This PC Remote Controller was sent to me by BudgetGadgets.com for review. No money changed hands allowing me to give an honest review of this product.

Around a year ago, I was on the search for a PC Infra-Red remote to control Windows Media Center. The remote I acquired with my TV tuner card was somewhat inadequate. I was unable to find a remote sold on it’s own for a sensible price, so I purchased another tuner card solely so that I could use the extra buttons of the new remote. If only I had been able to find this remote while I was on my search.

This remote features just about any button you could ever want, and then some. It can be used to control just about any media player software you currently have on your computer. You can even use the remote to move your mouse cursor around the screen, and click on items. This feature works surprisingly well. What this means you can use the remote for extra stuff like a clicker for PowerPoint presentations.

There aren’t any drivers required for this remote, meaning there is no need to configure anything for it to work. While this may seem a little limiting, there are some hotkeys that can be set if you choose. There is not much this remote can’t control on your computer. It is built solid and even has an 18 metre range making it ideal for most environments.

There is only one annoyance I have with this remote and that is the NumLock. Each of the buttons towards the bottom of the remote has a number assigned to it for changing channels etc, but each button also serves another useful task such as navigation. It is a hassle to press the Numlock, and there is no indicator on the remote, or the computer informing you of if the Numlock is on or off. A small gripe for an otherwise worthwhile product.

PC Remote Controller is available from BudgetGadgets.com for $16 including shipping. You will need to fork out for a couple of AAA batteries before you can use it. Overall, I give this remote a big thumbs up with my main factors being the price, features and the overall simplicity of it. BudgetGadgets has quite a few other PC remotes, starting from just a few dollars.

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In my last job, I had a new car with 3.5” jack input into the stereo. This was so I could plug in my PDA/Music player/GPS into the stereo. It worked great until I needed to put the phone on charge.

As I put my foot down, I would hear noise come out of the stereo, increasing as I accelerated harder. It wasn’t a terrible noise, but enough for me to ask others about it. It was very frustrating to me and I had no idea what could be causing it.

A colleague told me about Ground Loop Isolators which would fix the problem. I don’t really know how they work, but it grounded my device when on charge, and killed the noise entirely.

They are a little frustrating to use as you often need to convert from jack to RCA and back again in stereo, but with a few adaptors and somewhere to store all the cables, this is what you need. They are available from just a few dollars and up. The one I got was cheap, and did the job well.

I used to print documents directly from my Ipaq rx3715 to a networked printer. I took the ability to print from this Windows Mobile 2003 device for granted as it came with HP’s Mobile Printing Solution. My need to print since dwindled and I have only started looking at it again over the last couple of days.

I didn’t expect to come across any problems but it turned into a nightmare trying to do it for free, as there is no free software available, and this feature is not built into Windows Mobile 5 phones. There are some commercial/shareware applications which will let you print but I like free stuff.

This article will show you what I have been able to find on this topic. I hope that it will help you find a solution that is practical for your situation. You will also find it helpful if you decide to start your own search for an answer, as I have put together all of my research into this single article.

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A Keyboard/Video/Mouse(KVM) switch lets you use the same keyboard, mouse and monitor to control multiple computers. This helps you save desk space and money as you can use the same peripherals to control and view each of the computers you connect.

If you have a dual screen setup, and you would like to connect multiple computers up to your monitors, people will tell you to spend a large amount of money to get a KVM switch which will handle this. 

For a dual screen KVM switch which you can connect 4 computers, you are looking at spending around $500 and you are also likely to have to spend additional money on the cables, and these can cost more than the switch itself. It is almost worth purchasing extra monitors and peripherals to control your computers, instead of buying one of the really fancy switches.

This article will show you a cheaper option to achieve the same result. Halving the cost comes with the most minor of drawbacks:

• Switching can no longer be done through the keyboard (still works for one screen).
• To switch computers, you will need to press two buttons instead of one.

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I have been a user of a Harmony 880 as pictured on the right for around a year now and it has made life for my wife(important!) and I much easier. No longer did I need to have 9 remotes on the coffee table to control my components, as this remote can do it all.

Logitechs range of Harmony Universal remotes is growing larger, allowing you to find a remote which suits your needs and your budget.

There are many Universal remotes available on the market, ranging in price from a few dollars, into the thousands. Logitechs range is very good value for money and suitable for the regular home user or home theatre enthusiast.

Harmony remotes let you control all of your devices individually, which is alright, though any universal remote will let you do this. What makes Harmony remotes different from some of the cheaper options, is the ability to set up activities which let you press one button to do a task. For example, if you want to watch a DVD, you can program the remote to turn on your TV, AV receiver and DVD player, set them all to the right input sources and play the DVD.

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