Keyspan's Digital Media Remote is designed to allow you to control a variety of aspects of your Mac from across the room. The package consists of a small 15-button remote control and a USB receiver along with the standard driver software.
Installation of the Digital Media Remote isn't quite plug and play as one would expect it to be with USB. If you plug the receiver in after your Mac has started up a dialog box informs you that the unit is ready but you must manually go to the Keyspan DMR Assistant in the control panels folder to start it up. Once you have started up the software once, though, you can hot plug the device all you want until the next you restart.
The receiver is conveniently designed with four rubber feet on the bottom to stay on top of an iMac, PowerMac, or desktop and also has a notch at the top that allows you to flip it over and have it rest snuggly on the your PowerBook screen, although if you're using a Wallstreet PowerBook G3 the receiver will cover a small part of the screen. It would be nice to have the option to purchase the Digital Media Remote in black, but seeing as three of Apple's four product lines are translucent Keypsan's decision to go soley with clear plastics makes sense.
The Keyspan DMR Manager, which keeps track of what buttons on the remote perform which keyboard equivalent command comes with eight preset configurations for specific applications then one standard setting. The software automatically adjusts the settings for that application when you bring it to the foreground, and you can program the buttons for other specific applications as well.
The Digital Media Remote performed well with all the applications we used it with and proved to be especially useful when listening to mp3s across the room or watching a DVD movie through a PowerBook hooked up to a TV. With a range of 35 feet the Digital Media Remote also makes an excellent choice for presentations. While it doesn't offer the same flexibility as ixMicro's GyroPoint wireless pointing device, if you have your presentation in order and only need to move the slides the Digital Media Remote is perfect and slips easily into your pocket.
Beyond the somewhat quirky procedure needed to get the DMR to start working if it's not plugged in at startup, the only other gripe we have with the product is its incompatibility with application switchers other than Apple's. The asterisk key on the remote emulates pressing the command-tab combination to switch applications but for some odd reason doesn't work with any third party application switchers such as Proteron's GoMac or Liteswitch, Binary Software's PowerSwitch, or the Microsoft Office Manager.
At $79 the Keyspan Digital Remote isn't cheap, but if you find yourself hooking your Mac up to your stereo to play mp3s, your PowerBook to a TV to watch DVD, or for making any sort of presentation, it's hands down one of the coolest and most convenient gadgets you can purchase.
