From: ldo@nz.invalid   
      
   Hardware hacker wants to make an alternative remote control for his   
   smart TV that would be more intuitive for his toddler child to use   
   than a conventional interactive remote interface.   
      
   So what does he do? Build it out of an ancient, 1990s-technology   
   floppy drive. Basic idea is that each floppy disk represents a   
   different stream; user inserts disk into drive, TV starts playing that   
   stream.   
      
   Initially he thought of faking it, with simulated floppy “disks” with   
   RFID chips on them that the “drive” would detect. Then he figured that   
   the actual tactile experience of putting a real working disk into a   
   real working drive would be far more effective. So he stores a config   
   file on each disk that contains information about the stream to be   
   played (plus associated display artwork), that software can read from   
   the drive.   
      
   Since there is only a small amount of data to be read off each disk,   
   the drive can work quite nicely off battery power. So it becomes a   
   real remote control as in one that is remote, not connected to the TV   
   by any wire. Albeit one that is not very easy to pick up, but never   
   mind ...   
      
      
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)