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How often have we seen this:
"And the good news is that a properly-configured Linux system will work with the device. But it took me a while to figure out that my system wasn't configured properly."

And this is BRUCE PERENS for goodness sake! If he can't get it right who can? I realise that he did figure it out but it sounds like it was frustrating and I can imagine how much more frustrating it would be for someone who doesn't understand the system as well as he does. NOTE: I said THE SYSTEM not Linux!

I just had an issue with an old flatbed scanner on WinXP for instance. It works fine on the system it usually stays on but refuses to work on my new laptop or any other system. I'm sure that "my system wasn't configured properly." And if I knew what to change it would work.

On the other hand, I have several remotes including two from http://www.hometheatermaster.com/ which have always worked flawlessly with all kinds of consumer equipment. TVs, Radios, DVD players you name it. They just work. When will PCs catch up? I don't care if it runs MS or Linux or BSD (though open source is prefered) if it just works it will be an improvement. Maybe it's time to try Apple after all?

I'm glad he got it to work but from the quote above I doubt that I could. The plus side of Linux and open source in general is that I could probably find someone to help me out but it's not guaranteed.

Oh well, I guess that scanner thing annoyed me more than I thought! Sorry for the rant.

All of these new fancy schmantcy with LCDs and the like are swanky looking and all, but they all suffer from a serious flaw. No tactile feedback. I ad a very early LCD based remote years ago and I quickly grew tired of having to look down at the remote in order to do ANYthing at all with it. Nope, you truly need a remote with physical buttons on a remote control. And I have found the perfect remote control.

Behold the Marantz RC2000. It is a learning remote (it comes prepped for Marantz and Philips equipment already) and has replaced every single remote that I've had since I got it. TiVo, Satellite, receiver, PS2, TV. And it handles EVERY function of these components. There's even an optional RF module you can get to handle home security or whatever. The buttons are laid out well and are different sizes and shapes so you can use it by touch alone. And you can program 4 macros that can perform multiple functions step by step automatically. Good for the technologically challenged. Just set up a macro to turn on all of your components, change the source on your receiver and start your DVD player and all your geek-challenged friend has to do is press one button to do all of that.

Now the bad news. They don't make it anymore. There are usually several for sale on E-bay, though. Just make sure you get a MKII if you get one. The MKI doesn't have channel up/down buttons, so you have to map them to buttons near the LCD (the LCD is for labelling only, no touch sensitivity here). They rectified that on the MKII. Oh, and they're incredibly durable. I've had mine for about 10 years now and it still works like new. I paid $250 for it back then and have never regretted it once.

There IS a spiritual successor to the RC2000 out there. A company called Home Theater Master that makes a line of remotes that operate on the same basic principals as the RC2000. The closest one to it is the URC-300. I bought my dad one for his birthday, but really haven't messed with it much. Yet.

All of these new fancy schmantcy with LCDs and the like are swanky looking and all, but they all suffer from a serious flaw. No tactile feedback. I ad a very early LCD based remote years ago and I quickly grew tired of having to look down at the remote in order to do ANYthing at all with it. Nope, you truly need a remote with physical buttons on a remote control. And I have found the perfect remote control.

Behold the Marantz RC2000. It is a learning remote (it comes prepped for Marantz and Philips equipment already) and has replaced every single remote that I've had since I got it. TiVo, Satellite, receiver, PS2, TV. And it handles EVERY function of these components. There's even an optional RF module you can get to handle home security or whatever. The buttons are laid out well and are different sizes and shapes so you can use it by touch alone. And you can program 4 macros that can perform multiple functions step by step automatically. Good for the technologically challenged. Just set up a macro to turn on all of your components, change the source on your receiver and start your DVD player and all your geek-challenged friend has to do is press one button to do all of that.

Now the bad news. They don't make it anymore. There are usually several for sale on E-bay, though. Just make sure you get a MKII if you get one. The MKI doesn't have channel up/down buttons, so you have to map them to buttons near the LCD (the LCD is for labelling only, no touch sensitivity here). They rectified that on the MKII. Oh, and they're incredibly durable. I've had mine for about 10 years now and it still works like new. I paid $250 for it back then and have never regretted it once.

There IS a spiritual successor to the RC2000 out there. A company called Home Theater Master that makes a line of remotes that operate on the same basic principals as the RC2000. The closest one to it is the URC-300. I bought my dad one for his birthday, but really haven't messed with it much. Yet.

Spend at least $249 for the Ipod, a couple of hundred for a pocket PC, etc. thats over $400 bucks for an IR only Universal, plus the time of putting it together. Not to mention the clunky interface, when you could buy THIS and controlly everything via RF + IR from anywhere in your house, plus a streamlined, easily programmable (from windows sorry) control interface (took me 10 minutes to set up DVD, Reciever, Cable BOX, and 3 TV's).

Fixed your link. MX-500.

And the MX-600 appears to have more range.

Fixed your link. MX-500.

And the MX-600 appears to have more range.

A trainable remote helps I am happy with my Home Theater Master SL-9000 http://hometheatermaster.com. It is great because it has a lot of tactile buttons. I hate the feel of LCD remotes and the constant attention that they require. The problem with this remote is that the play control buttons (FF, Rev, Play) are also used for navigation for most components. Also, it was not programmed for TiVo and must be trained.

The company has a new remote with a combination of LCD and tactile buttons. The LCD is used to change the device. There are tactile buttons for play controls and a joystick for navigation. Perhaps that is a good compromise.

I bought a really nice remote for about $130 US. The Home Theater Master SL-9000. It has an LCD display, and will control anything on IR. It has codes for just about every stereo console unit, and if it doesn't you can program it in. It actually provided more functionality for some devices than the remote they came with! It has illumination for all the buttons and LCD too. 4 AAA batteries incl. If you get/build a universal reciever then you're all set for your computer too. Same company also has a touch screen remote coming out soon.

Check it out at www.hometheatermaster.com