AS YOU LIKE IT: MX Air (below) and the Universal Remote

There is something in the air — and it is not spring. First, Apple’s Steve Jobs pulled out a rabbit from his hat and revealed the exquisite MacBook Air. And last month at the IT exposition, Infocom, I discovered the MX Air, a power-packed mouse that commands your PC without a surface — just move it around in the air and the pointer behaves even better than a regular mouse. You can use MX either from your mousepad or by just gesturing in the air. It has a range of almost 10m. You can select text, right click to get contextual menus or even scroll the page you are viewing.

The MX Air is also a pointing device. Move around the room and surprise everybody as you lecture with your PowerPoint presentation. Open files, close files and do whatever you like just as you would with a regular mouse. It has laser precise tracking on the screen and its scroll buttons are a pleasure to work with. I have to admit, though, that it takes some time to get used to it. But once you master this unique mouse, working with it is real fun. There are no cords to entangle you and this 2.4Ghz device works with any PC or Mac. It comes with a rechargeable Li-on battery.

I spent a lot of time at the Logitech stall, trying out most of their products. Logitech is a Swiss firm with a very strong research and development wing. They have mouse and pointing devices with prices ranging from Rs 400 to Rs 9,000. I especially liked their cordless mouse, which is very convenient to use with a laptop. The starting price for these cordless devices is around Rs 1,250.

If you ever go in for a cordless keyboard and mouse I would recommend Logitech any day. They are reasonably priced, starting at Rs 1,500. I have a Microsoft cordless keyboard and mouse. The disadvantage is that you have to change the battery for the mouse an innumerable number of times, sometimes twice a month, if you are at the computer most of the day and night. Logitech has a model that has a rechargeable optical mouse. But it is a little costly at Rs 3,595 with the wireless keyboard.

Another great thing I found out was that if you have a laptop you can take it to new heights with their Notebook stand. The Notebook stand comes with a cordless keyboard and a very convenient 3-port USB hub. The stand makes you feel as if you are working on a desktop. Prices range between Rs 4,500 and Rs 7,000, depending on the features you want.

Something that I am definitely going to pick up is the Free Pulse Wireless Headphones. You can use these with your music system, TV and computer. Move around the house and listen to your music or podcast without disturbing anybody. Priced at around Rs 7,000, it is a worthwhile investment. I would also recommend their webcams, one of which has an 8-megapixel camera.

The real stunner at the stall, however, was the Universal Remote. With a single remote you can control your TV, DVD player, computer, lighting controls, fans, ACs and just about any device you can think of. To set it up, all you have to do is connect to the Internet with the USB cable provided and enter your equipment model number and answer a few simple questions. The database already includes 175,000 devices from over 5,000 manufacturers. If you have a remote controlled device, you can add it to the database and just use your Universal remote. There is no need to worry about walls and pillars and doors blocking your signals. You can control equipment inside a cabinet or even in the next room.

Go take a look at the Universal Remote on display at Imagine at City Centre, Salt Lake, Calcutta. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

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