Today sitting on a couch, we can flip through hundreds of T.V. channels, tune the T.V. to suit our requirements and perform a host of other operations without moving an inch. The T.V. remote control has become an indispensable gadget.

The first T.V. remote, called Lazy Bones, was made in 1950 by the Zenith Corporation. It had a wire attached to it, which connected it to a motor inside the T.V. By pressing the buttons on the remote, viewers could move the motor in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to move up or down channels. But the remote wire caused plenty of accidents, with people constantly tripping over them.

Subsequent developments led to the manufacture of the wireless remote, which used ultrasonic sound, and then the modern T.V. remote, which uses infrared light to send signals to the T.V. The low-frequency infrared light is invisible to the human eye and can only be detected by the T.V. receiver.

The appearance of T.V. remote controls has also undergone many developments. From the bulky awkward boxes of the 50s, remotes evolved into the familiar peanut and the slim rectangular shapes with round or rectangle-shaped buttons. In 2006, remotes have become even more high-tech, with streamlined, easy-to-hold shapes and backlit LCD screens that display exhaustive menus of options. In fact, the new T.V. remote is more like a hand-held computer than a remote control device.

Intelligent T.V. remotes are in vogue today. These remote controls can interconnect appliances like your television and your computer; they even have digital program guides and activity control features that let them automatically switch on the T.V. when you put on the DVD player. With such smart T.V. remote controls, you can wield great power from your couch.