I purchased a Logitech Harmony One remote about 5 months ago, and I am finally ready to give my review of it. The retail on this bad boy is $249.00. Amazon currently has the Harmony One for $179.99. I really wanted to give myself plenty of time with the remote before I reviewed it so I can give a thorough and accurate review.

Design

The design of the Harmony One is amazing. It is designed to fit very comfortably in the palm of you hand. Along with great ergonomics, but also has a rubber back for easy gripping. Another great design aspect of the Harmony One is a motion sensor inside so when you pick it up it lights up, but if you have it sitting on a table, the lights shutoff to conserve battery. I find this very useful when channel surfing late at night with the lights off. The button design is good. After just a few short days I found myself very easily finding the buttons with out having to look at the remote. One issue I have with the design, is the hard plastic buttons that make a very minor click noise when pushed. I have always been a fan of the Tivo controller with rubber buttons, but this is more a personal preference then a design flaw.

Set Up

Logitech is known for excelling in the area of setup, and it is no different with the Harmony One. Setup is done completely on your Mac or PC via USB. The setup software is nothing more then a browser for a web app. You have to login to a website via the software to setup the remote. From there it is pretty easy to understand. You just choose your devices, and then the software takes you through a very easy to follow line of steps to setup the different activities. Overall I found the process very easy to follow. I had my whole entertainment system setup with in a few minutes. The remote also allows you to setup some favorite buttons for your favorite channels. Also, with the online based setup, you never lose your settings if you have to reinstall the software, or switch from PC to Mac like I did.

The setup was very easy, but I did find myself having a few minor issues with it. Over the few months I have had the controller, I had to go back and do some customization of the buttons which turned out not to be as easy as the initial setup. Some of the custom setup options are hard to figure out.

Final Word

The Harmony One works with almost any device that has a IR receiver. There has been a lot of talk about how it doesn’t work with the PS3 due to the lack of Bluetooth support. I solved this problem by purchasing the Nyko Playstation 3 Remote which comes with a IR receiver that plugs into the USB port on the PS3. Other than that, I have been very impressed at the wide range of devices this remote supports, I have everything from my TV, Tivo, Surround Sound, PS3 to my Macbook Pro and Nikon D40 associated with this remote.

Yes, the remote is on the expensive side, but I have to say it is well worth it. I have gone from 9 remotes on my end table to just 1. I was very skeptical I might have buyer remorse because I paid so much for this remote, but I am very happy with it. If you have the money I say go for it.

Price: $249.99
Amazon Special: Harmony One $179.99
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Official Site: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/remotes/universal_remotes/devices/3898&cl=us,en

So of you might have heard from my tweets, or my status updates on various sites, that I recently bought a Macbook Pro. Below is a list of the specs in the model I purchased:

• 15.4 inch Matte Screen
• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB Memory
• 200GB Hard Drive
• Double-layer SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB

I purchased it from the Apple Store at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, Georgia. I originally went into the store expecting to buy a 2.5GHz/250GB/Glossy model, but the lady in the store talked some sense into me! I decided to go for the smaller processor because of the $400.00 difference, I just didn’t see it being justified, and also I was coming for a 1.8GHz windows machine, so I figured 2.4GHz was plenty of an upgrade. I also changed my mind on the Glossy/Matte because of the need for real colors in my designs and photography. I am very surprised at how well I like the Matte, because my old laptop was Glossy.

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A couple of weeks ago, I dropped the ball and entered the world of DSLR photography. My weapon of choice, the Nikon D40, a reasonably priced professional grade camera. I did not want to post a review right when I got it, so I opted to use the crap out of it for a few weeks then review it. Below is my unboxing video which I posted to my YouTube account, but never posted on the site:

I have had the camera for 13 days and I have taken over 1200 pictures. Let me first offer this disclaimer, I am a BEGINNER when it comes to photography. I am not offering photography advice just yet. This is a review of the camera!

I shopped around pretty good looking at Nikon and Canon models. I choose the Nikon D40 for 2 main reasons:

1. I could not find a bad review about this product. I read probably close to 100 reviews and all of them were positive. Professionals and amateurs all said it is an amazing camera.
2. The second reason was price! This camera was about $100 to $200 cheaper then any other DSLR camera on the market.

Apple just officially launched its Back to School promotion. 2008’s promotion is bigger than ever. This year’s promotion also includes the new Macbook Air. The official statement on Apple.com reads:

If you’re a student, faculty, or staff member and you buy a Mac before September 15, you can get a free iPod touch or iPod nano. After all, isn’t college about seizing every opportunity?

The qualifying mac computers are:

Macbook | Macbook Air | Macbook Pro | iMac

When you purchase any of the above mac’s, either from instore or online, with a student discount, you will be given the option to receive a FREE iPod Nano (8gig) or a FREE iPod Touch (8gig.) As they have done in the past, if you would rather the larger model iPod Tocuh, you can apply a credit of $299.00 to the 16gig or 32gig models.

This is Apples largest and most genorious back to school promotion ever. I personally will be jumping on the band waggon this summer when I purchase my new Macbook Pro. I am currently waiting to see what develops at WWDC next week.

Would you be willing to pay a one time charge of $99.99 to view over 10,000 movies and TV Shows at anytime instantly? Well thanks to a partnership between Roku and Netflix, the entire Netflix “instant view” collection is now available to stream directly to your TV.

The Roku box is just a little bigger than 5 cd cases staked on top of each other. While netflix only offers stereo audio and SD support, the box is equipped with HDMI, Optical Audio, and component video. Netflix has confirmed that it will upgrade the unit via a software upgrade in the near future to support HD and multi channel surround audio. They have not specified the exact specs of the upgrade, but they confirmed it is on the way, and current units will be fully upgradable!

I am sure everyone who is reading this has heard about the soon to come 3G upgrade to the very popular Apple iPhone. Many are expecting it to premier with the full 2.0 software and the ability to use 3rd party apps with out the need to hack the phone. Currently if you look at Apple.com you will see that the iPhone is unavailable for purchase:

Many are speculating that this is just the result of Apple being sold out of the branded AT&T versions. While this could be, you will also find that the U.K. Apple store is also out of stock. When iPhone’s leave the factory they are carrier specific. What are the chances that Apple would run out of 4 different carrier specific models at the same time?

Many are calling 2008 the year of the PS3. Well, they are not doing this just because they can, they are saying this because PS3, PSN, and the Blu-Ray camp all have a lot coming their way this year. Sales on Sony’s PS3 is already up over 114% for 2008 (1). Most people accredit this increase to the HD-DVD & Blu-Ray war coming to an end with Blu-Ray coming out on top. While I think this is a huge factor in the sales growth, I also think it has to do with some of the big name exclusive PS3 titles that are coming out for the PS3 the first half of 2008. Below I am going to give a review of the PS3 as both a game system and a Blu-Ray player.

I will first start off by saying that I was a early adopter of Blu-Ray. I purchased my first BR player back in November. It was a standalone Sony BDP. I traded in my Sony BDP for a PS3 in January. My main reason for switching was the soon-to-be released GTA: IV. While waiting for GTA: IV, I also purchased Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Burnout: Paridise.

With WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) just around the corner, the rumor mills have been spinning out plenty of new rumors about the iPhone 2.0 (w/ 3G.) While this is exciting, it is not what I personally am interested in.

I am a huge Apple fan boy. I have owned many iPods over the years, spend way too much money at iTunes, and read Apple news daily. With that said, I am a Windows user! Yes I know that is horrible. Well I have been ready to buy a new Macbook Pro for sometime time now. I was going to get one as a gift to myself for Christmas, but never did. After the recent addition of the Macbook Air Multi-Touch trackpad and faster processor, I found myself driving to the Apple store again! Well, I have decided I will not spend money on a laptop that has a 5 year old design. I am going to hold out until they finally redesign the case the MBP comes in. I now want to take the time to discuss some of the MBP rumors and give my own 2 cents on them.

To start off, it is rumored that the new redesigned Macbook Pro will premier at this years WWDC. While some are saying it is all about the iPhone this year, I have to disagree! I think the real surprise item of WWDC this year will be the completely revamped MBP.

What I hope to see in this new Macbook Pro revamp:

• New Montevina Intel Chip (2.6 Entry / 2.8 Standard)
• HD Video Card and Screen (Glossy and Matte)
• Magnetic Latch
• Larger trackpad with Multi-Touch
• Backlit Black (Macbook Air Style) Keyboard
• Slightly thinner design based on the Macbook Air design
• Blu-Ray Readable Drive with DVD/CD Burner (I don’t think the world is ready for Blu-Ray burners just yet, and they are still to expensive.)
• 200gig 7200 RPM Drive STANDARD
• Slightly darker aluminum case

While I do love the current design, I refuse to drop $2,500.00 on a machine that looks the same as it did 4 years ago. By a slightly darker case, I mean just a few shades darker like you can see in this picture from Apple.com. While some are speculating there will be a black Aluminum version, I don’t think this I will happen. The addition of Blu Ray would be great! While I think it is time to start including Blu Ray players in computers, I don’t think we will see a burner just yet due to the expensive nature and slow burn times. The technology is just not quite there yet. I am sure I will get tons with comments about how terrible the new Macbook Air keyboard is, but I love it. I recently went and played with it in the Apple store and it is great!

Well, the new Playstation Network Store is here. The new retooled design is a widely welcomed adjustment. Many complained about the old store. The old store was a real pain to browse with the PS3 controller. The new design features a completely revamped design that makes it not only look better, but much easier to use.

After the fall of HD-DVD in March, many have turned to PS3 to use as a Blu-Ray player. This recent spike in purchase activity on the PS3 has resulted in many people using the PS3 game demos section as a game library. When a movie buff buys a PS3 only to use it as a Blu-Ray player, they will most likely find themselves browsing the store looking at game demos that are free. If you are not an avid video game player then you really don’t want to spend $50.00 on a game for this system that you might only play every few weeks. I can imagine that this reason alone has increased traffic on the PSN Store.

I just downloaded the new 2.30 firmware to my PS3 and I am very happy with the changes. Along with the new store, this 2.30 firmware update includes the addition of DTS-HD Master, High Resolution Audio.

Scientists at IBM say they have demonstrated a new type of digital storage which would enable a device such as an MP3 player to store about half a million songs — or 3,500 movies — and cost far less to produce.

This new technology is known as “Racetrack” memory. The new method uses a spinning electron to store the data. It will allow access to the data at a much faster rate then current technology permits. It can do all of this and still use less battery power then modern day storage. This technology acts like flash memory in that it has no moving part. This helps to eliminate all the problems that arise due to mechanical moving parts. Unlike flash, this new technology doesn’t have the wear-out issue, where it can only write to the memory so many times before it wears-out and is unusable.

In his paper, Parkin describes a milestone in which he and his team were able to store data in columns of magnetic material arranged on the surface of a silicon wafer. The information moves around the columns at high speed, giving the technology its “racetrack” name.

IBM said the technology was still “exploratory” at this stage, but that it expected devices which used it to be on the market within 10 years.

The question I need to ask, is who needs to have half a million songs, or 3,500 full length feature films in there pocket. While I would use this new technology, I could never see need to this extreme use of memory. One thing I could see it used for is to expand portable computer memory and extend battery life which is something we would really benefit from.

Questions to discuss: Is this too much memory? Would you rather see this appear in computers or in portable media devices?

For more information be sure to check out the April 11th, 2008 issue of Science Magazine.