The IR Blaster is pictured in Figure E.

FIGURE E

The IR Blaster will give you three times the range.

An IR enhancer module, a fresh set of AAAs, a quick download, and the reincarnation of your old Palm device will be complete. Even programming your new ultimate remote control will be easier as soon as all your fellow readers upload their OmniRemote databases to the ORDesktop.com Web site!

You'll even have an enviable solution to that old "Where's the remote?" problem. Simply set a few alarms to repeat through the day or evening, and your handheld will cheerfully remind you to pull it back up out of those cushions.

The Handspring ultimate remote is here!
Interestingly, just prior to publication, I stopped back at RemoteCentral.com. Site proprietor and Universal Remote purist Daniel Tonks must be quite pleased with the outcome of the birth of the new PDA forum that now exists there. I noticed Handspring is now a principle banner advertiser on the site!

It's a valid positioning in my opinion. I was trying out the ORDesktop with the new OmniRemote Springboard module from Pacific Neo-Tek, pictured in Figure F, and was duly impressed with the power of the IR in the module.

FIGURE F

The power of the OmniRemote Springboard module is impressive. Click picture for a larger image.

I could point the Visor at the opposite wall or windows and still control all my components! Incredible.

Macros for multiple instructions
While it doesn't really make programming your VCR easier, OmniRemote does have an amazing ability to create lengthy "macros" of multiple instructions. This is made even easier through the use of ORDesktop. Combined with the easily overlooked ability to trigger these macros through integrated timers, my Visor can let me rest comfortably on the couch like a vegetable all night. It let me write this article, play a game of chess, record a favorite show off the satellite from 6-8pm, turn on the overhead fan at 7pm, and, with a little help from X10 technology, turn on the room lights at 10pm and then off again at 11:30! Try that with your Philips Pronto!

The recommendation
If you've been looking for an excuse to buy a new PDA but your spouse (or better judgment) has been getting in the way, you'll want to listen up. You can have it all because now you've got an excuse. You need another Palm OS unit! After all, if you buy that Handspring you've been ogling in Staples or at OfficeMax for the past eight months, you can pick up the OmniRemote Springboard for only $60 and have the Ideal Remote solution. Add ORDesktop for $20 more, and you're set.

Those who would like to have a single device to use for everything from keeping Aunt Helen's Macaroni Hotdish recipes to changing television channels to storing their CD and DVD databases only have one reasonable choice: The Handspring Visor with the OmniRemote Springboard and ORDesktop. See the Handspring Visor at http://www.handspring.com. On top of the advantages the Palm OS offers, the flexibility of the Springboard slot makes the potential for this universal remote control unmatched.