Save the BetaMax!!!

February 8, 2005 10:11 AM

Endangered Gizmos via the EFF (warning, they do want your money to continue fighting "to defend our rights to think, speak, and share our ideas, thoughts, and needs using new technologies, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web.")
Lawsuits have driven some excellent consumer products into extinction, like the ReplayTV 4000, DVD X Copy and the lamented wild and crazy Napster 1.0 including what drove them into extinction. They also list endangered gizmos like the HD TV PCI Card, Morpheus and Generic FireWire, open Wifi hot spots and CD burners.
Among the "saved" gizmos is the Skylink garage door opener which had been attacked under the DMCA.
posted by fenriq (5 comments total)

What's funny is that I actually own that garage door opener, since it was the only universal one sold at my local Lowes at the time. The company that sued under the DMCA makes my garage door opener, though I wish I wasn't helping support their stupid efforts.

Turns out the garage door codes locked out the universal remote anyway, and I ended up having to buy an extra direct from chamberlain. Bastards.
posted by mathowie at 10:26 AM on February 8, 2005

While the lawsuits definately didn't help, the demise of DVDXCopy wasn't far off because it was a terrible product. Even then, there were better products that did a better job that were free - DVDShrink comes to mind right away.
posted by jeffmik at 12:52 PM on February 8, 2005

Streambox VCR isn't extinct, just lesser spotted ;)
posted by krisjohn at 5:50 PM on February 8, 2005

Great article. Always nice to know the toys that the big boys won't allow us to play with. (And hopefully purchase them before they're extinct)
posted by JGreyNemo at 8:44 PM on February 8, 2005

I was just thinking about looking around for a ReplayTV 4000.

And Matt? I had one of the same remotes, same deal, only universal they had, only it worked perfectly for me.
posted by fenriq at 10:32 PM on February 8, 2005