According to the witches and wizards at NEC Electronics and Onryoku Hatsuden, their new remote generates electricity when the users clicks on any button. They are planning to see the first production remotes in 2011. [Aiajin via Crunchgear]

There are not a lot of details except what you can see in the video. The GPS- and Wi-Fi-equipped Spirit of Berlin—as they called the car—uses drive-by-wire controls, with mechanic parts to operate the pedals. On its top, there are video cameras and pewpewtastic laser 3D sensors.

The iPhone connects to the car using Wi-Fi, transmitting acceleration data to the car in real time. It looks like the real thing, but maybe it's all a four-wheeled Octoberfest joke. []

The details are slim on the FCC page, but the pictures show a very simple, Fisher Price looking design. Could Flip (which is now owned by Cisco) be getting into the home video recording space? A little scared of the 5th gen iPod Nano, are we Flip? On the other hand, maybe the remote controls some sort of camcorder from afar. My guess is as good as yours. [FCC via Engadget]

The Price:

$100

The Verdict:

Actually a good deal.

There are two components of the remote that, depending on your habits, you may use more or less of. There's the "universal remote" part of the iconRemote RF, which acts similar to the Logitech Harmony remotes in that it controls all your electronics, but it doesn't have the fancy software programming suite to back it up. And there's the X10 part of the remote, which acts as a wireless control—via the included wireless receiver and appliance/lamp modules—to various appliances around your house.

The Remote:

The iconRemote RF is a so-so universal remote, and you program it like you do the old style ones you buy at Radio Shack; you point it at your TV and you stop cycling when the TV turns on. Repeat as many times as you have A/V equipment you want to control.

This method makes initial setup actually easier than the Logitech Harmony remotes, but limits you to how much fine-grained control you have. The remote may "know" how to turn on and off your receiver, but it doesn't understand how many HDMI inputs there are or how to switch between them. So it's a universal remote only for more simple systems with just a TV and maybe a DVD player.

One nice feature the iconRemote introduces is the semi-hard coded favorites, which has network logos on screen that you can click to jump to. And, as the name of the remote implies, it has an RF to IR blaster included, so you can eschew line-of-sight and put your equipment in a cabinet and still be able to change channels.

Package includes an RF to IR blaster

It's only a rudimentary universal remote

Also, it's kind of gigantic

The X10 Wireless Control:

X10 has dialed down their popup ads in recent years, but their product is the same: home automation via light, appliance and electronics controls. The package includes one wireless transceiver, one lamp module and one appliance module. The transceiver takes the wireless signals and shoots them over your powerline, which them gets interpreted by your lamp or appliance module to turn on/off whatever's plugged in.

Its major flaw is the fact that the whole transceiver + module has to be on the same circuit. A transceiver upstairs wouldn't control a lamp downstairs, for example, because they weren't able to talk to each other over the electrical system. You'll have to go and buy more transceivers to control every room of your house this way.

But, once you do have everything set up, being able to dim lights, turn on and off appliances, and otherwise interact with other X10 home automation devices, is a pretty valuable thing to have in your universal remote.

Controls X10's home automation modules

Comes with one transceiver and two control modules

You'll have to buy a lot more to control your entire house

At $100, the iconRemote RF is a pretty interesting package. It's not great enough of a remote to replace a Logitech Harmony for hardcore users, but it is decent enough to be a step up from those cheaper universal remotes you may have. Coupled with the fact that it's an X10 remote, it's a very handy thing to have at all times.

To get the package, add both the iconRemote RF and the Remote-Controlled Dimmable Theater Lighting to your cart before checkout. [X10]

Once your signals hit the receiver, you can support Windows, Linux, Mac or Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii (supposedly). Hard to tell whether or not it can actually do all of these things, since the website looks like one a kid would make for his dad's business over the summer between Jr. High and High School, so we'll have to see for ourselves to be sure. [EFO via The Gadgeteer via Oh Gizmo]

When using Logitech remotes, the point is to let the remote know every single appliance in your setup so you can focus on "activities", such as watching TV, or playing your Xbox, or watching a Blu-ray on your PS3. That way your remote knows exactly which thing needs to be on—and which boxes don't—for what you want to do. Since these activities are now tied to a separate physical button, you can just hit that button instead of scrolling through a list in order to get where you're going. It saves a few seconds each time, but adds up over years of TV watching.

Other features on the 700 include a color LCD screen, rechargeable AAs and compatibility with the standard Logitech remote setup program. It will be available in September. [Logitech]

The awkwardly-acronymed CRISTAL, which stands for ""Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living spaces," uses a camera to take an overhead shot of your living room setup, and you designate the compatible parts: TV, speakers, digital photo frame, HTPC, Roomba. Then you simply touch, swipe, drag and drop to control the room. Your digital media collection shows up as almost a Cover Flow-type design, and can be dragged either to the speakers or TV, or just examined more closely on the Surface-type screen itself. I love that you can watch a preview right there on the table, or quickly toss it to the TV to output it.

The system, right now, would cost a prohibitive $10,000-15,000, but the team says costs could definitely be lowered. Presumably they're not using an actual Surface, which costs about that much by itself. Still, it looks awfully responsive and just a blast to play with, so we hope they can figure out a way to get those costs down enough that, say, I can get one. [Wired]

The Price: $400

The Verdict: This form factor, plus the included charging dock and the RF to IR blasters make this the best remote package Logitech has right now. We've been fans of their standard remotes for a while, but combining the keep-your-eyes-on-your-tv ability of those with the extendability of their full touchscreen units makes for a winner.

If you've played with the Harmony One you should know what this remote feels like. The number keys are on the bottom, the navigation keys are in the middle and the activity keys are near the top. The touchscreen is responsive enough, and can scroll through pages of various commands for different media console items—just like their previous remotes.

The charging dock is contoured exactly like the back of the remote, taking it in lovingly into its electric arms. Imagine getting into bathtub shaped exactly like your body—this is that, except without the water or the urge to pee.

Syncing with your computer works the same way as before, but Logitech STILL hasn't managed to enable consolidating profiles so that you can have more than one remote on an account, and hasn't come up with a way to export remote profiles to other accounts. That's a huge pain in the ass if you have multiple Logitechs, and is probably our biggest gripe with their setup.

There is one included central RF to IR blaster, with two other IR blasters that can hook up to it for a total of three IR blasters. They're meant to be used in cabinets where the door is closed, or somehow out of IR line of sight, so you can literally point your remote at nothing (it's using RF) and it'll still propagate the command through to the IR blaster. This is pretty easy to set up—there's a wizard right on the remote—and you should be up and running in a few minutes. And there's very little RF delay, so you won't have to worry about that.

The upside is that this is probably our favorite universal remote package that Logitech has made, figuring in the charging dock and the RF to IR blasters. The downside is that the whole setup costs $400. If you're shopping for your first universal remote, this will probably be your last. if you already own a cheaper Logitech in the sub $100 range, find a way to sell it and pick this up. [Logitech]

Best universal remote by Logitech yet

Allows extendability with touchscreen without sacrificing the usability of buttons

Price is a little high, but less than full touchscreen remotes

You see, the television was turned to a German station that broadcasts a Yule Log-esque fireplace in the early morning hours, so a remote was the right tool for the job. Ahh senility...where everyday and everything is an adventure. [AP / Thanks getmstevedave!]

Techcrunch says it's incredibly improved, as you can now just slide around on the phone to move around the screen and use the keyboard to do type searches. Grab it here for free. [iTunes via Tech Crunch]

The Cool.con universal remote employs reflexology to stimulate pressure points on the hand that are said to correspond to various areas of the body to promote better overall health. So the next time your partner bitches at you for watching too much TV, just tell them that you are engaged in a very serious medical procedure. Those witchdoctors said you needed dialysis—but you know better. [Funshop via Technabob]

Alston was showering when he heard a thump. After coming out of the bathroom he noticed all his gadgets missing, including his laptop. Fortunately, he had installed a little program called LogMeIn, which allowed him to securely and remotely log into his notebook. He waited until the thief got online to start getting information that would allow him to pinpoint his location and go to the police.

While some cyberdetectives get to watch porn on the thief's computer, Alston had some fun with him. He deleted any music he uploaded to the system, keep messing around with anything he did and, on April 1st, changed his desktop picture to feature him photoshopped as a lepper.

And all thanks to a remote login program. The moral of the story: Get a waterproof laptop and shower with it. [Newsweek]

VNC (virtual network computing) is one of those tricks that never gets old, and having it set up can often save your ass—whether you left some info on your home computer that you need at work, want to check on your massive BitTorrent queue to schedule the evening's entertainments, or help your poor parents use clip art in Microsoft Word, having remote access can be handy dandy.

So let's get started:

What You'll Need
• A VNC Server. Mac OS X 10.4 and higher and Windows Vista Ultimate and higher have them built in—but for Windows we find it's easier to use the excellent standalone software TightVNC. Try OSXvnc (Vine) if you're in pre-10.4 territory. For this tutorial, we're using OS X's built-in services, and TightVNC for Windows.

• A VNC client that you will use to access the server running on your home computer. Again, OS X and Windows have built-in clients, or you can use standalones like Chicken of the VNC for Mac or TightVNC for Windows. You can also install these external clients to a thumbdrive for use on computers that aren't yours.

The process is a little different depending on which platforms you're using on each end, but the first thing you'll need to do regardless is set up your home router to forward all VNC network traffic to the computer you wan to control. You may recall we had to do this exact same thing to get BitTorrent working properly—so for a primer on port forwarding, check out last week's Torrent guide or Portforward.com.

And note: any time you're opening up a port to your home network for access from the greater internet, you're taking a bit of risk. Make sure you choose good passwords, change them often, and don't proceed if you're feeling skittish.

Set Up Your Home Machine

1. In your router's admin pages, set up a new port forwarding service for port 5900—the default for VNC screen sharing. Make sure assign it to both UDP and TCP ports, and for the IP address, enter in the IP of your machine on the local network.

Again, just like for Torrenting, make sure your machine has a static local IP address on your network so this info won't change. This is easy to set up on both Windows and Mac—for OS X simply choose "Using DHCP with manual address" under "Configure IPv4" in the TCP/IP section of the Networking preferences, and follow this guide for Windows.

2. Activate VNC sharing on your home machine:

Windows: Download TightVNC and install it. Launch the server, and set a password. Everything else should be good to go, so save settings and the server will continue to run in the background.

Mac: Activate "Remote Management" in the Sharing preferences. Here you can also set which user accounts can access your computer and how. And under "Computer Settings" choose a good password in the "VNC viewers may control screen with password" field.

3. And finally, figure out your home's external IP with whatismyip.com. This can also change from time to time if you're on a big ISP without a static IP, so check it frequently. You'll need this number to connect.

Update: Setting up DynDNS makes connecting with your external IP even easier. Read more here.

Connect to Your Home Computer
This is slightly different depending on which computers you're using. But we're here to hold your hand!

Windows -> Mac:
Start the TightVNC Viewer. Type in the external IP, enter your VNC password, and you're connected.

Mac -> Mac:
In Finder, go to Go -> Connect to Server and type in vnc://xxx.xx.xx.x (enter in your EXTERNAL IP from whatismyip.com. Type in your account user name and password for the active account on your home machine, and boom. Remote control. Note: if you're doing Mac to Mac connections, you'll use the username and password for an account on the Mac, not the VNC password you set in the preferences.

Mac -> Windows
Use the exact same process as above, only use the VNC password you specified in TightVNC.

Windows -> Windows
Same as Windows -> Mac.

More Fun: Connecting With an iPhone
Mocha VNC is a great client for the iPhone that lets you control from your phone. It's a pretty amazing feeling, and the free lite version works fine for basic stuff.

And you're done!

If you have more tips and tools to share, please drop some links in the comments-your feedback is hugely important to our Saturday How To guides. And if you have any topics you'd like to see covered here, please let me know. Have a good weekend remote controlling, everyone!

[Photo By Theis Kofoed Hjorth/Flickr]

If you have iTunes DJ enabled, anyone with the newest version of Remote on their iPhone can vote on songs that are coming up in your playlist, or browse through your entire collection to request a song. Whatever songs get the most votes will be played next.

In iTunes, the "Votes" column will show the votes so if you're at your computer you can see what's getting voted on.

It's a neat idea in theory, but somehow I don't think a party where everyone was dicking around with their iPhones would be all that fun a party. Who knows, I guess it'd be worth playing with to see how it turns out. [Gadget Lab]

The system I have here consists of those two parts: a touchscreen, full color thermostat that takes the place of your current thermostat called the Prestige, and a black and white wireless thermostat remote called the Portable Comfort Control.

The Portable Comfort Control is what's the most revolutionary about this package. It's about the size of two Wiimotes, it's touchscreen and can basically take the place of the thermostat from anywhere in the house. You can set both heating and cooling temp for as many zones as your house has, as well as read the current temperature from the thermostat, the remote itself or an outside sensor.

It works perfectly. Its backlit touchscreen lights up when pressed, and is responsive enough that you can actually control it without letting a bunch of expletives fly at how lousy the screen is. It reaches every corner of my three-story house, even with multiple floors and walls and doors in the way. Basically, it lets me turn on the heat from the ground floor without having to run up two flights of stairs. Every house needs one.

The Prestige, which is the color touchscreen thermostat, works just as well. The touchscreen is bright and responsive as well as intuitive—something even simpler thermostats are not. It too can sync up with an outside sensor to display the current outside temperature, and does everything that a thermostat is supposed to do (schedule, hold, etc).

Installation was pretty easy. Ours was done by a professional Honeywell installer, but with enough knowledge Gizmodo readers should be able to do it themselves. The entire process, from hooking up the thermostat to syncing the remote to drilling in the outside sensor, took only about an hour.

Point is, the Prestige and the Portable Comfort Control are, if you consider yourself a gadget fan at all, a fantastic addition to the rest of your home tech solutions. Honeywell usually recommends that you get these installed via a contractor, but if you're at least a little bit handy, you should be able to do it yourself. Those people who are buying a house (like our Sean Fallon) should really think about getting one of these.

[Prestige and Portable Comfort Control]

Here's a kit with the three pieces (thermostat, remote, outdoor sensor) for $400ish. I'd shop around more for a better deal. [iaqsource]