Jason Unger

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The iPhone is the perfect device to function as the ultimate convergence remote.

Think about it. Remotes suck. Nearly everyone agrees that there's not a truly great remote out there. They have too many buttons, poor user interfaces, and sometimes even use a stylus (which is ridiculous).

Even worse than remotes, however, are keyboards. Since Media Center PCs and Internet-connected consoles/TVs are an active experience (which is a bad idea, in general), you need a keyboard.

But really, who wants to use a keyboard with their TV? Nobody.

To balance the active interaction of typing in URLs (keyboards) with the passive experience of changing channels (remotes), you need a device that can function as both. The iPhone, with its portable form factor and touchpad keyboard, can.

(Sidebar: I call remotes a passive experience because you can't go OUTSIDE of what it allows you. You can only go up or down. Like the elevator vs. the Wonkavator)

Obviously, the iPhone is not the first touchpad controller commercially available. But nearly everyone who has used one agrees it's one of the best.

In the home automation space, both DIY solutions and manufacturer-created options for controlling your home systems have popped up.

SpeakerCraft's Jeremy Burkhardt has even said the iPhone will kill keypads.

"I hate to say it, but this is the beginning of the end for keypads," says SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt. "Soon any keypad that isn't emulated on a device like the iPhone will be obsolete."

But don't you need some hard buttons — like for power, volume and channel? Well, maybe. There aren't a lot of hard keys on the iPhone — one power, two volume and a sleep — but I don't see that as a huge hinderance.

The idea here is that the iPhone may not permanently replace your universal remote (since you can't be talking on it at work while someone else wants to change the channel), but when you're in front of the TV, you whip it out of your pocket, bring up the interface, and do everything you need.

When you just want to see what's on, you've got the simple channel/volume/power interface. When you're on YouTube and want to search for a video, the keyboard pops up. It's the best of both worlds.

As I was writing this, Dave Zatz posted a video where he's controlling his TiVo with his iPhone over Wifi, using some Crestron functionality. See? It's starting.

Considering that so many consoles and TVs are getting WiFi, the capability is there. All we need is the official functionality.

Image of the GUI is from Residential Systems Design, which does Crestron and AMX programming.

A representative for 4SquareMedia, the Australian company owned by mass plagiarist David Richards, has admitted to Richards' theft of content, despite his "ghost hacker" excuses.

In an email sent to me, Nicole Bence, a "director" at 4SquareMedia, has the audacity to ask if they can use content from CE Pro — after I asked them AGAIN to remove a story they stole from us (emphasis is mine).

Hi Jason,

My name is Nicole Bence and I am a Director at 4Square Media. I understand David has put up some of your stories in the past without permission. Obviously with web content stories are shared on a daily basis and I was hoping to get some feedback from you in regards to our sites. We have removed this story, but we would like to be able to push our readers to your content when necessary. Is this a possibility and if so what are your guidelines for ensuring CE Pro are given the correct reference.

Thanks Jason – appreciate your help.

Regards,

Nicole

The number of comments and emails I've received from people who have worked for David Richards is constantly growing, and they all have one theme: how horrible it was.

At this point, it's pretty obvious he is not going to change (even if he is exposed all over Australian TV).

For anything to happen, his advertisers need to stop supporting him. But from rumblings I've heard, he doesn't make it easy for them to do that.

Honestly, I'm sick and tired of dealing with this guy.

(BTW - this admission started after SmartHouse copied an article from CE Pro with no permission to do so, despite giving "CE Pro" the byline. I emailed them, and Bence's response followed.)

ESPN's Page 2 has a hilarious article up on "the next great sports rivalry … Orioles-Rays."

Welcome to the future of the American League East.

The Orioles are in first place, percentage points ahead of the Red Sox. Boston, hanging on to its dynasty by its fingernails, is the only thing standing between Baltimore and the fast-rising Tampa Bay Rays.

Obviously, it isn't going to stay this way. The Red Sox are the clear talent in the division, and the Yankees are, well, the Yankees.

But the "rivalry" will be exciting … while it lasts.

Give the story a read if you have a chance — it's the best comedy this side of The Onion. And it even quotes the Simpsons.

1. Aug. 8, 2000: Orioles win 10-9 (15 innings)
The Rays scored five in the eighth to send the game to extras. It took seven more innings for the O's to win the longest game in the history of this heated rivalry. The losing pitcher was Esteban Yan, who was immortalized by Bart and Milhouse in a game of baseball in the park, still the best random sports reference in the history of "The Simpsons."

Bart: "I'm Tomokazu Ohka of the Montreal Expos!"

Milhouse: "And I'm Esteban Yan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays!"

Step aside Yankees Universe and Red Sox Nation

If there's one big thing I took away from Usability Week, it's that you are not your users.

It's a mantra every Web publisher should repeat constantly — in fact, you might want to even write it on a Post-It note and leave it in plain sight.

I run into this problem a lot with people who come from the print media world. The old school of thought is that you put out your product, take a survey or two of your audience, and make a change when necessary. But for the most part, your product is your product — you get to define it as you want.

When it comes to Web publishing (especially in the B2B world), your definitions are not always the same as your users. From Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox:

A simple example: Many sites use segmentation, in which users must click through to the appropriate site segment. Unfortunately, these segments often don't match the way customers think of themselves, and thus require them to peek through multiple site areas to find the right one. Even a simple segmentation such as company size isn't obvious. What counts as small? Better sites will annotate their choices with a definition (stating, for example, that their small business segment targets companies with less than 100 employees).

Your users come to you for a specific piece of information — the sooner you give it to them (and the easier it is for them to find it), the more likely they will come back to you.

Real estate sites are horrible at this. We've been looking for a bit now, and are generally annoyed at the lack of information (pictures, etc.) given on realtors' Web sites.

From their viewpoint, they want you to give them a call to find out more. But as a user, you want to gather as much information as possible before making that call. It's frustrasting when you can't.

The next time you think about re-organizing your site or restricting the amount of information you present, remember: you are not your users.