Shuttle PN31 Infrared Remote control for PC multimedia

...ideal for the most lazy shuttle users or for people who want their shuttle to be more like a TV. The shuttle mini computers have been designed in mind for computer game players who like to carry about their computers to different venues but also people who want computers to form a part of their home entertainment system. This includes linking up the shuttle computer with their TV, DVD player, skybox and to be able to record stuff off the TV directly ...
...USB, it works with all shuttle models so this is great. I can not say for sure, but if that is the case, it is probably going to work with any computer that has USB to conenct to the receiver.

Remote Control
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The remote control comes with a range of useful buttons. At the top are buttons to turn the computer off, start up the media player, open the web browser ane to open up an email client.
It is ... more

This remote control is ideal for the most lazy shuttle users or for people who want their shuttle to be more like a TV. The shuttle mini computers have been designed in mind for computer game players who like to carry about their computers to different venues but also people who want computers to form a part of their home entertainment system. This includes linking up the shuttle computer with their TV, DVD player, skybox and to be able to record stuff off the TV directly onto the computer.

The remote control is wireless and it talks to the USB receiver module so you can happily operate the 19 keys on the remote control.

Features
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* System power off control - turn off your computer without getting out of your chair! Its like the stand-by button you get on TV remote controls though there is a BUT. The power button can only turn the computer off in Windows so do not expect it to be able toto turn the computer back on as it doesnt work like that I am afraid.

* Buttons that work with wellknown software - Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Favorites, My Computer

* On-screen mouse cursor for easy access to commonly-used commands.

* 8 direction pointing keys.

* leaftlet explanating what all the buttons do - with so many buttons, this will be needed at the beginning.

Specifications
===========Infrared Decoder Module:

• USB 1.1 interface
• Size - Dimension: (L)74.9 x (W)71.0 x (H)31.5 mm
• Weight : 82 g
• Carrier frequency :56/38 KHz
• Receiving angle: ± 22.5°

Remote Controller:

• Dimension: (L) 185 x (W) 54.5 x (H) 34 mm
• Weight: 107 g
• Carry Frequecy: 56 K
• Operating distance: It works between 0.2 – 8 m

As it works with USB, it works with all shuttle models so this is great. I can not say for sure, but if that is the case, it is probably going to work with any computer that has USB to conenct to the receiver.Remote Control
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The remote control comes with a range of useful buttons. At the top are buttons to turn the computer off, start up the media player, open the web browser ane to open up an email client.
It is useful but on the other hand, I am not so sure that the email button is so handy as if you are a few metres away from the computer, reading the screen is going to be difficult!
However, the media button is great if you want to listen to music and/or films.

you can access files on the computer. This is useful if you want to load some mp3s or start up a DVD. It all can be done with this remote.
There are times when you start up Windows Media Player when it has not maximised the scren to take up the whole screen so a handy button is provided to make TV viewing easier.
Through this remote control you can turn up the volume or decrease it but this obviously does not change the volume on your amp or speakers and that does involve getting out of your chair to adjust that.
If you want to use the computer like a hi-fi, you can use the remote control to skip track and to change songs. You can use the keypad to directly enter the song track number to get right to the song you want off your playlist. There is a stop and a mute button so you can control when you want to play your song.

The mouse control pad is definitely not as good as a wireless mouse but it is good for the odd moving of files and opening up programs. It is useful nonetheless.

Computer drivers
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There arent any drivers or software that needs to be installed! i have not tried this under Linux so I can not comment on how it works but I would assume it does not work necessarily and from what I have read on the net, it not always easy to get it to work.

On Linux, it doesnt work with thse kernels:
kernel-2.4.20-24.9
kernel-2.4.20-20_29.rh9.at
(Red Hat 9 base.)

For anyone who knows about USB, it can be a right pain to get it to work so only get this if you are prepared to patch and tweak the Linux install to get it to work.

However, it works great on Windows XP but I am guessing it wont be much good on Windows 3.1 or 95 as it doesn't support USB I believe. On the other hand, if you have a slow computer, then theres probably not much point using this device as its for playing mp3s and movies, etc and a slow computer will not play these files.

Batteries
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Its worth pointing out that Shuttle do not include batteries to power the remote control so if you want to buy this, make sure you also get 2 AAA batteries or this device will not be of much use.

To use
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Now this is really simple - find a spare USB port on your computer and plug in the infrared receiver. Make sure you are in Windows at the time (or Linux if you can get it to work), and point the remote control at the receiver being less than 7 metres away and you can press a button and it will control the computer.

Other stuff
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The receiver needs to be put ina place near the computer as the infrared needs to have a clear line to the remote control so its no good tucking it out of view.

you need a USB port! I know this might seem silly but without it, the remote control will not work. Most modern computers come with it anyway and if they don't it is possible to buy a internal PCI card to plug into the computer to give you more ports. for shuttle users, all this comes as standard anyway!

Price
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From:
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/ - £26.50 inc. VAT
http://www.gemma.co.uk - £20.43 inc. VAT

I have not brought anything from Kustom PCs but I found that the service from Gemma Computers was great so I personally recommend getting it from there as its cheaper too. 

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