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Tech

The First Remote Control Was a Gun to the Head of the Television Industry

Eugene Polley, man who invented the remote control died on Sunday, leaving behind not just the Zenith Flash-Matic, but the template for a subversive technology that would change the face of the television industry.

Eugene Polley, man who invented the remote control died on Sunday, leaving behind not just the Zenith Flash-Matic, but the template for a subversive technology that would change the face of the television industry and the way companies advertised, put consumer choice in the palm of our hands, and gave birth to, among other things, cable TV. Then came the World Wide Web, which, with its infinite “channel surfing,” is essentially a giant remote control. It’s still not clear what that means for the Internet economy (cf. Facebook ads) or the quality of “content” (Internet video is still pretty crappy, with a few exceptions, we hope). What is clear: someone needs to invent an Internet version of the TV-b-Gone.

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