New Patent on TV Forces You to Watch Ads 470
WebHostingGuy writes "A patent application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says researchers of the Netherland-based consumer electronics company have created a technology that could let broadcasters freeze a channel during a commercial, so viewers wouldn't be able to avoid it. Philips acknowledged that this technology might not sit well with consumers and suggested in its patent filing that consumers be allowed to avoid the feature if they paid broadcasters a fee."
Mod Parent Up (Score:3, Informative)
Oh, I think it was "30 minutes into the future", wasn't it? Anybody out there whose memory wasn't shot off in the war?
I guess disabling the off button will be the next patent from Phillips.
Re:I Already PAY a Fee (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Either your money or your time, folks (Score:1, Informative)
I know: I'm already paying for it. It's called a "cable bill" and it comes in once a month.
So (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Either your money or your time, folks (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Either your money or your time, folks (Score:1, Informative)
I think that, just maybe, what you meant to say was "Both your money and your time, folks. And your first-born child, too."
Re:Mod Parent Up (Score:3, Informative)
It was "20 minutes into the future", and you can download the whole thing at DAP central [dapcentral.org]. Make sure you read the FAQ, and don't piss off Queued.
Re:they do force you to watch ads in your DVDs (Score:3, Informative)