So  basically I'm just gonna go over real quickly  some news I've just got from the board on how we're supposed to do with this  remote control . And then I'm gonna turn over to you guys to make brief presentations  on what you've found and then we'll have a bit of discussion . So basically  what I've just found out from the board I dunno if you guys got this email as well but it needs to be television only . So no we're not doing D_V_D_ , we're not doing anything else , marketing: Okay . And it has to have the slogan , case you guys forget the slogan it's , we put fashion in electronics . I'm not sure what teletext is but I'm assuming you guys do , so we don't wanna include that  in this particular design . So basically  given those guidelines which will have some effect on how we design we'll discuss it later  'cause it's television only we'll be able to change our   well we can s sacrifice more function for a better television remote . So I'm gonna turn over to the Industrial Designer  to go ahead and make a presentation on industrial designer: Okay .  sends message to another system , so there's an energy source involved in that like a battery or solar power , something along those lines , there's an integrated circuit , which is the microchip ,  and that actually compose the messages and usually the way a a remote control works is it sends infrared bits to another system . A user interface controls the chip , basically that's the casing and the buttons and  accordingly the messages as well . So my findings ,  I just did a preliminary study here and  I found that too much metal in remote design could potentially cause interference with the ability of the remote to send commands .  too much metal is used sometimes and people pick up radio signals and the like , and there's also the possibility of the remote catching on fire and injuring the customer , just think of those lawsuits , that'd be really bad . Just some ideas that I had , energy source , it's kinda hip to be eco friendly so I thought maybe we could do something with solar power with an alkaline battery backup .  the user interface , I was since we can't use metal I was thinking maybe a high grade recycled plastic . industrial designer: The chip , silicon based chip I don't really see any way around that , we can't really be different in that respect .  , the sender well I'm thinking infrared 'cause it is the industry standard , multi channel , that's a word I made up , I don't really know what it means . marketing: industrial designer:  PAL and N_T_S_C_ compatible and  probably a two hundred foot range .  personal preferences , I really think that we should use plastic as opposed to metal , the company simply can't afford this kinds of lawsuits marketing: Fine . industrial designer: which adm admittedly is gonna come at the cost of a certain aesthetic value , project manager: Is is there a way that we can use  modern types of polymers , or mo modern types of plastics industrial designer: 'cause we were thinking project manager: that maybe do have some kind of aesthetic value  like if a white like if we talk about like well like on the lapt on these laptops and other ones they use a a pretty nice , industrial designer: Right . project manager: you can do i is there some kind of nice colo der quality plastic that we can work with ? industrial designer: Yeah that shouldn't be a problem .  for example the plastic they have on your laptop there is something that's perfectly possible for us to do .  if next we can have the  User Interface Developer go ahead and make a brief presentation that'd be great as well .  we n basically need to operate an electronic device , it needs to be universal  and possibly  operate several different types of devices although we now  find that  that that's no problem .  that would be any number of different things  such as switch on the television ,  switch to the next channel , that sort of thing , I think we're all quite  quite  intelligent and know know what a normal remote control does .  now some of the other things I found is a a complicated remote control sorry that we can't quite see my red there very well project manager: Oh yeah look at that . user interface: but  this remote control has many functions  so it can do a lot of things but it  it is quite complicated project manager: user interface: and most users will find it  find that they won't use most of the functions because they don't know how to use them and don't wanna take the time to learn how to do it . Another remote control , slightly different , it's a simpler remote control  many less buttons but  has many fewer functions ,  m much easier for the user to manipulate and use .  so attain the functionality of a complicated device but use a simple formatted display  for the user to to work with . project manager: 'Kay marketing: Does that mean I'm up ? project manager: yep that's you .  basically I was looking through some marketing reports that we've got and we had a usability test where we were actually sort like watching a hundred people use T_V_ remotes and see what it is that they're using and then they filled out a questionnaire about what they like and what they don't about their general T_V_ remote control practices .  pretty much through testing we were finding out that most of the time , everybody's used to using changing the channel , turning it on , using the volume , m the majority of the time that's all that's going on , the other functions happen , for some people they're important , but the primary uses are really really basic .  and so big complicated remotes like one we saw in the last presentation are really not the general public's use , they're not using a lot of it , they don't need it , they even find it frustrating when there are all those buttons that they don't know what to do with . And  we also found out that  fifty percent of our people , their the worst thing about a remote is how often they lose it . So I think what we were talking about with a pager or something , will really come into play with a lot of these people .  there's also a survey about what they liked about remotes , industrial designer: marketing: and pretty much they all think they're hideous and not very useful , and the younger demographics are all really interested in voice recognition options . I don't know if that's something we're ready to look into technically , that's up to the design people , but it is s something worth thinking about , especially since the younger demographic's obviously the one that's gonna keep growing , so if that's the direction we're headed in it's something to think about . So  marketing: Need to unplug this ? project manager: yep I'll just  switch that back here . project manager: I'll finish up with just a bit of discussion plan on for the next phase . project manager: Right so I think we've covered most of these important questions through this  through you guys's presentations  we've got  y the Industrial Designer suggests  or pretty much emphatically suggested that we need to go with plastic .  Sarah , she's recommended that we go for simpler functions , so fewer functions  but we need to decide who are we selling this to , you s your stats suggested that seventy five percent of people under thirty five wanted , thought about voice control , marketing: Oh right . project manager:  so do we wanna go for that , or do we want to go for an older demographic , and my thought is  we've got w if we're gonna go for a sleek look  we are putting the fashion in electronics  . marketing: We're not catering to the pensioners of the world I don't think so . project manager:  we need to wonder ah h about how we make it better and smaller and faster  think we're constrained to plastics very well , we've got this idea , Ron was saying we need to think about  revolutionising the way it's looking  , marketing: Right . project manager: which might be easier given that we're going for simpler function and that we're only going for a telly . How th this voice operation thing is I think is a good idea  assuming that it's doable ,  at least for the basic controls , maybe we can balance it that way , you know we can see . project manager: Okay you can't say record alias tonight at seven P_M_ industrial designer: project manager: but we might be able to say  volume up . marketing: Is that only gonna be within our two hundred foot range then ? industrial designer: Oh yeah I think that's very doable . project manager: The difficulty wh would be in  I think like i you couldn't speak into the remote that you're trying to find . project manager: If it's hidden under the couch but then again you have this wee this wee thing you know that's just a little chip or whatever that has the page button , maybe that could be voice activated too . user interface: finds your marketing: K project manager: Or an isolated magnet or something like , or you know something that wouldn't interfere I don't know that'd be the technical thing marketing: Yeah . project manager: but yeah I like that , I like that , the voice recognition for the paging system . user interface: The other thing is we might be able to handle the simplicity of a remote control and kind of put the more complicated things into a voice control . user interface: And the younger market could use kind of the voi voice control method and the older market might might k marketing: Making it just an option ? industrial designer:  . user interface: exactly and might consider the older market could use the simpler design with the traditional buttons and what not . The  if we're gonna do this touch pad screen thing , it would be still , do we know if that's an option technically right now to that ? project manager: marketing: 'Cause it seems like an interesting option especially because then you could have like your primary screen just be these you know four or five basic functions , you can have project manager:  . marketing: menu options or something to have all these other complicated voice recognition , settings , things that you're not gonna use every day and that a lot of people aren't gonna use but it is an option there for this hi-tech market that sort of re is the sleek thing we're going for . industrial designer: Gotta wonder though , if we're adding so much technology to this one remote , are we still gonna be able to meet out twelve pou our twelve fifty Euro you know goal for selling these things . user interface: industrial designer: It seems like , we're not gonna be able to handle all these functions with just one microchip .  'kay  well yeah I guess we'll cross that bridge  in a la slightly later stages of development  but yeah I know , that's perfectly viable question .  'kay  so I'm seeing that we're gonna just basically focus on this young demographic group , aim it at them , but then in a sense that its bells and whistles are available for anybody who wants them but basically we'll make a sleek simple functioned   remote control . project manager:  I think this voice recognition thing is a we've got a market for it  I don't think there's too many , marketing:  . project manager: we'd more or less be cornering the market on it as well , we don't have many  . Right  we don't have many people or there's not very many competitors out there that do that so cool . The thing with I see would there not be a we'd have to maybe sacrifice the face plates for a touch screen ? user interface:  I'm not sure that's sincerely correct , project manager: Okay . user interface: I think if you kind of take the example of a mobile phone that  trying to pass a portion of the device is not interchangeable whereas the surrounding portions are interchangeable . We have to ask whether we're going to include a certain number of face plates with the package ? That's something I w for say we're including three or four face plates , it's gonna drive the cost up . industrial designer: And the other question is , if we do include them are we really in a position to evaluate that market ? marketing: Yeah . industrial designer: Off the top of my head it sounds kind of like a gimmick that wouldn't really go anywhere . project manager: it's not like with cell phones like where you have a you know Nokia model X_ and then ten people make face plates for it , we'd be just our model of pho of t remote control . marketing: Well in the publicity of a face plate on a phone is you have it out and around , it is sort of emblematic whereas you're just sit at home , project manager: user interface: Well hopefully some people have people coming t over to w to hang out at your house project manager: industrial designer: marketing: True . project manager: Alright well we can we can discuss that one further when we think about  whether th when we do costs and so forth ,  . project manager: True , if plastic is dead cheap and if we're making the whole thing out of plastic anyway  yeah we'll cross that bridge later  but yeah we will have to evaluate what's most important .  I think we've had a bit of discussion already on this thing , n s there any other questions comments that came up in these presentations ? user interface: Well have we confirmed that we're gonna go ahead with a  touch screen  project manager: Yeah yeah okay . Let's based on what sh on what you guys have all said to me let's go for a plastic built or  b plastic cased 'cause tha tha that's easy on the cost , try to look for some kind of high quality recycled plastic as you recommended and I think that's a great idea .  And we'll yeah tha let's provisionally let's go for a touch screen one with several submenus  for possible extra stuff that one basically put the channel and the on and off switch on the touch screen .  do we have  wait a minute it occurs to me that if we have a touch screen people are going to have to recharge their remote controls . marketing: industrial designer: user interface: So these new lithium batteries they last twenty years even with the touch screen ? project manager: Do they ? Okay . industrial designer: Can we afford to include one of those ? marketing: Can we afford that ? user interface: marketing: And will somebody buy it if we don't ? industrial designer: project manager: Well I I don't think yeah I can't see anybody buying a lap a remote control that they have to plug in so we'd have to see some kind of new battery technology . project manager: Okay so let's go with a  touch screen with  some kind of you know with with some kind of cutting edge battery technology marketing: For twelve Euros ? user interface: project manager: Yeah well hey you know well it's it's worth looking into , if not we can always default to just doing a a well presented plastic simple marketing: It is . project manager: you can put the we could I I dunno  I suppose we could put the the basics on the centre easiest you know , you know people know the channel and volume function make them large and easy to get at and then the the other the other bits and bobs you know go through menu  w we'll do the aesthetics . project manager:  it's th  with this voice recognition option as well  just as for the simple functions the  the on off , channels , volume ,  industrial designer: Right . Even if you can't do voice recognition for the paging you know just some kind of simple button that's just a I guess another infrared signal to the remote control and while to emit some kind of paging . project manager:  right so any comments ? Thoughts before we break into go into the next round of individual work on this . industrial designer: Since we're doing  touch screen , do we wanna look into the possibility of people being able to input different types of skins for the you know the actual interface part of it and things like that ? Or is it just gonna be one touch screen for everybody . industrial designer: What what would be on that touch screen ? 'Cause you said earlier that we have to think about company colours and  marketing: And oh . project manager: W it's my understanding that if you were going to do a skin you'd need to have some way for people to download or import skins into the remote control . marketing: Right , and then you're dealing with ports and cords and project manager: Yeah I think perhaps industrial designer: 'S too much . project manager: I think that that one m might just be  and they just yeah I think that one might just be out of the range for this particular marketing: For now . project manager: a P_D_A_ would they would makes a lot of sense for a P_D_A_ 'cause you're gonna be using it to connect up to things anyway but I dunno , what do you guys think ? industrial designer: Think we just need to come up with a nice black and red interface on the touch screen .  I I'm I'm in agreement with that , I'm wondering how we're gonna get  we put fashion into electronics onto this device . Well but if we're gonna use a touch screen where it's gonna come on like on your cell phone it'll have your your carrier provider name come up first like while it's loading project manager:  . marketing: Comes on every time you turn it on and then that's it 'cause it is a bit much to have it like engraved on the back or something I think . user interface: I'm hoping for a subliminal maybe half a millisecond as it turns on . Yeah I know I d it seems like it would suffice to have just the R_R_ on there . industrial designer: People aren't gonna want their remote to boot up and to see flashing things come on .  and yeah that would help the battery life too and if it the remote they do have to press a button for the remote to turn on . Kind of if i user interface: Well all you have to do is touch the screen and it automatically goes on . Oh yeah I like that I like the idea of  putting the logo in the boot up screen , nice . marketing: We're good ? project manager: I'm gonna save th a copy of this in case you guys need any reminders . I'm gonna save a copy of this and the minutes that I'll do it in a second and put them in the shared folder for later reference