A must-have gadget... not my normal type of post...

Every now and then a toy comes along that I just think fits the bill. It genuinely solves a problem (without inventing the market in the first place - thanks Apple for making me crave an iPad!). Examples might include Apple TV, or the Raspberry PI, or even just something mundane like a car stereo head unit that automatically sorts the EQ using test tones...

I took delivery today of another such toy.

Like just about all of you I have probably built a collection of AV equipment in my living room based on quality. I have an Arcam biwired stereo and Rotel CD that SOUND good, a Samsung TV that LOOKS good, an Apple TV which enables streaming of content from our main machine (and Netflix). The problem has always been that while these are all connected fine there's a combination of remotes, and honestly, everyone from the babysitter to my mother all need reminding how to use any of it.

Not any more - introducing the Logitech Harmony 350 - the baby of the range, but good enough for me, and a lot cheaper than the bigger remotes. It's a general purpose remote.

Now - I know what you're thinking - you've seen these before? Endlessly typing codes in from the back of some Japanese or Taiwanese translated pamphlet in the hope that just some of the functionality you need will work? Not any more - this thing has a USB interface and some software so you give it the model numbers of your kit and it configures itself.

Better than that you can see if your kit is compatible before you buy one.

Finally it has shortcut buttons for turning everyone on and setting up the correct input and so on, all in one go.

I have put the four separate remotes in a drawer now, and we have just the one remote. I know it's silly, but this means you can have good quality separate pieces of equipment and still one remote. At around £40 for the 35 it's not cheap as chips, but it works so well. It even controls the volume on the Arcam stereo!