Universal Remotes: Some Things to Consider

Written by Bear Cahill


We probably all have about 8 "universal" remotes these days. Every new component you buy comes w/ one, but none of them are really "universal" because there's always some feature on one device thatrepparttar other remotes don't have a button for. But wdn't it be nice to really be able to use one remote for all your devices? I do!

There are so many different universals onrepparttar 133375 market these days that it's impossible to go over them all here. So I'll hitrepparttar 133376 high points and let you decide. I'll pick a few popular types/models and go over a few points that helped me decided for or against them.

One thing you need to understand is what a 'learning' remote is. That means that you can setrepparttar 133377 remote to learn other remotes' signals: you set it to be ready, aim another remote at it, press a button on that remote andrepparttar 133378 learning remote stores that signal.

Now whatever button you set up onrepparttar 133379 learning remote sends that same signal. This way even if your univeral remote doesn't have a 'Eject' button, it can send that signal.

All ofrepparttar 133380 remotes listed here are learning b/c that'srepparttar 133381 only way to be truly universal.

Most universal remotes these days also allow you to run macros. That way when you want to watch a movie, w/ just a couple button clicks, you can have it turnrepparttar 133382 TV on,repparttar 133383 stereo to DVD player, etc.

Also,repparttar 133384 usually have timers so you can turnrepparttar 133385 TV on and off while you're out of town for example.

Big LCD: Sony RM-AV3000

This remote wasrepparttar 133386 'big boy' onrepparttar 133387 block for a long time. It does it all and looks cool doing it. The two main draw backs to this model are size and buttons.

Because it's so big, it's hard to use w/ one hand - you can't reach acrossrepparttar 133388 remote to press some buttons or parts ofrepparttar 133389 LCD. Next time you're watching TV, see how often you just use one hand onrepparttar 133390 remote and think about giving that up.

This model used to be pretty expensive, but it's getting better.

Internet: Harmony SST-659

I haven't actually tried this one, but I getrepparttar 133391 idea and I like it. You can program this remote to work w/ your devices and uploadrepparttar 133392 configuration. That way others can use it. More directly, you can use other peoples' configurations!

The point of this one is ease of use so I'm assuming it wd be relatively straight forward to hook it up and program it. Maybe a little intimidating, but I bet most people cd do it and it wd be worth it.

THEY'RE VIBRANT, THEY'RE TALENTED, AND THEY'RE LEAVING: Luring Our Youth Back Home With Technology

Written by Jill St Claire, President - JSC Marketing, LLC


What dorepparttar young people of Humboldt County do after leaving high school and college? Some can’t wait to leave, and others want to stay but aren’t satisfied withrepparttar 133374 job opportunities, or lack thereof, in this place they’ve known as “home”.

The real question is -- how do they perceiverepparttar 133375 options available: minimum wage retail sales, join a branch ofrepparttar 133376 U.S. Military,repparttar 133377 family farm, or just hanging out with their friends who are inrepparttar 133378 same situation.

Some, through their own entrepreneurial activities, see options for working from home or for business opportunities in their own community. Most however, are just glad to have found a good job somewhere, and “somewhere” usually isn’t Humboldt County even though leaving home isn’t what they really want.

The editor William Vitek says in his essay, Community And The Virtue Of Necessity, "What keeps a community together isrepparttar 133379 inability of its members to leave, either because ofrepparttar 133380 dangers that lie outsiderepparttar 133381 community--a forbidding desert or an enemy clan, for example--orrepparttar 133382 ties that lie withinrepparttar 133383 community--traditions, laws, fear of being cast out, rejected, or destroyed." In recent times that has been mitigated (or weakened) by technology: automobiles, telephones, outside investments, ties to state and federal assistance programs, but some people do not feel that they can ever leave and continue a constant cycle of struggling with finding a means for economic security.

For many of Humboldt County’s residents, their identities are heavily intertwined with their community. The importance placed on where they live and what keeps them there (other than “we can’t just moverepparttar 133384 farm”) seems to berepparttar 133385 tranquility,repparttar 133386 natural beauty,repparttar 133387 perceived lack of crime, and most importantly,repparttar 133388 people and relationships.

To preventrepparttar 133389 loss of our productive population andrepparttar 133390 slow death of many of Humboldt County’s smaller communities, as we’ve seen happen with all too many, we have an enormous responsibility to make this place matter enough for our young talented people to want to stay or return after attending college elsewhere. By garnering our connection torepparttar 133391 technological age and educating our youth aboutrepparttar 133392 unlimited entrepreneurial possibilities technology offers, we provide opportunity and a mechanism for our youth to succeed. Having a job that makes use ofrepparttar 133393 skills acquired in college would be an important step in keeping them here and luring those who’ve left back home.

While technology andrepparttar 133394 Internet alone may not revive an entire community, it can provide a good income in places where there are few traditional new jobs. Some good examples are:repparttar 133395 GIS expert working from home in Hilo, Hawaii; pack goat supplies in Weippe, Idaho;repparttar 133396 Tionesta students selling digital stories;repparttar 133397 small ISP in Imperial, Nebraska;repparttar 133398 future Spanish language institute being formed in Elsa, Texas; andrepparttar 133399 marketing of fine wood products in Orofino, Idaho.

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