By Luke Anderson
I’ll admit that I don’t use my laptop for watching movies all that often. Only on long flights and train rides do I really ever feel the need to use it for something other than work.. When I do, the notebook is generally right on my lap, or close by. That’s why I’ve never used the small remote that came with it, honestly I wouldn’t be surprised to find that I’ve misplaced it. However, I’m sure that there are those of you that find such remotes to be quite handy. If you are one such person, and you weren’t fortunate enough to get one with your laptop, here’s a great alternative.
The Outel (worst pun ever) USB Multimedia Remote has most of the functions you’ll want on a tiny remote. It’s got your standard multimedia buttons, volume controls, arrow keys and more. It stows away inside your PCMCIA slot, so you don’t lose it. Unfortunately, most newer laptops only have the ExpressCard slots. If your laptop is a little older and you want a cheap remote, you can pick this one up for $30.
[USB Geek] VIA [GeekAlerts]
If you’re in the UK, Amazon have a similar item here: http://tinyurl.com/32ycqp
I’ve seen pictures of this “stowed” inside a laptop and it sticks out far enough (almost an inch) that you couldn’t safely store it in your laptop.
The Outel USB Multimedia Limited has a lot of of the functions you will wish on a tiny remote. It is got your accepted multimedia buttons, aggregate controls, arrow keys and more.