So I saw the Headline that Philips is trying to patent a flag that forces you to watch commercials. When I first saw this, I thought how cute a physical, little flag will go up when the commercials go on during a show, so I’ll know when to come back from a bathroom break or something. I thought it was rubbish and read on.
I then hear a podcast talking about what it was actually about. The patent is meant so that when the commercials goes on, you are unable to change the channel at all. You would be locked into that channel. Or if you Tivo’ed it, you would be unable to fast-forward through the commercials.
I understand that Philips is getting the pressure from advertisers since they are advertisers themselves, but there is also a plan that they would charge a fee to unlock this “feature” in Philips TV’s. That part is equally ridiculous as the patent itself.
Advertising is what gets TV shows made. You pay for cable and satellite service to get the content into your house. You pay for a TV to watch the content. Philips thinks you should have to pay again to watch TV?!
It is clear now to boycott Philips, who make crap products anyway. They are on the list with Sony, K-Mart, Packard Bell, Canon (except for their cameras), Internet Explorer, Ford, Riverhead VW, and that’s all I can think of right now.
