Hennessy

So I got my hands on a Hennessy.

I have to say that the casing and Industrial Design are pretty good - Sandi likes the "no-fingerprints" case (her words) and we both appreciate that the volume/channel buttons are now consistent with all the other remotes.

I had some trouble getting going because on my primary computer there is a problem where plugging in the remote (USB) terminates my wireless connection. It was late and nobody I know was online, so I called customer service just for kicks.
Well, the best the Tier 1 guy came up with ... ok he had two options:

1. Use a wired connection.
   Not feasible since I have to use an Extender, and dragging that out of the cabinet will be ugly.... and I don't have a long enough network cable. Ok I do, but its in a box in the garage while my basement is being done. So its not do-able. shut up.
   
2. Disable the network adapter for the remote in the Device Manager.
   I knew this was foolish - how will the client talk to the remote without it? - but I went along just to get past Tier 1.
   

All right so in the course of all this I find out that there is no migration path from Any Other remote to the Hennessy, because, and I quote ".. it uses completely different software" - I have to add my Components and Activities all over again. Fine. Okay. I suppose I'll buy that for now.
So then I hit the website and start entering my information... lo and behold, the client can't connect to the remote for the connectivity check. Duh. Call back in and get Tier 2. Now we're talking to someone with a clue.
Turns out I'm the first to ever experience this problem and they don't have a suggestion other than a wired connection or another computer. All right, this I was expecting, but it means something on my system here doesn't play well with the remote... or perhaps the Belcarra driver doesn't play well with it, I don't know. I should point out that this worked fine on my Logitech laptop, which is the same model as this one, so its probably just a difference in a driver somewhere.

Right, so I get on the home laptop and that works properly. I continue to add my shit in... what a gently caressing pain in the ass that is. No Migration Path my left nut. They need to make one.
Now, It strikes me as I'm doing all this crap that all their talk of "completely different software" is a giant pile of sloppy wet bull turds. This "completely different software" is exactly the same as the old one, except that you can't migrate to Hennessy. I'm serious, its still the same crappy web interface, but they're billing it as something new. ... and there are still a lot of dumb visual errors on that site too.

So fine I get through that with minimal cursing... didn't want to wake up the better half, right?. Getting it updated wasn't actually as bad as I had expected. I only had to plug in the Extender once, The firmware and configuration update didn't actually take too long (though it was interesting to see that a FW update was actually necessary. Already.) And for once it actually worked the first time. No button customizations required and so far I haven't wanted to do any... though I did look at that interface... All I can say about that is a Tab labelled "Hardbuttons" is definitely ... amateurish. There must be a better UI for that, jeez.

"But tell us what you really think!". All right, get to the point.

Pros:
- UI is much more responsive than the 1000
- animations! (well, it does make it look slicker)
- Boot time is vastly improved
- Update times are vastly improved
- The graphics in general are better than the 1000, but I find myself wishing that they either got a better quality LCD or drew their pictures with more colours. Perhaps I'm jaded from using the BlackBerry for so long, but the remote just isn't crisp enough.
- Casing is good - the matte black repels fingerprints well.
- The wife hasn't once uttered the phrase "well that's just stupid."
2009/08/07 update - she uttered the phrase. Apparently she's not a fan of the default "send Play on Start" behaviour.

Cons:
- Web continues to need a birthday (click an option, click a button)... you cover a hell of a lot of screen real-estate on every page. You would think they would at least put the buttons closer to the options list, but really the lists need to go, it makes the web harder to use. Oh, sorry, I mean "the software". That makes it worse - billing it as software makes me think of the current interfaces as exceptionally klunky.
- Not cheap, especially in this economy. Its a little unfair to throw that out, since its been in development for a year or so (before the shit went down), but I suspect they're going to have trouble getting them off the shelves, at least for a while.
- Charger runs pretty warm. I don't remember this from the 1000, so I wonder if there's a new component that's cooking a little more than in the previous model. Then again I'm using the Cognac charger; maybe I should swap in the new one.
- I don't seem to have the sensitivity I would have expected at the corners.... this could be my unit I suppose, but I sometimes find that pressing on the corner icons doesn't have any effect.
- Sounds still suck large piles of dog poo.

No word yet on battery life.

Ultimately, its a big improvement over Cognac; much more (UI) responsive and limited use so far hasn't had the IR-sending lock up (Cognac would occasionally send-forever after a button press, until another button got pressed - possibly a missed KB-up event or something)
I'm disappointed in the graphics quality, but the animations are smooth and the graphics being used are at least as nice as Cognac's.
This remote definitely gives you more value for your money.

Can anyone else hear crickets chirping?

I believe we were promised more pictures of raw dead animal to drool over. Once again Mr. Rigley is failing to meet his commitments. So sad....

What shall we do to empower him?

Weird sightings

Okay, I'm sure the intent of this blog wasn't to blast former employers but frankly this had to be said....

So I was browsing Glass Door this evening and found something I simply cannot believe. There apparently is an engineer in Mississauga that is so enamoured with Logitech that he can find absolutely nothing wrong with it - a 5.0 rating!

Either this guy (gal?) likes taking it up the ass, or one of the idiot managers is masquerading as an employee. I suspect the latter, though I will say it is reasonably well-worded.

I really shouldn't be too surprised. I guess I tipped my hand when I blasted the idiot manager about how the evidence on the site indicates a wild discrepancy between the managerial view of things and the engineerial view of things (yeah. engineerial. I just made it up. It's mine.... but you can get a limited license on it for a pint)

I'm sure that if I thought about it I could find a couple of names that might fit the bill, but to be honest, even my so-called arch-nemesis isn't that well-written. Then again, neither are the managers. Still, I smell a rat....
... though it occurs to me that Manny could be having some fun at our expense, but I'm disinclined to believe that one because I think he's more likely to go way, way, waaaaay over the top. Still, that would be pretty funny.
Maybe I'll go in posing as a manager who hates all the engineers with their superiority complexes.... heh

Ah well, I guess I should take solace in the knowledge that "1 of 2 people found my review helpful". I think I'll take credit for the next departure ... hehe

The good news is that I don't have to care anymore, the bad news is that I sort of feel bad for the few smart people that are still there. Then again, if they are smart they won't last long unless someone starts getting their gently caressing^© shit together.

By the way... Nice one, Jon. Short and to the point, and apparently helpful.

Meat

Don't worry, I have just what this stupid blog needs:

Last night, I was lucky enough to participate in the Introduction to Butchery class at The Healthy Butcher on Queen Street West. It was fucking awesome. I was one of a group of ten civilian foodie-types who were let in to the back room at the shop after hours to watch as two ruddy lads took apart a pig and a lamb, and rendered them into their constituent commercial cuts. It was a rare glimpse into a seldom-seen world (at least for me), and it was fascinating.

Of course, I had a camera with me.

Some Pig!

I didn't catch the pig's name, but on the left is Paul, head butcher, and on the right is Paulis, who used to cook at Canoe (among other places) and is spending some time learning the animal-chopping-up trade. The Healthy Butcher is all about serving organically-raised, local meat, and they are serious about using the whole animal, not just the usual grocery-store cuts. I learned a lot about the less-common, cheaper, and tastier bits, all of which are available at the store.

They cut a couple of butt chops (which, to my surprise, actually come from the shoulder of the beast) and cooked them for us. These we hungrily devoured, leaning up against the bloody table, while we watched them finish up the rest of the job. Fucking righteous.

Next up, the sacrificial lamb (they had removed the head already so we wouldn't be fighting over the eyes):


Bones are no match for the trusty hacksaw:



And then the familiar frenched rack of lamb:


I have to say, I was impressed with these dudes. They are committed to their trade, fucking well skilled with a knife (they never once turned on the band saw!) and serious about promoting a more ethical, sustainable and healthy approach to eating meat. And I gotta say - I'll pay twice as much per pound at the Healthy Butcher and eat half as much, and be happy doing it, because it tastes soooooo much better.

In two weeks I go back for the sausage-making course. I will report back with lots of pictures of tasty meat being stuffed into tasty intestines. Bon appetit!

YAY to the group

So glad you created this group. It's so great to know that there is life after Logitech. I mean, leaving that fantastic company with an even more fantastic executive team and even more more fantastic management team is just so heart-breaking.

I'll use this group to mend my constantly-bleeding heart, as I truly miss the town hall video broadcasts of other people telling us what's so great about irrelevant businesses while the executives look at us with "see? SEE??" looks.

Thank you again guys. I'll contribute to this blog as often as I possibly can. Now I have to go and pay back my relocation allowance to Logitech for head-hunting me out of a possible life in France, bringing me here and then mushrooming me for almost a year. So much passion for excellence.

Oh shit... I used "I" too much in this post.. Not a team player!!!!

Frist Post

Here was my bad idea: Anyone who worked at Harmony Remote, but no longer does, is an editor here automatically (well, they will be once I figure out how all this fancy blog shit works, and once we can figure out who is who) and can post articles and do other bloggy things. It could be an exciting way for us all to waste time at our new jobs, and it'll give us all a chance to write for an unfriendly and harshly critical audience, and to make fun of each other's stupid ideas that will never make any money ever.

Post whatever you want, unless it is illegal. Try to make it interesting, considering the audience, but don't edit yourself. I am hoping Shame will moderate things, but if not, so much the better.

I have no fucking idea how this blog shit works -- I am going to try to figure it out over the next few days. Post comments for now, and fucking be patient while I figure out how to enable the first list of alumni.

In the meantime, I offer the Frist Post!