Here is an idea whose time has come – a simple T-V remote for old people. A remote that they can’t mess with other than turn the T-V on and then will only let them change channels and the volume. All other features, particularly those involving the Source or Inputs, will be disabled or unavailable on the SRFOP (Simple Remote for Old People.)
My Mom calls me at Buzzy’s Country Store with some regularity to ask me to come by and fix her T-V for her. “I’ve tried everything and now I can’t get anything on it,” she will say. From previous attempts I don’t even bother to try and walk her thru the process of ensuring that the remote’s Source button is set correctly. I just get someone to mind the Store and run up to her place to reset the remote so it works properly with her T-V.
I recall discussing this problem with an engineer who had a clever but expensive solution to his Mom messing with the remote. He spent a couple hundred dollars to purchase a very sophisticated remote which he then “dumbed down.” He kept the On/Off, channel and volume control buttons intact but then reprogrammed all of the remote’s other buttons so that they would NOT work. His Mom then could not mistakenly reprogram any settings on the remote. The Buzzy in me would not allow me to spend a bunch of money on something so high tech just to make it dumber. Thus, I keep running up and down the road whenever Mom calls for help.
P.S. Looks like someone has come up with the SRFOP (click here) so I will have to check that out for Mom. Shoot, in a couple of years from now, I’ll probably be needing one for myself.
Women’s World Cup action at 3 p.m. today as the U.S. takes on France. I will have it on to watch at the Store if I am not up Mom’s working on her remote.