I'm designing a home theater and home automation system. Since I'm the geeky DIY kind of guy, I'm looking for a WiFi remote control that I can hack to control the entire system. My day job is designing mobile computing devices, so I'm comfortable with the hacking, WiFi, and all of the back-end stuff to control the fixed devices.

I've looked at devices like the Logitech SqueezeBoX remote, some of the Philips devices, etc. I know about s/w for iphones/ipod-touch devices, but I think that I need some complement of h/w buttons plus a screen and soft buttons... Just some thoughts.

PLUS, the remote can't cost as much as the video display....... Should be around $300...??? Less is better.

I'm also thinking about the ipad for a 'big remote', but that's too complicated for simple kinds of controls. Need to have hard buttons.....

If the device has IR output that would help also to control devices in the room.

Any input appreciated.