Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: Remote Controls

TV Remote Controls Suck

Friday, June 19, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why are TV remotes so bad?

Technology today moves at an incredible pace, but somehow TV remotes are just as bad as they were over 30 years ago. In fact, I'd say they are worse.

Where do I start?

1. Most of them still use Infra-Red, which means they only work when you point them directly at the TV or cable box. Depending on where the sensor is, you often have to hold it in awkward positions. A modern remote should use BlueTooth or WiFi.

2. There are WAY too many buttons. I don't know about you, but that means I hit the wrong one way too often. Take a lesson from Apple. With an iPod, you can pick a song from a list of thousands with just a dial or wheel, so why not consider an alternate to all those buttons.

3. Up and down buttons for channels was pretty cool, whe... [More]

Continue...TV Remote Controls Suck...

Remote Control For The iPhone and iPad, with Bluetooth.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Wouldn't it be great to control your music with a remote control?

It's funny when you think of it, back in the 70s, that was science fiction, then in the 80s, it became quite common, but somehow it's science fiction again. How did that happen?

The trouble is, a lot of people set their iPhone or iPad down (someplace near a power plug), then stream music and videos directly to their entertainment system. If they're sitting on the sofa, that means they normally can't reach their devices to pause, or skip to the next track.

Apple makes a slick remote control for their Apple TV, which also can control media on some Mac models, but since it uses infrared to control it, it can't control things like iPads, iPods and iPhones.

An iOS Remote Control would not only make it easi

... [More]

Continue...Remote Control For The iPhone and iPad, with Bluetooth....

5 Reasons Devices Should All Have Bluetooth Remotes

Friday, January 23, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Our gadgets have come a long way in the past few decades, but our remote controls are stuck in the 90s.

Most of us have so many remote controls, it makes your head spin. The one thing in common is that none of them use Bluetooth.

Take one of those remotes and look at it. Really look at it. How on earth did we advance as a society, yet we still have Stanford Engineers designing remote controls that have 25 year old technology?

If you are reading this in the future, go ahead and laugh at us.

Even if you look at state-of-the-art remote controls, from the top-of-the-line Sony, LG or Samsung TVs, they are chock full of buttons that you can't even read... yet the only ones that get heavy use are simply channel up, channel down, power and volume. What's worse, is they... [More]

Continue...5 Reasons Devices Should All Have Bluetooth Remotes...

A Garage Door Reminder App

Monday, December 22, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

If a thief drives around town long enough, sooner or later they will find a garage door left open.

As somebody who walks at least a couple of hours each day, I pass a lot of houses with the garage door left open. It's a very common problem. Most of the time, the owner doesn't even know it. For many people, an open garage can be like an invitation for theft.

For those with a home alarm system, they may see a small blinking light on the alarm control panel, but it's usually so subtle, they only notice it if they are standing in front of it to turn the alarm on. By then, the thief may have already walked off with a fortune in tools, or even their car.

My solution is simple. A WiFi device that connects to the door that you can configure to send an alert to your phone whene... [More]

Continue...A Garage Door Reminder App...

On-Screen Volume Should Always Show a NUMBER.

Monday, November 24, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

How loud is that? I don't know, I'd say about 6 or 7 squares.

There's a certain comfort knowing exactly how loud the volume on your gadgets are set at. If you leave the room and somebody changes the settings, with a quick touch of the button, you can set it just the way you like it, unless on-screen display is just a bar-graph, making it more of a guess.

Think of the "Sleep Number Bed". Before it was sold by that name, it was called the "Select Comfort Bed". It had a remote that could change how firm the air was, but it didn't have a number. Once they added the number, it became a huge hit, because people eventually found their favorite number and from that point on, they might change the setting from time to time, but their number was the reference point... a couple of... [More]

Continue...On-Screen Volume Should Always Show a NUMBER....

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.