Philips of the Netherlands wants to turn the family TV into a blackboard, where you can leave notes for the next person who switches it on (WO 02/073957). All you have to do is talk to the remote control.
Inside the remote is a microphone and memory chip that temporarily stores messages, like 鈥渄on鈥檛 forget to put the cat out鈥� or 鈥渨e need more coffee鈥�. People watching TV could even leave reminders for themselves, such as 鈥渃all Bill鈥�.
The remote flashes the message to the TV by infrared link. The next person to turn on the set will hear the message recited by the TV or as on-screen text, depending on the format you selected when you left the message.
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