NTT invents a new way to expose your porn habit

NTT CYBER Solutions has invented a multifunctional remote system that could unwittingly expose you to a lot of embarrassment. It’s a remote control that could save you a lot of time by remembering your viewing preferences. On the other hand, it could tell your house guests what your, er, viewing prefences are. Which could be fatal.

Demonstrating the principle that scientists never really think through the dangerous possibilities their inventions create, the boffins have invented a remote control gadget that remembers your preferences for lighting, TV and air conditioning.

Great if it’s for personal use. But if it falls into the wrong hands, it could expose which TV channels you usually tune into, and how subtle your lighting setting normally is while your watching it.

The circular, palm-size remote has an infrared signaling system and six control buttons. There’s also a built-in temperature sensor and GPS receiver. The nosy gadget analyses how you use the remote to set your TV viewing TV and room temperature options, and commits them to memory.

That’s a good thing? Well it could be if you desperately need to save three seconds every day, setting your TV and air conditioning. However, once your intelligent control assistant knows what you do in the evenings. What’s to stop it selling the story to the News of The World?

The main advantage, says NTT, is that if there’s an important baseball game or sumo match on that evening, you are unlikely to forget it, as the TV will automatically tune to that station. Great if baseball or Sumo are your bag.

The NTT lab hopes to unleash this dangerous technology on an innocent world in two years. When TV is delivered over the Internet, it could provide a serious application for viewers. It’ll save you hours sifting through the vast variety of films available for viewing.

Yes, but that little machine knows your viewing habits. And surely that’s dangerous. Unless you have two handsets, one for the coffee table, for when you have visitors. And one you can hide away in the bedroom.