TV remote control

(Newser) - If 22 years in prison seems harsh for stealing a TV remote control, Eric Bramwell probably agrees—but, based on his past criminal history, authorities in Illinois say it's a well-deserved sentence. Per the Chicago Tribune , the 35-year-old Melrose Park man was handed his fate on Wednesday by DuPage...

(Newser) - Couch potatoes everywhere can pause and thank Eugene Polley for hours of feet-up channel surfing. His invention, the first wireless TV remote, began as a luxury, but with the introduction of hundreds of channels and viewing technologies it has become a necessity. Polley died of natural causes at a suburban...

(Newser) - The English Project is looking for unique words used among friends and families, and it's found a particularly rich vein in alternative terms for the TV remote control, the Guardian of London reports. Favorites include:

• doobly, podger, blipper
• melly, didge, clicker

(Newser) - Wired editors have picked out their gadget wish list for the holidays this year, and while the list includes some high-tech toys like TVs and palmtops, it starts out with a standby: a slinky.

1. Slinky (everyone knows it's slinky)
2. Nokia N810 (open source palmtop)
3. Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean (invincible wristwatch)

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