Logitech’s Harmony line has always been one geared towards the living room aficionado on a budget. Not to say that the excellent line of universal remotes is cheap in any way, but as a quick, convenient, and extremely functional way of going against the big boys costing thousands of dollars, the line has always excelled. The Harmony One is the latest universal remote on the block from Logitech and we put it through the paces with entertainment setup, how did it fare?

The first thing you notice about the Harmony One is its construction. The remote features a glazed plastic case on top, rubberized on the bottom, along with the gold-plated charging connectors near the top of the unit on the underside. Back on the top side, an ergonomic hard button layout dominates about 80% of the real estate with the neatest advance taking up the other 20%, a customizable touch screen. No longer relegated to a LCD screen with buttons lining the sides, the Harmony One inherits features from its big brother the Harmony 1000 in a full screen representing advanced remote options and a colorful display which also doubles as a help guide should you need it.

Setting up the remote was a piece of cake. I downloaded the latest version of the software from Logitech’s website, installed the package and followed the on-screen instructions. Upon connecting the remote the computer detected the type of remote and its version automatically, performing any updates needed before we started programming.

Once you get into the meat of the software you’re faced with the semi-daunting task of tracking down all the makes and models of your stereo equipment, the database has tens of thousands of entries to emulate and just about everything is in there. I was setting up an HD cable box/DVR (Scientific Atlanta), LCD TV (Phillips), DVD Player (Sony), Receiver (Pioneer), Nintendo Wii, and PlayStation2. The cable box and DVD Player were using HDMI and the rest were using component cables for progressive scan input.

The Harmony software found entries for all my devices except for the TV, which I expected. As the TV was purchased from Costco I expected the model number to be different than the actual TV as some manufactures will modify an existing unit as a Costco exclusive model, after some programming I was able to find a suitable model to emulate my actual TV. This programming involved placing my TV remote in front of the Harmony One and pushing the buttons when asked for by the software, after examining the IR codes a list of suitable TVs popped up allowing me to choose the correct one, or in my case, the closest one I could.

After all the devices are accounted for, the next step is setting up activities. The remote software is smart enough to know which devices are used for which activities you perform every day, shutting off unneeded units, allowing you to specify which device controls your audio volume, etc. Each activity can be customized from the default set up and new activities can be added. For example, when sitting in front of your system, choosing “Watch a DVD” will power on the TV, Receiver, DVD Player, set the receiver to the correct output, and set the TV to the correct input. If a device is already on the remote will skip that instruction, and if you switch from your cable box to the DVD player, it will power down the box automatically. All in all switching activities is painless and takes about 10-15 seconds for all the signals to be sent, although you do have to keep the remote within IR range during this time so that all the instructions are sent and received.

There’s a special notice for gaming systems within the software, which was presented when setting up the Wii (or PlayStation3) to run, in that the Harmony One lacks the ability to send Bluetooth signals, making it unable to power on the Wii (or PS3) system. This isn’t a big deal considering you’re going to switch to the Wii remote anyway at this point if you want to do anything (sadly the Harmony One is not motion controlled).

The One does, however, detect when its been picked up, turning on the touch screen and the backlights on the hard buttons, which are etched with their labels allowing a bright, white glow to shine, easily visible in the darkest room. The auto-sleep saves battery power, after nearly two weeks of testing we haven’t even had to hook up the provided, glossy caddy which keeps the unit charged.

Granted you’re never going to be able to get rid of all your remotes, even though the Harmony One supports up to 15 different devices at a time. In the case of audio receivers there’s a huge amount of customization options that would impossible to pass off to any universal remote, and a lot of the specialized functions like customizing audio channels, input setup, etc. are always going to need the OEM remote, so don’t throw those originals away just yet.

In actual real-world use the Harmony One surprised us because of its ability to compensate for the missing hard buttons with the touch screen. The Scientific Atlanta cable box using coded keys to complete commands within the DVR menu, these buttons were automatically represented on the touch screen, of which can display up to six buttons at a time, along with the List Programs button and a few others which wouldn’t necessarily be standard on every device. Similar buttons appeared when using our Sony DVD player, including the Eject and Angle buttons being delegated to the screen.

The touch screen itself is sensitive enough to get the job done, however there were a few false positive clicks, either being too close to one of the other buttons (in which we actually hit the wrong command) or hitting a button and the cable box not responding. This happened few and far between in our testing so we’re identifying it as something either blocking the IR or the remote not pointed in the right direction. However, with some tweaking of the options on the remote you can increase or decrease the sensitivity of the screen to your liking.

The hard buttons are firm, needing a good deal of pressure to depress them, but not too much. They are a big change from the standard rubberized and soft buttons found on most OEM remotes, so some getting used to them is likely. The placement of the buttons was one of the most researched portions of the remote with the DVD/DVR navigation commands falling dead center under your thumbs resting place and the program control buttons like fast forward, play, stop, etc. all just a short throw away from your default grip.

The shape of the remote, as stated previously, has the user in mind with the ergonomics beautifully presented and the weight completely balanced between the seemingly heavier bottom and the lighter top. The remote is also solid, there doesn’t appear to be much, if any, hollow space on the inside giving the unit a great feel in your hands. Holding it in your hand the remote feels natural, with most of the commonly used buttons within range of your thumb, however the touch screen is not, requiring you to both look at the remote and move your hand to choose any of the functions.

The final advantage to the Harmony One, besides its MSRP of $249.99, is the on screen help guide which is basically a built in troubleshooter without the internet forums and the trolls within. If you are having trouble with a particular device, or you pointed the remote away from the setup while it was switching activities, the on-screen help guide will take you through some simple questions in order to weed out the problem. We only needed to use this once during our testing, but it solved the issue (the correct input was not selected) and haven’t had any other problems.

The Harmony One worked nearly flawlessly in our testing, excelling in every task that we through at it. The ease of customization via an intuitive software package, quick and easy USB support, and the ability to suit it to your needs without shelling out $1000 makes the Harmony One an easy pick and a high recommendation. If you aren’t ready for a full touch screen yet, or you’re on a budget after shelling out $10,000 on the entertainment system itself, the feature set of this remote makes it a steal at just under $250. 

It’s nearly impossible to describe how utterly bad writer/director Neil Marshall’s Doomsday is. Words have not been crafted to solidify the magnitude of the sheer disregard for filmmaking in any coherent sense of the word, instead the art form being degraded to the image of feces splattered on celluloid. If anything Rogue/Universal’s marketing department should be given an award for duping hundreds of viewers into seeing this travesty of a film by marketing it as one thing, and delivering something completely different.

What’s built up to be a film akin to Danny Boyle’s excellent 28 Days Later with shades of Mad Max and Escape from NY thrown into the mix actually turns into a collection of skits turning the post-apocalyptic Scotland into a land where Beyond Thunderdome rejects and Army of Darkness extras do battle for no apparent reason other than they don’t like each other.

The now-cliché story starts in Scotland were the Reaper Virus (Marshall saw Blade II apparently) has decimated the population and the country is being evacuated (Marshall then saw the opening scenes of Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which look nearly identical, giant wall and all). After the virus gets lose in the crowd there’s an uprising by the scared public, flash forward to the future in a society where the government is faced with the stigma of its actions. But the Reaper virus is not dead, it begins to spread in London, and the only way to stop it is to find a cure from newly discovered humans living in Scotland.

The film begins to fall apart at this point, it was actually held together with the promise of its trailer up until about 15 minutes in, where a crack team of canon-fodder begins detailing weapons and armaments that will soon provide no protection to them. For an APC capable of sustaining chemical warfare and .40mm shells, apparently all you need to take it down is a strong fist to bust through the windshield and a few Molotov cocktails.

We’re eventually introduced to the two surviving factions in the land up north with one group lead by Sol (Craig Conway) and the other lead by his father Kane (Malcolm McDowell), a former scientist tasked with finding a cure to the virus, now lives in a castle and conducts his group with medieval mania including executions and Gladiator-like battles. The dramatic entrance of a plate-clad man on a horse in a doomsday film nearly brought the audience to tears, and not in the good way.

They say a million monkey’s typing away will eventually write Shakespeare, what we got in Doomsday was one drunk monkey, with broken fingers taking breaks between masturbating to write a movie so devoid of personality and originality that its almost to the point where the films it pays homage to are worse in the eyes of movie aficionados because of their association to this mess.

The film is riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies. At one point a member of Kane’s group is taking a few survivors of the commando group through a fallout shelter stocked with supplies, they pass right by the clipboard each time they go through, however in 20 years, no one has bothered to go through this stuff? At other times a character has seen a bus, a train, and motorcycles, but upon seeing a Bentley for the first time, she asks, “What does it do?” Seriously? Giving someone a “writing” credit on this film is like giving a first-grader a doctorate for putting crayon to paper.

There are no redeeming qualities to this film at all; it’s so laughable at times I honestly thought it was a better comedy than the recently released Semi-Pro. Even star Rhona Mitra disrobing wouldn’t have saved this mess (contrary to the opinion on Editorial Intern Scott Brooks). Films don’t get much worse than this, and it’s a rare feat to have toppled masterpieces such as Rollerball and Hollowman off my list of worst films ever, but Doomsday secures a place at the near-top of the list for being a genuine demonstration of how NOT to make a movie.

The History Channel has sure branched out in the last couple of years making a name for itself in original programming series apart from the usual specials. After the success of last year’s real life series, Ice Road Truckers, the channel now offers up another treacherous location and job occupation, the job of an Ax Man, or as they hate to be called, lumberjacks.

The series, Ax Men, a playful title on the Marvel mutant series, focuses, at least initially, on four separate crews in the Pacific Northwest each aiming to meet quotas and stay in business for another year. The premise is eerily similar to the aforementioned Truckers in which it’s a race against time and weather to make money and survive in a harsh climate. It’s not to say the series isn’t original, but it fits in nearly the exact same mold, only with trees replacing trucks.

The life on an ax man isn’t a pleasant one as they constantly fight with the elements, and the fear that today could be their last. As one of the crew relays, a normal person would think this was the stupidest job in the world, and after watching the pilot, you almost have to agree with them. In the course of 42 minutes a helicopter carrying a cable gets stuck to a tree, a modified tank, now a logging instrument, gets stuck in a ditch, trees go tumbling down a mountain, cables break, and lots of surly old men call each other unpleasant names.

The program is an interesting experience, the focusing on four different crews in different locations; each with a unique way of approaching the job broadens the program and helps it from becoming a one trick pony about guys chopping down trees day after day.

The editing of the program leaves a little to be desired as “drama” on the teams is highlighted in a bit of an over the top fashion, including minor injuries and a tank getting stuck in a ditch, but this is an entertainment program, after all, and there has to be something to offer conflict when the namesake element of your series is a Douglass Fur. A rather annoying bit is when the program switches between crews it makes it a point to always say how many miles away from the last crew, and does an overblown, and overly dramatic zoom in of the crew with its name splashed on the bottom of the screen rather than just a standard scene transition and a line of narration that simply states what we are looking at. Hopefully the producers of the series realize this and cut back the technique in future episodes.

Ice Road Truckers was a huge success and there’s nothing to say that Ax Men, premiering March 9 at 10/9C, isn’t destined to follow in the footsteps. There’s a larger amount of “characters” to follow here so the more intimate time with the truckers may be lost on the loggers, but it isn’t a huge loss considering the centerpiece of the show is the life and limb danger and rugged manliness of the great outdoors (even the press kit was pine scented). Ax Men isn’t a huge leap forward, but it once again focuses in an untold industry that has been largely unaffected by huge technological leaps in recent years and still does business the old-fashioned hard way, which does make for some interesting TV viewing.

The Logitech G9 may very well be the best gaming mouse on the market, simply said, its got a wealth of features, solid construction, and solid software to back up that claim. As the natural progression from the excellent G5 and cordless G7 the G9 is a great piece of technology and a must for any gamer, hardcore or casual.

The feature set of the G9 is its biggest drawing point. In previous reviews of gaming mice, we commented on the lack of weight cartridge and the great debate around it (some reviewers love them, some hate them) and while we won’t get into the flame war too heavily, we choose to side with the former in believing that a good, heavy mouse is the way to go over some of the lighter fare. The hidden cartridge has a spot for four weights which come in 4g and 7g varieties. Having used a G5 since its introduction matching the weight and grip shape was a must to feel comfortable.

The G9 also features removable grips, with two included in the retail package. The default is a wider grip, allowing for people with larger hands to rest their palm and fingers all the way around the device. It’s made of the same material as the recently reviewed IKARI Laser with a dry grip technology to wick moisture away from your hands during long gaming sessions. The second grip is made of a textured plastic, and is also smaller, but still provides a meaty grip and excellent finger placement.

The mouse has the standard five buttons (including the click wheel) with two placed near the thumb and the standard left and right buttons. Placed under the left button is a LED display (fully customizable in color via the SetPoint software) and allows you to adjust dpi settings on the fly without the use of any software.

An interesting addition is the wheel which has two modes. The standard (configured via a button on the underside of the mouse) provides the standard clicking resistance when scrolling through web pages or changing weapons. “Unlocking” the wheel removes all friction allowing it to freely spin on its bearing to the point where you can rev it up and let it sit, continuing to spin for a good 10-15 seconds after you let go. This only adds to the bevy of personal customization options available on the G9.

The gaming grade laser, up to 3200 dpi, is smooth at any setting providing excellent feedback. In our testing with games like Portal, Audiosurf, and World of Warcraft the mouse performed highly in all regards and the customizable macros only add to the infatuation we’ve already developed for the unit. Desktop applications too benefited from the smooth laser (as opposed to optical) in testing with software like Fireworks creating lines and making smooth movements with freehand tools was impressive.

The only qualms with the unit are small, and easily correctable due to the replaceable grips. The thumb buttons seem a bit too close together, and the back button is sometimes hard to get to depending on how you grip your mouse. The included grips themselves may not satisfy all games, we found the “precision” grip (the textured plastic one) to be a better fit rather than the dry grip coated “wide load” grip.

The Logitech SetPoint software is also very intuitive and easy to use. Booting it up shows you all available devices on your system, clicking on the device offers you half a dozen pages of customizable options all focused on tuning the mouse to your needs.

Hands down the G9 is the best gaming mouse on the market today and a benchmark for all other manufactures to catch. With touches like a weight cartridge, replaceable grips, unlockable wheel, braided cable, etc. the feature set alone pays for the price of the device. Performance is top notch and customization is key, all points which make fragging so much easier.

What can be said about the independent short, Bookie?  Quite a bit, though some of it isn’t necessarily too kind.  When one watches a short film, usually a little leeway is due to the cast and crew because the breadth and depth of a feature film has to be captured in a relatively small time frame, and usually on a shorter budget.  Unfortunately in this case, that task seemed to be at least a bit of a challenge.

The story, a period piece, centers on Bookie (Ken Quitugua) who, as the bookie for Mr. Jackson (Lester Purry) is tasked with collecting up all the bets for the big championship bout between the reigning king and the long-shot challenger.  In the end, while trying to help secure the freedom of down on her luck waitress, and sometime plaything of Mr. Jackson, Billie (Angela Adto), Bookie makes a tragic misstep that lands him in the doghouse with his employer, and almost in the morgue at the hands of heavies “Shorty” and “Roughneck” (played by Sam Looc and Aaron Toney respectively).  Finding the strength to fight the attackers, he defends himself and gets the girl, albeit a little worse for wear.

To take it point by point, the fatal flaw of the film was the script.  It seemed to lack any depth or substance in the writing itself, seeming to resign itself to the fact that it was a short film and needed to fit in as many platitudes and stereotypes for characters as possible.  This didn’t give the actors themselves a lot to work with, and some of them tried very hard to deliver (such as the Rogers, who wins it big on the fight, played very competently by J.T. Jackson of “Bacardi and Cola” fame).  The leads, Ken and Angela, were able to play what they were given, which wasn’t much, but never really break out and do anything for the audience.  Lester Purry, who plays Mr. Jackson, has his moments, and you definitely see his extensive theatre work/training come through in his performance, and it does pay off.

It is on its technical merits that this film comes back from the brink with a beautiful blend of music and cinematography.  The smoky jazz tunes coupled with black and white filming and wonderful scene transitions make it at the very least a beautiful thing to judge simply on aesthetics. 

All that said, an Oscar worthy masterpiece it may not be, but as a short film to showcase some potential talent, or to show musical and camera skill, this film has pieces that you can definitely appreciate and enjoy.

Never hearing anything before receiving The Limit’s second full length release, Reinventing the Sun, the band certainly takes you by surprise as they don’t really look the part, especially lead singer Mark Daniel’s flowing golden locks. The sound produced by this trio is also as takes you by surprise, but in a generally good way.

The Limit’s sound is mixed throughout the release, starting off hard on lead off track “House of Sand“; which plays as a great introduction to the album and the band for newcomers alike. As a whole the band isn’t entirely hard rock, sometimes diving into acoustic instrumentals and much slower, melody driving pieces. If anything the band’s closest comparison in my catalog is The Foo Fighters’ Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace which also provides much harder tunes coupled with more rhythmic, quieter pieces as well to fill out the album.

A couple stand out tracks including personal favorites “Closer“; and “Gravity“; which show a little more mainstream push, almost single and radio-ready, but other tracks like the all instrumental “Mother Maria“; and “Hard to Say Goodbye“; and its reprise certainly show the variety The Limit puts forward on this album. While it has become common to throw in an instrumental track halfway through a record, more times than not, and especially here, a track like “Mother Maria“; proves a distraction with its distinctive sound seeming inherently out of place, never meshing at all with the progressive sound on the rest of the album.

Along with the sound, the songwriting generally good and Daniel’s vocal range is excellent, going from near screaming to a soft, melodic and coupled with the drumming by Bob Chmiel and bass by Todd Grosberg there’s a raw sound to this music and at times it feels as though its just three guys jamming in a garage.

A lot of people are never going to have heard of The Limit even after opening for such bands as Disturbed and Alter Bridge, but this is a band to watch as the new album streets and hopefully radio takes notice. While not the most amazing album ever released, Reinventing the Sun is a solid release for those who enjoy a mixing of genres, creating something that’s fresh and new in an industry that has become so stale.

Previously we’ve only reviewed microphones and headsets from niche gaming hardware manufacturer SteelSeries and the quality has been unparalleled in the PC arena. Now SteelSeries has launched the IKARI line of gaming mice and we’ve had a chance to take the IKARI Laser Mouse for a spin. My everyday gaming mouse is the robust, well designed Logitech G5 which has been a mainstay on my gaming PC since it was released. One of the features I like, which has caused some debate amongst enthusiasts, is a weight cartridge allowing you to make your mouse as heavy (or light) as you see fit.

SteelSeries has never disappointed in the quality of their products with subtle touches that really highlight the fact you are paying for a premium experience. Not being a wireless mouse the common thing to do on higher end products is wrap the cord in a braid, something the IKARI continues ending with a gold plated USB connector.

The design of the mouse itself takes a little getting used to, but after extended use feels natural and comfortable in most situations. Having larger hands it’s usually harder for me to find a comfortable mouse to accommodate me. The IKARI Laser makes it so your entire open palm rests firmly on the sleek curves, even providing a grooved resting place for your ring and pinky fingers, something most manufacturers pass over. Index and middle fingers rest tightly on the left and right mouse buttons, respectively, and the thumb rests on a small outcropping on the left side of the mouse below the two programmable buttons.

Next to the thumb rest are two indicator lights, controlled by a small button below the scroll wheel on top. The lights are marked High and Low which allows you to configure samples per second, or how sensitive the mouse is to your movements.  On the top side are the aforementioned scroll wheel (which only clicks in, not left to right) and the SteelSeries logo on the palm rest. The underside has the laser port (obviously) and a small LCD screen displaying information about the current profile loaded.

The entire grey/black unit is coated in a “rubberized” plastic material that increases your grip when sweating, allowing you to maintain control of the mouse and now have it fling across the room like a Wiimote should you start playing Call of Duty 4 in the most extreme sense.

The SteelSeries IKARI software, although a bit simplistic, allows for some great customization of the unit, saving the settings directly to the mouse and allowing you to take them with you should you ever decide to leave your rig at home and use one at a LAN party or LAN center.

The five buttons (including the scroll wheel) can each be customized or assigned to different functions. For instance, if you prefer you left click to be on the right mouse button, you can do that, or if you prefer your scroll wheel to launch a macro, you can do that as well. Each of the buttons can be programmed with a macro (although common sense limits it to the two thumb buttons and the scroll wheel). Each macro allows you to record a set of keystrokes and customize the delay between them in milliseconds, so common tasks in both games and office applications have a great advantage. The software also allows you to set both a high and low CPI setting with deep customization in intervals of 1 CPI for each, allowing great control over the sensitivity of your most trusted gaming tool.

After setting up the mouse to your liking, you save the settings and apply them to the unit, saving them in the mouse’s internal memory and allowing you to use SteelSeries “driver-less” technology which is really just a way to take your settings with you without needing a PC with the IKARI software loaded. Unfortunately you can’t save multiple profiles to the mouse at any giving time, so to change profiles you’re going to need access to a driver enabled PC.

The mention of a weight cartridge at the beginning of this article was not without merit, after playing games with the G5 for years, I have grown accustom to a heavier, meatier mouse and switching to the IKARI at first was very daunting. The mouse is considerable lighter than I was used to, and the inability to customize the weight initially turned me off to the unit. It feels lighter than average, but not the point of, say, a Microsoft Intellimouse which is light and cheap. The IKARI is designed for long periods of gaming, and the decreased weight certainly would cut down on fatigue after a long session.

The deep CPI customization and the ergonomic feel of the mouse are two of the high points, as well as being able to save your profile to the unit and take it with you anywhere. Needing a PC equipped with the driver software, however, to change your profile is a bit of a disappointment, which sort of negates the “driver-less” marketing point of the unit. Those who have become reliant on heavier mice are sure to experience a lot of growing pains with the unit, simply because it doesn’t have that “feedback” feel that requires you to put more pressure to move it. After repeated and continuous use the mouse feels only natural. SteelSeries once again adds to its arsenal of gaming-grade goodness with the IKARI.

CMT’s newest reality series, Gone Country, has an interesting premise: take a group of singers and performers who wouldn’t otherwise be considered a country artist, throw them in a house together, and have them compete for a nearly guaranteed country-radio hit. To spice things up, these hapless humans will learn what it is to be country; from shoveling manure to riding ATVs, the unlikely hodge-podge of 80’s burnouts and D-list reality staples certainly tries its best to entertain.

The problem is, as with most reality shows, the manufactured situations and conflicts seem so transparent now after a show like this has been done so many times. With successful shows like Big Brother and The Surreal Life, both on corporate cousins of MTV Networks-owned CMT, it just becomes harder and harder to look at shows like this without wondering if it really is reality.

The show is hosted by John Rich, from the group Big & Rich, who tries to keep this motley crew focused on the contest at hand, the prize being the chance to be the next country superstar. As the pilot episode opens, a tour bus gathers up the contestants in different parts of Nashville and we’re treated to the reactions of each as new members are gobbled up. Contestants include Julio Iglesias Jr., Carnie Wilson (the big girl from Wilson Phillips), Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider (who seems to be in every reality show on TV now), American Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo, Marcia Brady herself Maureen McCormick (who appears to be on her last bit of sanity), “Thong Song” writer/performer Sisqo, and the original bad boy himself, Bobby Brown.

It’s definitely a different, and eclectic, mix of characters who seems to meld well together, even when the producers attempt to show that there’s some conflict between them. Watching the train wreck of emotions that is McCormick is nearly unbearable at times as she begins to cry and whine about nearly everything (she acts more like Jan than Marcia, Marcia, Marcia). Snider comes off as his usual hard-assed self, but after seeing this character on everything from I Love the 80’s and beyond, I think the world is over its fascination with the cross-dressing front man. Brown, who you would think would come out swinging knowing his past, plays it relatively cool, almost to the point of disappointment. You’re just hoping Whitney pops up so he has someone to go to town on and liven things up a little bit.

The pilot episode does a good job of setting up how the contest will work and introducing us to the players. I just wish producers wouldn’t try so hard, even during the “Coming Up” commercial bumpers, to force conflict in the off chance you might turn away to another channel for a few minutes. A competition like this doesn’t need the added emotional baggage some of the characters seem poised to bring to the small screen, and after nearly two decades of Real World, it’s really time for us to give up our voyeuristic tendencies and focus on what really is at stake, winning the contest.