Logitech’s Harmony 1000 is Marriage Therapy

My girlfriend says that the remote control was created as the extension of a man’s body part. (Which part could she have meant, I wonder?) I frequently hear women complain about the inscrutable remote control systems that control their entertainment lives. I even know a few women whose husbands have put “fiddling with the remote” off limits.

So when I saw Logitech’s Harmony 1000 , the company's newest touch screen universal remote, I called my girlfriend over to take a look. “This” I declared, "is a marriage counselor in a box.” The Harmony 1000 is a touch screen universal remote control. Basically, the device remembers the sequences it needs to manage all of your remote control devices and then assigns some normal name to the sequence like “TV” or “Video Game” or “Music". The fact that three remote controls are needed to turn on your TV, stereo, and DVD player is mercifully hidden forever. You can have up to 15 separate components all controlled from an attractive and lightweight touch screen display.

To program the remote, you install some software on your PC, plug in the unit via USB, and select the home theatre components you want to manage from the software’s database. You can control everything from your HDTV to your home lighting.

Women will love this category: The color, well-lit display is easy to use in darkened rooms. No more groping for control. And, because the device can use either infrared or the new z-wave standard for home automation, you can control your stereo components even if they’re hidden behind an armoire or cabinet. This is progress!

The Harmony 1000 sells for $500. Not cheap, but neither is a marriage counselor.