Core77

Fake TV: the continuing appearance of useless products

By Rain Noe - May 21, 2008

in Object Culture

We sincerely hope this is a gag: the Fake TV "uses an array of colored, flashing LEDs to create the illusion of the stroboscopic effect of a television," apparently so thieves walking by will see the flickering in your window and move on to greener pastures.

Do we need this, do the numbers bear this one out? Are our lands so roaming with robbers that somewhere they had to set up a factory to crank these things out? D'you reckon this is what the inventor of LED's had in mind? Sure, the Fake TV burns less juice than leaving the regular TV on, but where are we supposed to put this thing, in a fake entertainment console?

Hell in a handbasket, folks.

via technabob

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rob

14 years ago

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Why so synical? This is a great idea. I'm a crime scene examiner and I've never been to examine a burglary at a house with one of these!
Honestly, it's a great idea and anyone who thinks otherwise clearly has never been burgled or has any understanding of how upsetting an experience it is. I'm getting one!
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james

15 years ago

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you're way off base on this one. my aunt bought one and from the outside it looks just like a real tv. so when she's out of the house or asleep on her own, it looks as if someone is up and watching tv. it's cheap to buy and cheap to run and if it gives even a small percentage increase in the protection against being burgled, surely it's worth it?
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"extra cautious person"

15 years ago

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Actually for people that are having problems with break ins and vandalism this isn't a bad idea. I just had my work vehicle busted into and it was parked outside my house in a relatively good area. My neighbor 3 homes down just a week ago had their window smashed out.
I am adding a motion light above the garage and going to use one of these from time to time in hopes these punk kids will assume their chances of getting caught could be higher at this home.
Also I setup a Logitech WiLife camera setup that is now covering the driveway. I am going to have to lose my ability to drive my work vehicle home which will add 1hr + to my day that I will not get paid for plus again that hr will be away from my soon to be born baby girl. So all this garbage w/ punks breaking in really needs to stop and I am trying what I can to avoid all this.
Be negative about it but it isn't a bad idea imo. What people should be complaining about are these lowly cowards that must get their fun from taken from hard working people like myself.
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Scotty

16 years ago

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After doin my time as an exstacy poppin party kid a few blinky lights still gets my attention but really!?! fake tv!? totally unnecessary. not only is this a hideously unattractive waste of a product to further fill our landfills (HUGE pet pev) but its not exactly the Spartan Army of protection either. call Brinks for CJ's sake!!
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Rocky Malin

16 years ago

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The answer to all of those questions is "Yes."
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Love to Travel

16 years ago

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Actually, it's for REAL. We got one of these right before we went on a long vacation. We used this in addition to
our old stand-bys of having lights on timers and asking the nosey neighbor to keeps her eyes open, etc. A group of teenagers vandalized the neighborhood one night while we were out of town, and they left our house alone (this wasn't the case for several of our neighbors). It is definitely not an item that would be of use to someone who still lives at home in their parent's basement or for that person who always happens to be at home anyway sitting on the computer. For those people it would truly be "useless".
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Kay

16 years ago

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I have a much more wonderfully useless product for you. My first thought was, "Oh, how cute!" and then rationality came flooding through me with a nice, "Wait...WHAT??"

http://store.roseandradish.com/product-exec/product_id/1596/nm/Jacquelineknits_Apple_Jacket_
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Jay

16 years ago

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Tv w/o the "Programming"! Sounds safe to me, really. So I'd market it differently- New Age Tv! ha ha. ...I see your point, and fear based marketing :l
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Natron3030

16 years ago

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I dunno.. I would be pretty impressed if I visited someones place and they had replaced all the real TV's with these.
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SmellyG

16 years ago

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To be fair, i can't see how this is as bad as your making it out to be. I know a few people who have timed light switches on their lights when they go away on long holidays to give the illusion that the house is occupied. This is on the same lines, and possibly more energy efficient.

Besides, weather or not you agree it's a good design or not, I would guarantee you that their is a market consisting of paranoid, over-protective, extra cautious people out there who would buy this.

Theres definitely more questionable products around than this one.
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