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The pending patent, published on March 30, said the feature would be implemented on a program-by-program basis. Devices that could carry the technology would be a television or a set-top-box

Yea, and it will be a cold day in hell when I buy either of them. You better believe, I have a choice between a tv that won't let me flip during a commercial and one that will let me flip... I'm buying the one that lets me flip.

Yea, and it will be a cold day in hell when I buy either of them.

If you use cabel or satellite TV, it will likely be in the receiver box they provide for you.

What will happen is that networks may refuse to let cable stations carry their signals unless they issue one of those boxes.

I can hardly blame them, to tell you the truth, and have wondered about this myself. I can watch my beloved Browns, Tribe, and Cavs, and it costs me nothing. I can watch 24, and the very few other shows I watch at the same cost. At some point, the people putting those things on the air have to make money or they're going to stop making them. Or, we'll have to subsidize directly what we now subsidize voluntarily through purchases of advertised products.

It kind of amazes me that some people here are outraged by this. What, do you think private companies have an obligation to air programming at an economic loss?