His death was announced by the Zenith Electronics Corporation, where Mr. Polley began his career in the stockroom before rising through the engineering ranks to invent the device, called the Flash-Matic, in 1955. “Just think!,” an advertisement breathlessly proclaimed that year. “Without budging from your easy chair you can turn your new Zenith Flash-Matic set on, off, or change channels. You can even shut off annoying commercials while the picture remains on the screen.” The Flash-Matic remote, which worked like a flashlight, was shaped like a snub-nosed revolver. The shape was a considered choice on Mr. Polley’s part, as he explained in 2000, letting viewers in the age of ubiquitous TV westerns “shoot out” commercials. Flash-Matic made the TV audience less captive, though also less ... Continue reading →
Every year, the world wastes 1.3 billion tons of food, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. That's about 33 percent of all food produced annually. In rich nations alone, 222 million tons of food is lost by consumers outright throwing it into the garbage. That is almost the equivalent of all the food made in sub-Saharan Africa every year. In a word, our problem with food waste is disastrous. At least one business in London is attempting to solve the problem commercially. Diners at the Kylin Buffet, a Chinese restaurant, have been surprised to find that they're charged a $32 "wastage" fee if they take more food from the buffet they can eat. "To avoid food wastage, we recommend you do not ... Continue reading →
After two years of intentionally losing money in a very smart way, a Mexican cell phone company is set to change the way the country’s consumers use mobile phones to access the internet. If their plan works, it could transform not only the Mexican phone industry, but consumer finance systems in developing countries around the globe. When you bought your cell phone, you might have earned a few hundred dollars in discounts in exchange for the promise of sticking with your carrier for two years. Those shackling cell phone contracts might seem like a hassle, but they’re a first-world luxury. Mobile plans that bill you later, rather than forcing you to pay upfront, end up saving you money and making your life easier. “When you're ... Continue reading →
While the GOP may have dominated the bottom of the list, they also filled out the bulk of the top as well. No. 1? California Republican Dan Lungren, who posted the high score of 16.01, or a grade level of a college senior. He was followed by fellow California Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, a Democrat, who spoke at about the level of a college junior. Roybal-Allard was one of only two Democrats to place in the top or bottom 10. Continue reading →
TIDC2011/Video screen captureDesigner Hsu Sean's Bio-Cleaner looks an awful lot like the Roomba autonomous vacuum cleaner, and the two aren't so different. The Roomba is set on the floor to clean up dirt, the Bio-Cleaner is dropped out of a helicopter into the ocean in the wake of an oil spill.TIDC2011/Video screen captureFeatured on Yanko Design, the yellow robot has three arms to propel itself. It has a built-in pump to separate out water, and a compartment with bacteria that degrade oil.The cleverest part is an "acoustic wave device" that emits high-frequency sound waves designed to keep animals at bay, so they don't join the ranks of oil-soaked creatures that rarely survive.Unfortunately, this is just a design concept, and there's no evidence that it's near ... Continue reading →
