Convenience Versus Practicality

Some believe that the catalyst for the invention of modern household aids is the natural laziness. At the first glance this may seem quite possible, but there could be another reasons for it.

For example, a TV is a necessity as a device which “carries” information. Nowadays the remote control is an inseparable part of it. Whether the invention of the remote means of control was a consequence of natural laziness or not still needs to be sorted out.

It’s hard to imagine that the modern remote controls had a predecessor of an inconvenient, rapidly failing, mechanical switches. While there were few TV channels, no one really thought about the convenience of channel switching. But the fragility of the mechanical remote gave us something to think about.

The mechanical switch mechanism could not last for more than six months. Furthermore, the remote was, at best, constantly repaired. So built-in controls on the television set itself were a rescue for that period.

The latter very quickly ceased to meet the needs of users as well as manufacturers. One thing is a panel with six buttons designed for six channels, and it is quite another matter to keep the same functions for twelve or more channels. It is clear that the built-in panel needed to be replaced.

The remote control became a wonderful and a timely solution of the issues of switching between channels. Moreover, the remote control also took over all the functions of switching the channels, changing the volume, brightness and contrast.

Resolving of the problem of low durability not only got rid of the root issue, but brought convenience as well. Today there is no home appliance without a remote control. All modern home appliances are meant to be by default insured from most mechanical breakdowns. It is very common for human kind not to worry about something until things start to go wrong.

What comes to replace the remote control of the same TV? Netflix engineers offer a gadget – a neuro interface in the form of a hoop, which allows you to switch channels with help of the “power of thought”, in fact, at the expense of contraction of the neck muscles.

Prior to that Netflix engineers offered remote control socks that turned off the TV after the user fell asleep. In terms of practicality, the hoop looks much more convenient than socks, because the latter have to be washed, and this does not have the best effect on the electronic filling of gadgets.

It’s unlikely that the hoop switching TV channels will replace the remote switches that has many more functions and settings. At this stage, the hoop can save only the movement of the thumb. The company’s engineers claim that the remote has a peculiarity of being lost, and that’s why the hoop is necessary.

This effort is not quite for resolving old problems, but a new way to bring easement into our lives. The more developed technology becomes, the less we need concentrate on constructional issues and the more we can think about comfort of it.

Now we probably won’t even need mind – controlled remotes. However, in the future this kind of gadget may replace the old ones, especially if it can replace all kinds of wireless control devices at once with help of its universality.