul 7, 2005, 07:16 AM

Now... does this sound like the return of Woz?... Remember CL9? Woz's universal remote control?

Hmmm...

Atavusthe3rd

Jul 7, 2005, 07:16 AM

.. If its got an Apple logo on it the brainwashed will buy it

God, I love that logo... :rolleyes:

m-dogg

Jul 7, 2005, 07:20 AM

I like this concept, but what motivation would other companies have to change how their remotes currently work?

michaelrjohnson

Jul 7, 2005, 07:29 AM

Porchland

Jul 7, 2005, 07:31 AM

If there's an iTunes movie store in development -- and, come on, there is -- Apple is going to have to figure out a way to get it on your TV. When the rumors surfaced several months ago that Apple was going to buy Tivo, I thought (if true) it was part of Apple's strategy to get content on your TV.

Is this the remote for Apple's own PVR/downloaded movie player?

kaada

Jul 7, 2005, 07:31 AM

What about concentrating on making computers for a while... All I want is a kick ass portable... :(

fratrow

Jul 7, 2005, 07:40 AM

You'll have one... in the spring of 2007...

;)

What about concentrating on making computers for a while... All I want is a kick ass portable... :(

Mitthrawnuruodo

Jul 7, 2005, 07:40 AM

In order to automate discovery and the transfer of user interface controls from third party appliances to the remote, the designer, Alberto Vidal of Los Gatos, Calif., called for a combination of Bluetooth wireless technology, markup languages like XML, and protocols such as HTTP. In one example provided by the filing, interface controls would be delivered from the appliances to the remote via XML tags. How many of you have Bluetooth enabled TVs, VCRs, HiFis, etc.?

This is a truly remarkable and fantastic concept, and would work with your Mac, but until Bluetooth (or another short range networking protocol using radio) has become some kind of de facto standard I don't see a widespread application for it (remember almost all remote controls today use IR, and IrDA is not suited for this kind of scheme).

But sometime, in the near future, it would be nice to replace all the remotes with one (that doesn't, like the current universal remotes, have "hundreds" of buttons) which also could control iTunes. :)

xli_ne

Jul 7, 2005, 07:41 AM

i doubt this will ever see the light of day anytime soon.

Mitthrawnuruodo

Jul 7, 2005, 07:42 AM

You'll have one... in the spring of 2007...

;)The portables are, probably, the first ones to make the switch (along with the mini and perhaps eMac) so that might be spring 2006... ;)

kaada

Jul 7, 2005, 07:48 AM

The portables are, probably, the first ones to make the switch (along with the mini and perhaps eMac) so that might be spring 2006... ;)

Yeah... but will it be a high-end portable (PB) or an iBook..? Either way it will probably be controllable by an eventual Apple Remote.. :p

kwajo.com

Jul 7, 2005, 08:08 AM

maybe this will come along with a new airport express with remote control capability. or maybe they'll kick it up and get it to stream video somehow (though on current 8002.11g I see that being difficult)

cubist

Jul 7, 2005, 08:08 AM

There's the answer to the design patent, which everyone was so eager to call a tablet. Tablets, phooey.

JGowan

Jul 7, 2005, 08:10 AM

What about concentrating on making computers for a while... All I want is a kick ass portable... :(I bought the first 17" PB... it's still Kick-Ass. If you need a computer, go buy one. They're really good.

Right now, Apple KNOWS that with the exposed info about their INTEL deal they need some stuff to keep generating the $$$ until the Macintels come out in Mid-2006. How about letting them?

michaelrjohnson

Jul 7, 2005, 08:18 AM

There's the answer to the design patent, which everyone was so eager to call a tablet. Tablets, phooey.
So you're thinking that what MR reported as a patent for a tablet computer, was just a patent for this remote? It was applied for as "Electronic device" not "Tablet Computer"...

Interesting. I suppose you may be right!

1macker1

Jul 7, 2005, 08:20 AM

A remote, WTF we need a Apple remote for. I think Apple is straying WAAAAAAAY off on a tangent that's gonna lead nowhere.:(

Abstract

Jul 7, 2005, 08:21 AM

I like this concept, but what motivation would other companies have to change how their remotes currently work?

The problem is to get other manufacturers on board. I mean...... Sony? Sony is very proprietary. The idea is good, but some of these other companies will want a piece of the Apple pie. Apple PIE......GET IT!?! Hahahah! Oh man, I crack myself up sometimes.

i doubt this will ever see the light of day anytime soon.

I agree. Unless it uses IR, its not going to work right now. That would almost be useless. I own a Powerbook with BT, and a mobile phone with BT. I don't need a remote for my mobile, so that only leaves my Powerbook.

For this idea to work, things need to have BT/BT 2.0 in them. So the first thing Apple would need to do is convince everybody to include BT in everything. Its not even an expensive thing to add.

jrv3034

Jul 7, 2005, 08:24 AM

Sounds cool, but wouldn't you think they'd go with an iPod-style click-wheel instead of a touch screen for navigating? People hate touch screens, never knowing how hard to press or if they should use their fingernail or what. Plus, they're usually quite delicate. A click-wheel to navigate through menus and control volume/skip song or scene/play & pause would be ideal. Throw in the touch screen for the 0-9 buttons, and you've got a winner.

Abstract

Jul 7, 2005, 08:35 AM

I don't like the idea of using a scrollwheel for everything. Its not precise enough. I mean, its hard to just move one position down a list. I know some of you will chime in and tell me that it's not, but I'm talking about my own experience, and that of a female friend of mine (with the pink iPod, of course).

They could just use buttons, ya know. ;)

tobefirst

Jul 7, 2005, 08:45 AM

Apple PIE......GET IT!?! Hahahah!

Abstract...making me laugh that hard while I'm eating my bagel is not right! I could have choked! (:

In all seriousness, though, while I believe that if anyone could pull this off, Apple is the company, I'm not a fan of touch screen remotes. I had one of those $200 Sony universal remotes for a day. My problem was not with programming it for all my devices. Rather, my problem was with the lack of tactile feedback. I don't want to have to look down at my remote everytime I want to change the channel or lower the volume or whatever else.

I need to know where the buttons are and be able to tell when I press them. Any remote that hopes to be truly universal is going to have to have some kind of touch screen, and for me personally, I'm just not sure that losing that tactile feel is worth it.

I have, however, been known to be wrong on occasion. (:

dstorey

Jul 7, 2005, 08:57 AM

does anyone think that dashboard is part of this? As it is just like a web layer at it's core it can do all the xml request things, and with css being recommended for widgets, you could supply widgets with a css file for how it should look in dashboard and another to fit the form factor of the remote screen. That way the interfaces to the apps/devices will build of existing infrastructure and widgets. Not only would that help this taking off, and be easy to develop/add to existing apps, but it means it can be more than just a remote. You could check the weather or your stocks or whatever you cn do on dashboard at the moment, without going to your computer or checking teletext on the tv. Makes it much more of a must have device than just a remote. It would also be easy to support windows as most widgets don't require cocoa or the like, only javascript and xml/html.

speleoterra

Jul 7, 2005, 08:59 AM

does anyone think that dashboard is part of this?
good guess,...
maybe this is today's announcement. july 7th?
:confused:

speleoterra

Jul 7, 2005, 09:07 AM

check out what this guy said over on AppleInsider!
............................
I've actually seen a prototype of the remote. It was years ago, and made by a different company, but Apple bought them and it sounds almost exactly the same.

At the time Bluetooth wasn't out, so the remote had a base station that connected to other components through a FireWire network. They had it working with Kenwood gear. When you plugged in a device it automatically showed up on the screen as an icon. When you pressed the icon it's interface would show up. Each device would publish it's capabilities for the remote (play, record, volume, channel, etc).

It was nice, but pretty primitive at the time (not just the interface, but the piece of plywood it was built on). With Bluetooth or WiFi, Rendezvous, oops... I mean OpenTalk, oops... I mean Bonjour, and XML I can see how it would be much, much better now. Having an application appear as a device is a nice feature.

dongmin

Jul 7, 2005, 09:15 AM

My guess is that all that stuff about universal remotes and talking to DVD players, etc. is just Apple covering its bases and adding a bit of a smoke screen so people don't know exactly what Apple is working on. The main intent of this patent is for the long-anticipated iTunes remote, I'm sure. It may control other Apple applications and devices, but NO DOUBT this device will use bonjour, 802.11, and bluetooth.

I'm curious about the timing of this rumor, since the patent is dated 2002. Did AI just accidentally discover this patent or is this based on some insider tip anticipating an imminent release of such a device?

And where is that Airport Express 2 with video streaming capabilities???

iDM

Jul 7, 2005, 09:30 AM

I think having a universal remote that has the capability of recognizing any products within its range and then posting all possibilities of input (Play Pause Stop Next Chapter) would be cool. It goes along with Apple doing things automatically such as OSX picking up networks and connecting as opposed to having to select a network in Windows.

Kinda like Apple's Remote vs. Sony's(Punch in the 3 digit manufacturer code of every component, if that doesn't work you have to try every combo, and so on)

Then again this post is based on the guy from AppleInsider being correct

AidenShaw

Jul 7, 2005, 09:32 AM

Apple invented Bonjour....
Rendevous^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Bonjour is an implementation of the IETF ZeroConf (Zero Configuration Networking) working group spec, to which Apple, Sun, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola and many other companies contributed over several years.

Apple didn't invent USB, and Apple didn't invent Zeroconf.

michaelrjohnson

Jul 7, 2005, 09:34 AM

...The main intent of this patent is for the long-anticipated iTunes remote...
I'm not so sure about this. There is a very small percentage of households that have this kind of setup. It would seem illogical for Apple to pour money into this project that appeals to such a small number of people.

Unless Apple couples this device with some other technology to make my entire computer accesible from my TV, controlled by my remote, it's destined for failure. I doubt it will be just an "iTunes remote".

nagromme

Jul 7, 2005, 09:45 AM

I have LONG wanted Apple ease-of-use in other devices, and remotes were near the top of my list! But I fear this is another one that won't ever leave the labs. Oh well, I can dream.

If they do go for it, please include Infrared (and a built-in scrollable list instead of a booklet of codes) for the "legacy" equipment that will still be most common for years.

Yes, that removes ONE of the innovative things about using the product (until you have new Bluetooth home entertainment components), but it's just a one-time step, and then USING the remote would be no different.

(I've seen ~$100 touch-screen remotes for sale already, at Best Buy etc., but of course no BT and not with Apple ease-of-use. And they were too bulky for me.)

thejadedmonkey

Jul 7, 2005, 09:52 AM

Someone mentioned the feel of using actual buttons...wouldnt it be cool if the buttons changed depending on what application they were controlling? yeah...I need one of these remotes for iTunes though. I even got bt in my mini just for the bt ipod and this remote thing. I'm waiting apple...

~Shard~

Jul 7, 2005, 10:11 AM

Interesting, but like a lot of other things Apple has patented, I doubt we'll see much of this in the near future. I'm still waiting for that anamorphic color changing plastic casing they patented a long time ago.... :cool:

Stella

Jul 7, 2005, 10:22 AM

Apple patent quite a lot of potentially good devices / ideas.. unfortunately many of them never see the light of day in the wild ( i.e., outside of Apple's R&D Department ).

I wonder if this is to be another one.. I quite like the idea.

scu

Jul 7, 2005, 10:22 AM

I hope that is would be a passage way to new an innovative technology from apple. as it always gave us :cool:

That is what I am thinking as well. A device that would allow us to stream video and audio to a TV once it is detected in our desktop.

The future looks pretty bright.
:)

macnews

Jul 7, 2005, 10:33 AM

Apple wants to be more than a computer or just a software company. I think Steve wants to be a true media mogul. iTunes and the iPod are just the start. They changed how the masses are listening and thinking about music. Next step is movies, something many have thought of, but the move to intel will help push this with some of intel's on board drm. Not to mention the potential many see in the mini for home entertainment. Why should a remote be far off? Why did Apple invent Airport express? Do we really need an aiport that small?? No, we want to listen to the music on our computer anywhere.

I hope this does see the light of day because I would really love to see a true home entertainment system that doesn't take up a ton of space.

slidingjon

Jul 7, 2005, 10:58 AM

you are all way off. this is actually the new color screnn Newton with uni remote capabilities! It also comes standard with 802.11G, Bluetooth, and that bad-a handwriting regocnition software!

:rolleyes:

michaelrjohnson

Jul 7, 2005, 11:04 AM

I'm still waiting for that anamorphic color changing plastic casing they patented a long time ago.... :cool:
Yes.

I was very excited back then to see how they would utilize it (albeit worried about it being tacky). Hopefully we'll see that in the next few years, but that one may never get out either.

~Shard~

Jul 7, 2005, 11:38 AM

Yes.

I was very excited back then to see how they would utilize it (albeit worried about it being tacky). Hopefully we'll see that in the next few years, but that one may never get out either.

Hopefully it does, and hopefully Apple does it right. I just think it would be cool to be able to change the color of your Mac, or have it change colors automatically when a new e-mail arrives, a rendering/encoding job is done, etc. Lots of cool possibilities!

iWillard

Jul 7, 2005, 11:44 AM

alexeismertin

Jul 7, 2005, 11:49 AM

God, I love that logo... :rolleyes:

Many have made the 'logo' the centre of their world

Counterfit

Jul 7, 2005, 11:51 AM

YAWN! (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/productlistharmony/US/EN,CRID=2080) :p

inam

Jul 7, 2005, 11:55 AM

a really nice universal remote would be awesome...i would definetly go out and purchase one of those!

michaelrjohnson

Jul 7, 2005, 11:56 AM

YAWN! (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/productlistharmony/US/EN,CRID=2080) :p
You don't think Apple could pull off someting better than that??? :D

Doctor Q

Jul 7, 2005, 12:03 PM

Which manufacturers of consumer electronics (e.g., makers of DVDs) would we expect to be cooperative with Apple? Perhaps it depends on which consider themselves partners and which consider themselves competitors. Sony could be either.

iMeowbot

Jul 7, 2005, 12:20 PM

Rendevous^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Bonjour is an implementation of the IETF ZeroConf (Zero Configuration Networking) working group spec, to which Apple, Sun, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola and many other companies contributed over several years.

Apple didn't invent USB, and Apple didn't invent Zeroconf.
Some history here (http://www.theideabasket.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11). Zeroconf did originate with the Mac community.

michaelrjohnson

Jul 7, 2005, 12:56 PM

Some history here (http://www.theideabasket.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11). Zeroconf did originate with the Mac community.
That's a very interesting interview. Thanks!

sacear

Jul 7, 2005, 12:59 PM

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Appleinsider points (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1164) to a recent Apple patent which describes a "wireless touch-screen remote control concept that would automatically discover and communicate with existing and future consumer electronics appliances as well as the personal computer"

The patent (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6914551.WKU.&OS=PN/6914551&RS=PN/6914551) was filed in April 2002 and describes a device which "discovers" potential devices to be controlled by the remote. Each device (such as a DVD player or iTunes app) need only be discovered once. A special XML interface would provide the remote with the interface controls to each individual device. Such technology would allow the remote to be truly "universal" without needing any prior knowledge of the device to be controlled.

Such a system would require standardization amongst electronics manufacturers to incorporate this "discoverable" remote control system to become useful.Steve Wozniak invented a remote control device very similar to that years ago, in the 1980s. ...all these pale to the next great thing he created after the Apple II: The Cloud 9 Remote Control.

Yes, friends, Cloud 9, Wozniak's high-end remote control, was the bad-assingest, mother-pimpingest remote control you could get your sweaty hands on. Where The Man wanted you to have some lame little soda straw of infra-red signal pissing along randomly to your appliances, The Cloud 9 flooded the area in rays, guaranteeing you could sit on the crapper and send the important news that the radio should go up full blast down your hallway and into the living room. If you're still skeptical, let's drop this little bit of trivia on you: The Cloud 9 had dual processors. In 1985. It had a ****ing programming manual that explained recursive coding techniques. If there was something that needed any signal to do anything, of any kind, to do something, Cloud 9 was the mack.

Cloud 9 also had the coolest phone number, ever (long since gone): 1-800-999-9999. When Cloud 9 finally choked it down, Wozniak did what Wozniak does: give the number away to a teen runaway line, where desperate youth could grab any payphone and press the 9 key over and over until someone could speak to them. For publicity? For a good name? No, because Woz is just that cool.

hoppo99

Jul 7, 2005, 01:11 PM

My problem was not with programming it for all my devices. Rather, my problem was with the lack of tactile feedback. I don't want to have to look down at my remote everytime I want to change the channel or lower the volume or whatever else.

I need to know where the buttons are and be able to tell when I press them. Any remote that hopes to be truly universal is going to have to have some kind of touch screen, and for me personally, I'm just not sure that losing that tactile feel is worth it.

I have, however, been known to be wrong on occasion. (:

You're right in that regard. I never look at my remote when I'm pressing the buttons, in fact the numbers etc. have worn off. That would be a major hurdle for a touchscreen remote. However the fact that the interface could change for each device and incorporate things like an iPod style scroll wheel into that changing interface would be great and the added convenience might overcome the lack of a tactile feedback.

Porchland

Jul 7, 2005, 01:15 PM

The apple store near me has been sold out of airport expresses for some time....

Wishful thinking. Apple Store still shows them shipping within 24 hours.

I've been holding off on getting one for several months because I expected to see Airport Express 2 at WWDC. Wrong. Then I expected to see it come out with iTunes 4.9 and have some sort of AirTunes video for connecting iTunes to a TV. Wrong again. So, basically, I'm still waiting.

cryptochrome

Jul 7, 2005, 01:43 PM

How many of you have Bluetooth enabled TVs, VCRs, HiFis, etc.?

This is a truly remarkable and fantastic concept, and would work with your Mac, but until Bluetooth (or another short range networking protocol using radio) has become some kind of de facto standard I don't see a widespread application for it (remember almost all remote controls today use IR, and IrDA is not suited for this kind of scheme).

But sometime, in the near future, it would be nice to replace all the remotes with one (that doesn't, like the current universal remotes, have "hundreds" of buttons) which also could control iTunes. :)

Indeed - the need for two way, fairly extensive (XML-based) communication is the major shortcoming of this scheme. Bluetooth is just too expensive for the job.

A very simple alternative would be to standardize infrared remote control protocols and device triggers, have both transmit and receive diodes in both unit and remote, and allow them to synchronize their activity when put in close proximity. Putting a two-line display on the remote for feedback and state information would be nice too. But frankly, I want the tactile feedback of remotes. You would have to be looking at the touchscreen to be using the one apple describes.

So the idea would be - you get a new TV. You have a universal remote with color-coded device buttons. You put the remote near the TV and press program-red. The TV and remote talk and establish the codes which will operate the TV, with feedback on the remote LCD. All TV functions are fully accessible via the remote, using the standardized key layout of the remote. Additionally, extra buttons on the remote are programmable for specific functions like toggling the SAP channel. Then you take your remote and do program-blue with the VCR. The same happens, but the protocols negotiated are such that they do not interfere with the signals to the TV. Additionally, the remote is smart enough to make it so behaviors don't conflict - volume controls tv only, ff and rew are automatically routed to the vcr and so forth.

Better yet, make everything digital and interoperate out of the box, so your Reciever controls TV, Cable, DVD, Tivo and smoothly integrates their function.

7on

Jul 7, 2005, 01:44 PM

YAWN (http://www.brookstone.com/shop/product.asp?product_code=443192&search_type=search&search_words=remote&prodtemp=t1&cm_re=Result*R1C1*T)

jholzner

Jul 7, 2005, 02:21 PM

I agree. Apple invented Bonjour to make things like this possible, hopefully this is an actual in-progress product, rather than a "preventative" patent.

Apple didn't invent bonjour. It is an opensource project that they are using. It's real name is zeorconf. Apple just stuck a flashier name to it.

http://zeroconf.sourceforge.net/zeroconf-lca2003/t1.html

RichP

Jul 7, 2005, 02:35 PM

about force feedback...

YAWN! (http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Professional/navitus/design.html)

iMeowbot

Jul 7, 2005, 02:36 PM

Apple didn't invent bonjour. It is an opensource project that they are using. It's real name is zeorconf. Apple just stuck a flashier name to it.

http://zeroconf.sourceforge.net/zeroconf-lca2003/t1.html
You may want to take a closer look at that project, particularly about how it was pulled for a while because it infringed on old Apple patents (that have since expired), and who the authors of the standard they implemented are.

DrNeroCF

Jul 7, 2005, 02:56 PM

Make a remote that integrates perfectly with AirTunes (sans usb dongle) and all my electronics, and I'll buy it in a heartbeat.

shyataroo

Jul 7, 2005, 03:17 PM

.. If its got an Apple logo on it the brainwashed will buy it think about it this way.... if its got the apple logo on it, its a symbol of quality.

~Shard~

Jul 7, 2005, 03:25 PM

YAWN
YAWN
YAWN!

Man, there are a lot of tired people on MacRumors today. My advice is to get some sleep! :p :cool:

michaelrjohnson

Jul 7, 2005, 03:54 PM

Man, there are a lot of tired people on MacRumors today. My advice is to get some sleep! :p :cool:
I noticed the striking amount of "YAWN"s in this thread also... Making me sleepy...

reyesmac

Jul 7, 2005, 05:38 PM

Apple should partner up with more companies so they can create solutions like this. Apple is hot right now and I am sure other companies would like to cash in on that success. Only problem I see is other companies would allow the device to be compatible with a few more codecs than just DRM files. That might not fit into Apples vision. But it would make the remote a must have item.

I think they should make a computer that would only connect to a TV would replace and function the same as a cd/dvd player, stereo, surround sound receiver, vcr and tivo with the option to play games as well. It would just be a Mac with a tweaked OS. Sort of like an xbox but for everything else.

DariusRucker

Jul 7, 2005, 06:02 PM

I remembered this one guy on slashdot was saying something like this about two months ago. He really seemed to know something in that "AsSeenOnTV" kind of way. Seriously, he was saying something exactly like this. I think it is was on the thread about that tablet mac patent.

~Shard~

Jul 7, 2005, 06:11 PM

Counterfit

Jul 7, 2005, 06:32 PM

I noticed the striking amount of "YAWN"s in this thread also... Making me sleepy...
You know something's not right when I start a trend... :eek:

rdowns

Jul 7, 2005, 06:44 PM

about force feedback...

YAWN! (http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Professional/navitus/design.html)

500 bucks for a remote - LOL. Even Apple couldn't get away with that crap.

izzle22

Jul 7, 2005, 07:02 PM

500 bucks for a remote - LOL. Even Apple couldn't get away with that crap.

If you could surf the web, check email, control iTunes, change channels on your TV, and control DVD, amp, etc! I would pay as much as $600. So speak for yourself not the masses. I know at least 5 people that would go for that right now. I have a Sony universal remote which is touch-screen that I payed $200 for, it works great and wish it would do more!

DariusRucker

Jul 7, 2005, 07:45 PM

Have any links for us, either to slashdot or the other thread?
Here's the most recent:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=149056&cid=12494350

But he/she was on to it when they released the Airport Express:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=110282&cid=9358661

I don't know, if you can look past the spelling the guy seems to be on to something.

brentonbrenton

Jul 7, 2005, 08:17 PM

a long time ago apple was mentioned as working with bose; it was mentioned on one of the apple rumor sites. can't remember which.

whether this was in relation to ipod speaker sets or whatever, they do have remotes that work through walls, floors and ceilings. so controlling your computer from your lounge would be entirely possible.

biohazard6969

Jul 7, 2005, 08:52 PM

sounds rele cool, i've always wanted something like that, a TOTALLY universal remote. i'd definitely buy it

~Shard~

Jul 7, 2005, 10:37 PM

Here's the most recent:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=149056&cid=12494350

But he/she was on to it when they released the Airport Express:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=110282&cid=9358661

I don't know, if you can look past the spelling the guy seems to be on to something.

Thanks, I'll have a look through these...

puuukeey

Jul 8, 2005, 12:16 AM

BornAgainMac

you people with the two button mouse.... GO BUY ONE :)

solvs

Jul 9, 2005, 12:09 AM

Apple didn't invent USB, and Apple didn't invent Zeroconf.
But they did invent FireWire.

Kinda. Yeah, I know... nothing to do with this discussion. Just thought I'd throw that in because this sounds kinda stupid. I mean, a remote control? Seriously? But hey, I said the same thing about the iPod, so what the heck do I know. I'm sure if this is true, Apple will make it something cool. And all of us will buy it and wonder how we ever lived without it.

After we bitch about how expensive it is for awhile. ;)