in the top level menu (Playlists, Shuffle, etc.) pressing 1 jumps to Playlists, 2 to Shuffle, ..., 9 to Sound

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

You could just as well press a button labeled "abc" to jump to playlists, and "def" to Shuffle as pressing a button labeled "1" or "2", but I guess it is more mnemonic to think of playlists as First in the menu, Shuffle as Second, etc..

I'd be content to give up the labels that are just numerals in favor of labels specifically designating other, more frequently used functions. We really don't need to have numbers per se on the remote -- it's not like we're dialing telephone numbers or setting tuner.... Uh-Oh... how DO we enter tuner frequencies once the mythical Mark Tuners arrive?

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"