Was thinking about my new toy, which came in last week. I bought a new universal remote (a Sony RM-AV2500). It's great. I got it mainly because it will do macros. Mama has always had trouble with the components of our entertainment system. It didn't take much for her to get everything screwed up, grumbling “what's wrong with this doggone thing?” Now all she has to do is press the “A” button and the remote powers on the TV, the cable box and the amplifier, and sets the amp to Video 1 (which is the cable).

That wasn't the only reason I got it, though. Our old RadioShack universal remote just wasn't doing the job. For the most part, it made a pretty neat channel changer for the cable box. It never did much else very well. It didn't work with the amp at all and wouldn't learn its remote control. I have a few minor quibbles with the new remote, but the things I like far outweigh them. It's cool to finally have a universal remote that really does work with everything.