Gadget Gurus - Logitech Duet - Your Music in Any Room

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Logitech Duet - Your Music in Any Room

Written by Rich McComas

While sitting in your living room, you can now easily play songs stored on any computer in the house, or tune in to one of thousands of internet radio stations. Just connect the Logitech Duet base station to your stereo, and install some software on your PC and within minutes, you'll be expanding your audio horizons.

The connections on the base unit are simple, either analog through a left-right port, or digital. The connection to your computer is accomplished either through the embedded 802.11G WiFi connection, or via a wired ethernet connect. After plugging the unit in, you install Logitech's Squeezebox software on your computer, and you are up and running.

The holy grail of the MP3 revolution is to listen to your content wherever and whenever you want. A lot of attention, however, has been spent on how to get content over to mobile devices, and much less on how to deliver it to the living room, which before the age of mobility was the tranquil space that we created for audio enjoyment. In the living room, audiophiles and novices alike invested hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars on audio amplifying equipment and speakers, to give us that concert experience at home. And yet, today, because of the mobile music phenomenon, most music is heard through $10 earbuds.

The remote control for the Duet is fairly simple, basically a control dial to select your media and source, and some basic audio function buttons (fast forward, pause, rewind, volume). Unlike most remotes, however, the Duet features a 2.4" backlight color LCD screen, which is used to menu through your music, and even full-color display album covers and song information (if you have this information stored with your music library).

The only buttons missing from the Duet is a programmable power and source button to turn on your amplifier and turn the source over to the Duet. Therefore after a long hard day at work, when you flop yourself on the couch, just before closing your eyes to transport yourself elsewhere, you are going to have to use two remotes to get the concert going.

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TECH2 LAKE HOUSE

UPDATE - The exterior of the Technology Lake House is complete and we are now working on interior finishing and electronics. Last year, San Francisco's Channel 7 ABC News ran a special video report on the construction progress of the Technology Lake House, and we expect them back for a follow-up soon. Click HERE for a DLINK Live Video Feed with pan and zoom features (userid=user, no password, daylight hours only).

Ron Rosberg's current project home, the Technology Lake House, is currently under construction on the shores of Clearlake in Northern California. Even though the house is a wireless demo house, we have installed more than seven miles of wires in the walls for dozens of flat panel TVs, speakers, control panels, and sophisticated lighting. So far, more than a dozen technology and fixture manufacturers have agreed to sponsor this project, which has been simmering in Ron's head since he attended the first CES show in New York in 1967. The 7,500 square foot project (plus three existing rustic cabin guest houses) is being built on a five-acre Honeymoon Cove resort with 500 feet of beach directly across from Konocti Harbor Resort. This summer retreat will host technology gatherings annually, inviting Western states home builders, contractors, and technology consultants for a live open house showcasing the latest in home technologies. There is room to park plenty of boats, so plan on coming up for some lake fun after the project is complete. For more info, send email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call 707-995-2683. To see the latest photos, visit Ron's Flickr gallery.

We are currently looking for products to evaluate in these areas:

Home automation: lighting, security, and entertainment
A/V technology for the 500 SF home theater media demo room

Hot News on Cool New Features: The ENTIRE front of the home is made of 21 sliding NanaWall glass panels that fold into the walls, opening the entire home up to the lake during demo days.

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