TV-B-Gone is a new kind of universal remote control. It's the size of a keychain and it only has one button: Power.
The mechanism is simple: one push of the button, and TV-B-Gone cycles through about a 200 infrared codes in a period of approximately one minute. According to the device's inventor, Mitch Altman, most TV sets should be turned off in 17 seconds or less.
Altman says that the device is intended as an aid to conversation. If you're in a restaurant and a loud television is distracting you, you can discreetly turn it off with a push of a button. However, many of them will probably be sold to students wishing to wreak havoc in their classes.
No word yet on whether anyone has invented a device that will shut off Bill O'Reilly.
TV-B-Gone can be found at www.tvbgone.com