Giving in to Automation

My wife and I set up a new television with a larger HD screen for our bedroom viewing. I was struck by how much of the setup process had been automated. This certainly made getting started simpler; and it meant that the manual was a lot slimmer, which I know means a lot to (probably) most customers. On the other hand it also means that I have less knowledge of what I can control should I want to do so, and I am not sure I like that. Similarly, I do not think I like the total absence of any physical switches. All interaction now goes through the remote control, which means that, if the remote control has any problems of its own (which is possible), there is very little that the user can do about it. Once again, technology has tried to make life simpler while disregarding some of the more annoying consequences in the process.