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Prince Philip Can’t Work a Remote Control
Duke of Edinburgh asks, "Why can't you have a handset that people who are not 10 years old can actually read?"
And another thing ... why do they put the TV controls so low that you have to lie on the ground to see them? Ghastly!
I thought my mom was just being a baby when her VCR finally gave out last month and she had to get a DVR.
"Could there be any more buttons on the remote control?" she lamented.
Turns out, Mom's in good company.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, can't work the damn remote either.
"To work out how to operate a television set you practically have to make love to the thing," the 88-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth says. "And why can't you have a handset that people who are not 10 years old can actually read?"
His remarks (captured in the YouTube video shown below) were made in an interview celebrating the 50th anniversary of a Design Council prize in his name.
In addition to remote controls, the Duke rails on TVs with their low-set controls.
"You used to put it on the floor, and then they put the controls on the bottom so you had to lie on the floor, and then if you wanted to record something the recorder was underneath," he says.
"So you ended up lying on the floor with a torch [that's British for flashlight] in your teeth, a magnifying glass and an instruction book [that's old people's talk for tech support]."
So is Prince Philip praising or deriding the public when he proclaims, "I think people are very tolerant, the way they go on tolerating these ghastly things."?
Then again, this is the guy whose indelicate comments include: "British women can't cook" and "If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
[via Telegraph]
"Could there be any more buttons on the remote control?" she lamented.
Turns out, Mom's in good company.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, can't work the damn remote either.
"To work out how to operate a television set you practically have to make love to the thing," the 88-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth says. "And why can't you have a handset that people who are not 10 years old can actually read?"
His remarks (captured in the YouTube video shown below) were made in an interview celebrating the 50th anniversary of a Design Council prize in his name.
In addition to remote controls, the Duke rails on TVs with their low-set controls.
"You used to put it on the floor, and then they put the controls on the bottom so you had to lie on the floor, and then if you wanted to record something the recorder was underneath," he says.
"So you ended up lying on the floor with a torch [that's British for flashlight] in your teeth, a magnifying glass and an instruction book [that's old people's talk for tech support]."
So is Prince Philip praising or deriding the public when he proclaims, "I think people are very tolerant, the way they go on tolerating these ghastly things."?
Then again, this is the guy whose indelicate comments include: "British women can't cook" and "If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
[via Telegraph]
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About the Author
Julie Jacobson, Editor-at-large, CE Pro
Julie Jacobson is co-founder of EH Publishing and currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro, mostly in the areas of home automation, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. She majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player with the scars to prove it. Follow her on Twitter @juliejacobson.
2 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Prince Philip has just gone up several notches in my book - never did like his style when Princes Di was killed. That said, he hits it on the mark. I am contacting my best dealer in the UK to let them know that I know of a person with means who needs a solution. Although I bet he is going to be a difficult customer.
As for the non-remote related comments, I can attest that British women cannot cook - he is right there. As for the Cantonese, I haven’t been so can’t refute that one.
Great post Julie…made my morning - see you next week?
Page 1 of 1 comment pages
Very interesting, but as you quoted your mom, Prince Philip is not a minority, he is a majority and that is why we (the CEDIA Channel) exist. He is not wrong when he says that they need to make them easier to read and follow.
One thing that we as manufacturers and installers always have to remember is that the majority of people do not know what we know. In most cases there is a definate wall that prevents us from making things work for everyone.
I like the fact that England holds a competition like this, we need one here in the states, lord knows we could use it to booster design.