The Logitech Harmony 550 remote control allows for many user-programmable functions, but lacks a little in the ease-of-use department.

For a home theater system with a computer as part of the system, one of the biggest hurdles is getting the components to play well together, and on top of that, controlling them all with quite a few different remote controls.

Any computer system in the living room is going to be controlled by a remote control that is bought separately. The Logitech remote control is the answer for the clutter of too many remote controls and a remote control for computer control.

The Logitech allows all of the buttons to be programmed for up to 15 different remote controls, with the remote itself being able to learn the remote functions if the data is not available from the vast online catalogue offered by Logitech.

The remote itself does what is promised, but does fall a little short of the mark.

The texture of the remote is nice and the high brightness display is easy to read in a dark room.

On the downside, the remote takes a while to learn to use, which is not too surprising given its vast array of capabilities. The display text is a little small, which makes it harder to read for those getting on in years or just those with bad eyesight.

The choice of whether or not to get this remote comes down to whether your current set of remotes is too much, or are in need of replacing. Navigating through remote control menus doesn’t make things that much easier for the living room theater experience.

Overall it’s useful, and pretty good looking, and perhaps a nice final edition to an overcrowded home theater system.

An old favorite at an unbeatable price, the Linksys WRT54g gives high speed wireless connectivity for household and small office applications.

The WRT54G is well known for its linux based software. When hackers found that the core was just a slight variation on linux and could be reprogrammed to offer a whole array of functions, the days of the multi-functional wireless router began.

Besides being a router for up to four computers with a wired connection the wireless connection allows users to connect via their wireless cards.

The router can be setup to do DHCP, automatically assigning IP addresses to computers that connect to it. There is auto-negotiation of connection speed, depending on the capabilities of the computer connecting to it.

Most unnoticed, but probably the most important is wireless encryption and security. Make sure to set it up with the highest security possible using a shared key, otherwise it could be hijacked by someone in the neighborhood. And also change the admin password that allows you to access the router.

For the adventurous, go to DD-WRT and try out some of their options to spice up your router with some really cool functions.

A barebone computer kit taking advantage of the best of AMD’s previous technology, this Athlon 64 based computer offers enough punch for a decent day-to-day computer.

AMD has a lost a bit of its star status as the competitive underdog with its delayed release of quad-core CPUs and delays in a lot of their newer products. The last generation of chips are nothing to be laughed at and still offer enough for home computing applications.

The Athlon 64 managed to pose a serious challenge to the Pentium 4 a few years back, and when the Pentiums were becoming hot enough to warm a family during cold winter nights, the AMD processors were still taking things in their stride.

The 2.2 GHz model represents the mid-range of the old AMD Athlon 64s. And good prices are available because stock needs to move and make way for new models.

Here are some of the main features:

• Mid-tower case
• AMD Athlon 64 2.2 GHz
• MicroATX motherboard
• 100Mbps Ethernet
• AGP 8x expansion slot
• SATA with RAID 0 and RAID 1
• 200 GB IDE hard drive
• 20x DVD writer
• 1 GB PC4200 DDR2
• USB 2.0

My preference is for functional computers that are meant to do a task, despite what the latest technology might be. The fastest computer I run is an Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz, which is more than adequate. It’s for that reason that I find this deal so appealing.

Firstly, a processor that more than meets the needs of Internet browsing, listening to audio and typing documents, with enough to do other things from time to time.

Secondly, its smaller than a full-size computer. MicroATX is a little smaller than ATX, which I like, don’t need a huge PC if it’s not necessary. The case is also plain looking, but not ugly, serves its purpose.

A gigabyte of memory is fantastic for running multiple applications. Although the processing power might be too little for Windows Vista, it will work wonders on an XP system and allow many applications to run at the same time.

One gripe is the specification of an IDE hard drive, if a computer has SATA, use it. With that said, this is an older model and gets the price advantage. To use SATA and the RAID functions you will have to buy two more hard drives.

Overall the deal is great. Good system with the right extras in the right places, there is also a DVD burner to top things off. A well-rounded system with a tried and test processor and a little extra memory to boot.

The Intel Core2 Extreme quad-core CPU offers the best in computer performance today. Four cores will carry you four times as far, and you sure have to pay for this level of performance.

At the end of the Pentium 4’s era, there was an AMD vs Intel battle to speed up processors to extreme levels. When processors became hot enough to cook on, there was obviously something that had gone wrong. Intel was quick to release a dual core Pentium, and then its Core2 range. The Core2’s managed to bring power consumption back to sane levels and regain much of Intel’s street cred.

After dual-core, the obvious next step is quad-core. As the technologies to produce the internals of a CPU get more sophisticated, so more cores can be stuffed into a single processor. But is there a tradeoff?

Intel Core2 Extreme offer a huge performance leap over their smaller brothers and sisters. By definition, the Extreme series leave the bus and multiplier so they can be adjusted by the user. This is useful for those who like to overclock, but not for the vast majority of desktop computer users who just want things to work.

This processor offers a large 12MB L2 cache, which amounts to 3MB per core. This is an increase of 50% of what is found in the other dual and quad-core processors in the range. This is a real performance booster, as L2 cache allows information to be stored close to the processing core, for much faster operations on data.

A new motherboard will be necessary, look for one that supports DDR3, to really stay ahead.

When building a super-fast computer for gaming or heavy duty office work with processor intensive programs, this is a processor worth considering. Stay ahead of the curve, but pick something else from the range if you want value for money.

Get an instant $50 off by clicking on the link below.

Huge monitors make me smile, and the I-Inc 28 inch widescreen LCD monitor gives me quite a grin. The I-Inc offers TV sized viewing for your personal computer.

Want more desktop space? Look no further. This 28 inch monitor really does take the cake, with over 3 times the total viewing area of a 17 inch monitor, it certainly lacking. My personal preference is to upgrade monitors more than upgrade my computer system. The benefits for day-to-day applications like web browsers and word processors and using multiple programs at the same time become much easier when they can be viewed side-by-side on the screen.

Here are some of the features of the LCD monitor:

• Diagonal size: 28 inches
• 16.7 million colors
• 56 - 75 Hz refresh rate
• VGA input port
• 2 x 2.5 watt speakers

Buttons are located around the side of the monitor, on the right. This position is not the most convenient to get to especially when unfamiliar of where the buttons are. Looking around the side might not be that much of a pain, but it’s still not overly convenient.

The monitor comes on a stand which can hold its weight. It can also be removed from the stand so it can be mounted on another stand or on a wall, using the standard VESA hole arrangement. The stand allows the monitor to be tilted backwards by 20 degrees, but not to be tilted forward.

The monitor itself has a slim frame around the LCD panel, making it less of an intrusion to a small desk. there is a still a bit of a push for space, but there is very little that is wasted. It is a little surprising that there is no DVI port included at the back of the monitor. The HDMI port allows other digital devices to be connected to the monitor though, so it can be used for purposes other that doing work on the computer.

A fantastic option for a truly large monitor for computer work. I’ll write Santa and prepare a big stocking in anticipation.

The Intel DX38BT Motherboard is based on the Intel X38 Express chipset and designed to support the most cutting edge processors, and sports an impressive range of high performance features.

The latest stuff is never cheap, and this motherboard is no exception, but it does give all you need to take advantage of new technologies. With support for DDR3, Quad-core and Extreme edition Intel processors and eSATA, it’s features allow the use of the latest products.

The striking black gives the Intel DX38BT some good looks, fitting right in a gaming system box with a view of the inside. The LGA775 CPU socket is still there, but the rest of the board is the interesting part. Here are some of the features:

• Intel Core2 Extreme, Quad and Duo support
• 1333/1066/800 MHz FSB
• No integrated graphics
• Up to 8 GB of dual-channel DDR3 DIMMs (4 x 2 GB)
• HD audio
• Gigabit Ethernet support
• Up to 12 USB 2.0 ports
• Three PCIe x16
• Two firewire
• Six SATA ports with RAID

Even though this board is aimed at gamers, and by offering three PCIe x16 ports, it certainly caters to them, but the rest of the features offer almost everything you could need to start a computer.

There is plenty of room for memory expansion, up to 8 GB, which is great for new games, but is also more than enough for any office application you’d like to throw at it. Up to four sticks are supported, but I hardly imagine that anything over a total of 4 GB would be necessary.

HD audio, although common to many boards, is always a good extra, and with the quality offered, along with 7.1 channel audio and the ability to listen to two separate audio channels you’ll be able to listen to music and chat to your friends online at the same time.

Gigabit Ethernet has not yet taken complete hold, but in looking forward it will certainly give a good amount of future-proofness, and allow very high speeds over networks that support it.

Storage is handled by IDE and SATA. The standard two IDE ports are there, holding up the fort from times gone by, although I suspect they will be on their way out sometime soon, much like the ubiquitous serial ports and parallel port that are missing from this motherboard. The eSATA ports are certainly more useful than serial and parallel ports, which continue to be useful only in industry where dedicated machines have been running on them for decades. Six SATA ports with RAID will allow a combination of striped storage or mirrored storage, according to your needs.

I love motherboards with lots of features and my only gripe with this one is the lack of onboard graphics. That said, I’d just invest in a cheap one considering all the features of the board itself. Although quite expensive, you get more than you need for any application, it has all the necessary features and more. I would recommend it for anyone considering the jump into the Core2 range.

Decent sized photo frame for displaying family pictures. The clean design makes it suit pretty much anywhere in the house, without looking like an electronic gadget.

The death of the printed picture has been on the cards for a while. The Matsunichi digital photo frame offers a 5.6 inch screen which can display pictures form a variety of memory cards. Price is still puts me off getting one personally, but at such a low price it looks a little more feasible.

Here are some features of the photo frame:

• 5.6 inch screen
• 4:3 aspect ratio
• 65 degree viewing angle
• MMC, MS, SD and XD memory card slots
• JPG, TIFF and BMP support
• 13 transitions
• Landscape or portrait display

The viewing range is decent, but the image will not be clear to those sitting next to the picture. This could be better, but gives a good view from almost any angle. The variety of card slots is good, but if you don’t have one of those types, don’t buy this frame, as there is no USB port to transfer information to the frame.

There are buttons at the rear of the frame for adjusting settings, but once you have set it up, it will automatically play pictures in a preset order. Remember that it needs to be plugged in, so a wall socket should be close by.

A good price for a good price for a decent photo frame that does what it is supposed to do.

The Systemax Venture Intel Core2 Duo based computer provides a balance of power and value, with relatively new technology it manages to keep pace with latest developments, while steering clear of ridiculous pricing.

I am always aware of how much new stuff costs, with the rapid drop in prices within a few months of the launch of something new I can always wait. Based on an Intel Core2 Duo processor and with an Intel 945GC + ICH7R chipset, the combination works well, and give a nice overall set of features. They are some of them:

• 2.2GHz Intel Core2 Duo
• 2GB DDR2 RAM
• 500GB SATA II hard drive
• DVD burner

The bits and pieces of this barebones desktop computer look tempting, but lack a little in the up-to-date department. Let’s have a look.

The processor is one of the original, slower Core2 processors, with only a 800MHz FSB, it lacks the speed of the newer 6000 series processors that support 1066/1333MHz FSB. This is not bad in itself, but does mean that any upgrade in processor will mean an upgrade to the motherboard.

The motherboard, based on the Intel 945GC Northbridge chipset is really designed for the older Pentium 4. It only offers up to a 800MHz FSB and will hold back many of the faster chips available today. The other features of the motherboard are quite admirable for a low to mid-range motherboard.

There is a PCIe x16 slot available for a graphics card, good. There are some PCI slots for older cards, good. The SATA ports support RAID, so performance can be increased, or data safety can be increased, both good. The usual array of features are built-in. A network port a few USB ports, and one of the fancy little extras is a panel for memory cards on the front of the box itself.

For the price it does meet some needs. It is great for a computer for right now, but is a little limiting with future upgrade potential, but will remain quite viable for a few years still.

The Hanns-G 19 inch computer LCD monitor is a widescreen LCD monitor with 1440×900 screen resolution, 5ms latency and 700:1 contrast ratio. Good specifications at a reasonable price.

A widescreen monitor provides lots of extra desktop space by making it wider. Pure size makes a difference, but the range of our own vision stretches much more horizontally than vertically. Seventeen inches has become pretty standard for desktop monitors, with the biggest laptop monitors also reaching that size. But a bit of a stretch up, and more stretching out to each side, you get a lot more monitor for only a little extra cash.

Here is a list of features for the Hanns-G:

• 19 inch LCD monitor
• 1440×900 maximum screen resolution
• 5ms latency
• DVI video input
• 700:1 contrast ratio

High contrast gives the image on the screen a crisper look, subtle difference in color are more obvious. 700:1 is just fine and will give good quality images. 5ms latency means that the response time of the monitor is very high. When the image is changing quickly, the monitor’s ability to keep up with the changing image without looking like there are ghosts chasing your character in a game, is measured by the latency. 5ms is very quick, and even when you take into account that this is the fastest response, the average should still be good.

DVI video input only is something to consider. A lot of computers still do not have DVI ports, so a VGA-to-DVI adapter would be needed to connect this to a computer with only a VGA port. The included speakers are small enough to almost not be seen, which also means they are not really much good for anything but simple audio, but if you’re listening to music on the computer you probably have speakers or headphones already.

Hanns-G has made a good name for themselves and this monitor will deliver everything it promises.

Faster is better, and the Lite-On DVD burner pushes the limits just that little bit more with write speeds of up to 20x. But does it deliver.

There is not too much to consider with DVD burners and much of the difference between them is in the software that comes packaged with the drive. The Lite-On 20x DVD drive only writes at 20x, here is the full set of read and write features:

• DVD+R write speed: 20x
• DVD+RW rewrite speed: 8x
• DVD-R write speed: 20x
• DVD-RW rewrite speed: 6x

The warning signs are all over this product unfortunately.

I have used a Lite-On CD burner for over 5 years now and it still works great, but companies do have their rough patches.

User reviews of this product are a mixed batch. Many people have had problems installing it and getting it working. One or two bad experiences could be overlooked, but play it safe and don’t buy this one.

Check it out if you like, but rather go for a Sony, and pass up the 20x in favor of a reliable drive.