Re: A father of home automation "beams up"

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"B Fuhrmann" <b-fuhrmann-usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:12thq122qp5di34@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > I wonder if it was lawyers or IR that caused the extinction of corded
> > remotes?
>
>
> I have no doubts - IR  did it.    Too bad it wasn't corded remotes that
> caused the extinction of lawyers 8-^).
>
> Litigiousness wasn't as rampant when the first corded remotes were out and
I
> expect that the first few owners were really careful with them.
>
> The later ones like I had with the plugged cord would disconnect easy
enough
> to not be a hazard.
>
> The IR coding system freed up the remote to transmit many more commands
and
> literally removed the tether to the device.

I suppose it's easy to forget that there weren't off-the-shelf IR decoder
chips back then and people were doing things for very first time.  It's an
interesting story how cords went to ultrasound and then went to light and
then to IR light and finally RF as remotes evolved.

--
Bobby G.