Matt Yglesias has a link to this story:
It’s not that Sam Kimery objects to the views expressed on Fox News. The creator of the “Fox Blocker” contends the channel is not news at all.
Kimery figures he’s sold about 100 of the little silver bits of metal that screw into the back of most televisions, allowing people to filter Fox News from their sets, since its August debut.
The Tulsa, Okla., resident also has received thousands of e-mails, both angry and complimentary as well as a few death threats.
“Apparently the making of terroristic threats against those who don’t share your views is a high art form among a certain core audience,” said Kimery, 45.
This was the topic of a recent Boston Legal, and apparently it is true:
Business could pick up since the blocker was alluded to in a recent episode of the ABC drama “Boston Legal.” The show’s original script mentioned Fox News, but ABC had the references removed.
Doesn’t everyone’s tv have an option to block out channels you don;t like? I have it on my tv and my cable box, and I use it to block out all the shopping channels.
Mason
The Fox Blocker site used to strongly hint (by over-the-top disavowing such use) that illicitly installing them on tv’s that aren’t yours would be great fun.
Kimmitt
I think that’s the idea, yeah — it’s more of a practical joke device than anything else.
Joel B.
How it even works is another problem, could the blocker really block content? Most likely it blocks a certain portion of the cable stream, but where fox would be on the cable streams would depend on you cable provider. It would probably work at some locations but block The Weather Channel in others (I don’t know this for sure, it may very well work completely, but looking at it, well color me skeptical).
Mark
Gee, all I need is the remote if I want to not watch something.
BumperStickerist
fwiw, I’m in the final prototype stage of a ‘Fox-ifying’ device – one that duplexes Fox into the background of every channel.
Basically this Foxifier will make Fox News a subliminal part of every station that’s on.
My target markets are those people who have qualms about the coming US Conservative Christian Theocracy and want to first desensitize and then surrender themselves to the coming inevitability.
It’ll be a bargain at $14.95.
shark
I hate stupid douchebags like this…it isn’t enough to have a remote so as to avoid Fox, now it offends them to such a degree that they have to totally block it.
I assume the next logical step is to build a jammer to stop the signal at the source…or failing that, bomb the FNC broadcast facilities?
Kimmitt
It’s called “humor.”
Brian
Why not block all the annoying infommericals or religious programs or Armenian gameshows or Joan Rivers on the TV Guide Channel?? As Mark wrote above… just use the remote, dummies!
Bruce
Ha Ha. Right. Leave to the dims to invent something that is already built-in to all cable baxes; a channel blocker. Oooh! Look! How clever! Only a dim would buy such a thing. And no one here has said censorship or freedom of speech! But lefties do not beleive in Freedom of Speech. lefties beleive in censorship because they cannot argue logically and they keep loosing everything. Of course the answer is to censor what ever they do not agree with. Yeah! Lefties to the rescue! Just take away peoples right to free speech and that will get a dim in the whitehouse again. ROFLMAO
Sandi
This isn’t something new. Channel filters have been around for at least 30 years. You can go to your cable company and request one (they will probably just give it to you).
The problem is if cable changes the channel lineup you have the wrong channel blocked.
It is a simple filter that blocks a narrow frequency band or channel. In the electronics industry we call them notch filters and they can be built for about $1.
Rocky Smith
Geez! Why go to all that trouble? Even a few scant seconds of exposure to Fox news while surfing might infect you somehow? I flip by the Clinton News network (CNN) and Conservative bashing service (CBS) quite often while surfing. It hasn’t hurt me yet. I even watch from time to time to see what the “other side” is saying. Getting all your news from one source will insure that you don’t know all the facts. Don’t let partisanship keep you from being well informed.