Always pressing the wrong buttons on the television remote control and losing reception altogether

“This is wonderful news because finding a remote button that does anything at all marks you out as technically advanced,” says Miko Ishuzimo, editor of ‘ Loser-Friendly’ , the quot magazine for technophobics.  . “Even the television itself was impressed which is why the word ‘SMART’ probably appeared on your screen before it went blank. Finding the remote itself in the first place requires considerable expertise , as does finding the right one among so many to choose from. Between them they have about 147 buttons each distinctly marked with coloured spots, numbers, letters , stars, and squiggles clearly denoting their respective functions so maybe there is still a learning curve to go through , but you’re clearly already well on your way to becoming the geek that these devices are made for.”   Most quot postings about tv remote gizmo are coming from chronic ‘dystechnics’,  usually older people who remember a time when ‘remote control’  meant standing on a table with one leg in the air holding the aerial aloft in the one ‘hot spot’ in the room which got a picture without snowflakes. For them maybe there is a case for a ‘no frills’ television control system , or at least one with a setting which factors in their level of technical savvy.  Not being able to press the right remote controls is the main cause of the general decline of television viewing and not – as broadcasters will try to tell you  – the fierce competition from other forms of in-home entertainment.  Much under-rated among these is spending many a relaxing hour first hunting for the remote and then settling down for the evening to watch the DVD disc-tray sliding in and out.  

(Charlene Saxenby ,Aberdeen) - QQQ**