Logitech, which has acquired Slim Devices, was showing its $499 Harmony 1000 remote. The H 1000 has a 3.5" touch screen that allows you to configure a control pad that features only those functions you need regularly. That means that Squeezebox and Transporter owners like me can say goodbye to scrolling into menus three or four command lines deep. That means heavy users like me might actually find a remote worth $499.

Harmony makes an RF extender for it, too. My wife asked, "Does that mean I can turn down his music from the other room?"

"Only if you have the remote," the Logitech rep said.

"Oh, I'll have the remote," she said grimly.