deinonych's lair

I've been looking for a universal remote for the family room, as I've grown tired of using three remotes to control the devices in that room. I had read good things about the Logitech Harmony remotes, so I took a chance and ordered a Harmony 659. It arrived this week. It is hands-down the best universal remote I've ever used. All of the programming is done via a web-based wizard on Logitech's site. All you do is specify which devices you wish to control, and the wizard asks you a series of questions to customize the controls to the way you want to use the remote. It took me about 20 minutes to program it, and it works like a charm. All the buttons are laid out intuitively, and it's idiot-proof. Anyone can pick it up and start watching TV, watch a DVD or play a game with the touch of a button. Compared to the 20+ hours I spent programming my Marantz RC5000i, this remote is a godsend.

Highly recommended.

Posted by Deinonych at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I cancelled my subscription to World of Warcraft today. I barely logged in over the holiday break, and I've been enjoying Everquest II immensely. One of the main drivers for my enjoyment of EQ2 has come from joining a great guild in the game - Explorers of Legend. Joining this guild has brought a huge sense of community in the game for me, and there's always something going on when I log in. I'm in a great guild in WoW, too (my stalwart guild from SWG and AC2, House Paladin), but the game just doesn't excite me anymore. Leveling in WoW, while quick and effortless, is pretty much a linear string of quests, one after another. The crafting system is oversimplified, and there just isn't much to do outside of killing monsters all day. Plus, the community is pretty much non-existent. I think this is due to the heavy single-player focus in the game. And, there's a sizeable d00d population, which lessens the community further.

So, I'm saying farewell to WoW for now. I may try it again in the future, but for now I'm sticking with EQ2.

Posted by Deinonych at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)