Australian plagiarist can't write, can't count

Our friend David Richards, proprietor of Smarthouse and Channel News in Australia, is such a sneaky little devil. He takes our exclusive story on the new Crestron UFO-4X remote, throws in some grammatical and numerical errors, and claims it as his own.

The photo he steals from us, however, is completely unadulterated and, as usual, completely unattributed to CEPro.com.

Vintage David!

Read:
CE Pro's original story
David's story

His story is below, with my highlights in yellow and commentary in red.

Crestron Takes On The iPad With New Touch Track Pad

By David Richards | Sunday | 25/07/2010

As the Apple iPad starts to put pressure on control devices from home automation manufacturers Creston has come out with a new 6 button track pad remote control device. Interesting, I count 21 buttons. Did he mean 6-inch remote, as I wrote in my story. He needs a better copy editor. Get it? copy editor?

The UFO-4X has a virtual keyboard for entering URLs, passwords, and content selection, [sic] it can also be transformed into a mouse, so users can navigate their way around both content and a home's remote control services. Shaped like a flying saucer the device sits on a small stand for charging. At least David added something of his own – that the UFO has a dock. I never mentioned that in my story! But then, I guess he inferred that from the image he stole from our site without credit.

The device which sits on a wireless network can also be used to access Web pages, using the same taps and double-taps as a standard desktop track pad. I believe my own wording is a little more elegant: With the UFO controller, users can finger effortlessly through Web pages, using the same taps and double-taps as a standard desktop trackpad.

Users can also access PC [sic] on the network, as long as they're running Crestron's CEN-WIN touch panel HID Emulator software. Yeah, what he said. I mean, what I said: Users also can navigate any PC on the network, as long as they’re running Crestron’s CEN-WIN Touchpanel HID Emulator software.

Multi touch functionality lets users flip through music libraries, scroll through TV channels and radio stations and select control apps. Hmm, sounds familiar: Multitouch functionality lets users flip through music libraries, scroll through TV channels and radio stations and select control apps.

The RF unit operates over a 100 metre radius. It can be used in both landscape and portrait mode, adjusting automatically due to a built-in tilt sensor. Flash is supported for dynamic graphics. Not quite, David. I wrote 200 feet, which translates to about 61 meters. Are we over-compensating for something? Oh yes, and there’s the plagiarizing: The RF unit is good for about 200 feet indoors. It can be used in both landscape and portrait mode, adjusting automatically thanks to a built-in tilt sensor. Flash is supported for dynamic graphics.

Click for more David Richards gems.