You certainly can use you Laptop as a remote to control your TV. There are Windows, Linux, Phone, PDA, PSP, XBox, TiVo (& many other popular TV boxes), based software that can be used to control anything from TVs to radios, to DVRs, to home entertainment systems, to smart house system... Basically anything with a remote controller. In most cases, you must have an Infrared controller on you computer, or connected to a network (in that case, all things you want to control with your PC have to be connected to the network. The key to IrA devices is to program the correct device code, which can also be a challenge. In the case of tracking down freeware software, I've searched for hours & can not find any freeware that will allow one to use a laptop as a TV remote control - most are pay programs like IRCommand2, or you must be a paid subscriber to a file download site (in any case, most are a challenge to configure). All demos I have found either have link errors, missing registration info, or some kind of other hurdle that just added to my frustration. However, I've just run across a PDA version that sounds promising at www.pdawin.com . I downloaded it & have yet to install it on my Dell Axim Pocket PC. For now, I am too drained to bother, but I'll be sure to let you know what I've learned when I do so.
