A new view of the ancient world

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), May 3, 2002

The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the discussions, quoted a source as saying Clinton was asking for a fee of $50 million a year. It cited unidentified industry sources as saying he was not seeking a political talk show because of potential conflicts of interest with his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. It would remain to be seen whether he would dive into more traditional daytime fare like celebrity interviews, "boot camps" for troubled teens or beauty makeovers.

Oprah Winfrey, the current queen of daytime talk, recently signed a contract extension but said she would quit her show in 2006. The show reportedly generates $300 million in revenue each year, and she's paid more than $125 million a year to be host. But daytime talk show ratings are generally down this year and two prominent hosts, Rosie O'Donnell and Sally Jessy Rafael, are ending their shows.

There was a broadcast report last week that CBS or Clinton had expressed interest in the soon-to-be-vacant job of host of that network's morning news show, The Early Show. "There is not one ounce of truth to that," said CBS spokeswoman Sandra Genelius.

Surfing with a remote

NEW YORK (NYT) -- When channel surfing begat Web surfing, the remote control did not stray far from the television. But a new wireless device could make switching from CNN.com to ESPN.com as easy as switching from CNN to ESPN. The device, the Remote Wonder from ATI Technologies, can control PC functions by sending radio signals to a USB receiver up to 100 feet away. The unit, which costs $50, works as a remote for computers equipped with TV tuner cards made by ATI. It has the standard features of a remote, including volume controls, a numeric keypad and a red power button. Without a TV card, users can still use the remote to watch a DVD or cycle through MP3 files.

Since the Remote Wonder uses radio frequency to send its signal, the controller is not bound by the line-of-sight rule that limits regular infrared remotes. Users can pipe an audio-video signal from the CPU in the den to the television in the living room and still control playback from the recliner. If movies and songs must give way to other applications, the Remote Wonder can be programmed for additional software. It can also emulate a mouse, controlling pointers and cursors with its thumb-pad and L and R buttons.

Those who use their PCs only to watch films or surf the Web may wonder if a wireless controller makes the keyboard and mouse obsolete -- that is, until they lose the remote.