(That business of looking up your television brand on a chart should be ancient history by now. Why don't the leading TV and VCR makers just meet for coffee and settle on a list of standard remote-control signals?) Once you've plugged in the proper code, sure enough, the watch controls your television from up to 16 feet away.
However, Mr Singleton's demonstrations at the event suggested that his firm expects consumers to carry out many of the watch controls by voice command.
The three lines of Martian Watches control your Apple or Android phone through a Bluetooth connection, but with a difference — the device has a microphone so you can speak voice commands to your watch that your phone will carry out.
It's patented Gear VR-style headsets, and watch-controlled photography.
About this, Ms. Redniss writes: "Mechanisms that depend on piezoelectricity are found today propelling the droplets in inkjet printers, regulating time in quartz watches, controlling the shrill wail of smoke detectors, turning the adjustable lenses of autofocus cameras" and "acting as the pickups in electric guitars".
The message today is: this is your life, don't try and leave it, and if you do – we'll watch and control your aspirations".
Google Play Music allows caching of music on the watch, or control of music on a connected smartphone, while Fit tracks steps, activity and monitors heart rate, feeding back to the Google Fit Android app.
Now you can watch Carl Rove control the mic while on-the-go!
For the uninitiated, the short of it is the Slingbox lets you watch and control your home TV on a laptop, desktop or select mobile devices.
