Evolution has not caught up with technology yet. If it had, we'd all have much pointier fingers so that we could operate all the buttons on our remote controls without fat-fingering the things. The solution to this is to forgo buttons. Hillcrest Labs' Loop is a free-space remote control--you wave or point it in the air to get things done. It works with a TV-based menu system that's very clear, yet can offer up much richer options than a typical remote control since the screen can change depending on what you are doing.

We've seen other free-space controllers, but the Loop works better than most. The solid-state inertial sensors let you point the onscreen cursor exactly where you want it to be; there's none of the wavy, vague swimming cursor you can get with other technologies. And Hillcrest has built an onscreen user interface that's simple yet capable. We especially like the way it helps you navigate a large library of media. The interface zooms in and out when you dive into categories or directories, showing you where you files are categorized.

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