I want to set up a system that will allow me to gather all outgoing e-mail messages that I expect a reply to. How do I do this? Fred, Wan Chai DQ: We're running this question again due to feedback from a couple of loyal readers. Mukesh Balani of Hong Kong suggests: 'Set up a secondary e-mail account (for example, Waiting-For-Reply@gmail.com ) and send a BCC (blind courtesy copy) of any e-mails that need a reply to that account. Next, set up Outlook (or preferred mail client) to collect incoming e-mails from that account and filter them into a dedicated 'Waiting for reply' folder. This way you will have also created an automatic backup of the e-mail on a separate server.' Eric Spain from Mui Wo, writes: 'Make a 'mail act-on' rule that says any e-mail from yourself goes to a folder called 'Awaiting reply'. BCC to yourself all the messages you expect to get a reply to. The logic being there is no other reason to get mail from yourself.' Both of these solutions work but they are not ideal. Presumably, the person wanting to know if a reply has arrived will have to look into the 'Waiting-for-reply' folder from time to time to see if something has arrived. It is certainly true that putting these messages in one place would help but a better solution would be for it all to be done automatically - that's what computers are supposed to be good at. I am still looking for a solution that does not require programming on a large scale. Anybody with other ideas, please feel free to suggest them. I have bought a home theatre system, including a television and Blu-ray Disc player, from a single vendor. But now I must use five different remote controls, which is bewildering. Is there a solution? Name and address supplied DQ: Yes, there is. Most universal remote controls typically need to be set up, which can be far more complicated than reason tells us it should be. There are, however, a few devices that look promising, though the best ones are not cheap. I found the offerings from Logitech ( www.logitech.com ) compelling. What I like is how the remotes work with computers and over the internet. You can connect some of the devices to a Windows PC or a Mac and download the setup software. There is also an online product-compatibility check. That is exactly as it should be. Universal remote controls without such a feature, in my view, are inferior products. The devices from Universal Remote ( www.universalremote.com ) seem to be better than the various cheap models out there but they may not be quite so easy to use.