On A Pale Horse

Where oh where does the time go...
Oh yeah, I know, sitting in front of the damn TV, watching every bad basic cable show known to man, that is if I can stay awake long enough to actually make it to the final credits. As of late I've been spending more and more time on the love seat with the cat on my chest and one of the dogs at my side (no easy feat considering dog in question weighs 63 lbs at his vet appointment this past week); but at least I'm not stuck with one channel as it was back in the day.

Alder, originally born in Vienna, Austria, migrated to the US via England during World War 2 and started his career with Zenith in 1937. He worked with military communications until the war ended and then directed his attention to television. In 1955 the first concept of the TV remote invented by Eugene Polley, this was called the Flashomatic. The Flashomatic was popular but flawed. Robert Adler improved on the concept by having a remote that worked on ultra high frequencies that were generated by clicking on aluminum rods, this early version didn't require batteries at all. In the 1960's he further tweaked his invention by having the remote create ultra frequencies sounds electronically.

Adler continued working outside of the television industries and was granted 180 US patents, his most recent on February 1st of this year. In 1998 he, along with other Zenith engineers, were presented with an Emmy for "pioneering work in the development of the remote control".

Mr Alder passed away from heart failure in a Boise, Idaho nursing home.

1913 - February 15, 2007 - R.I.P.

sources:
Alder web information
Yahoo News

Labels: 1913 births, 2007 February deaths, heart failure, inventor

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