I have a Gateway notebook pc that has a IrDA or infrared port at the rear, as with most notebooks. I would like to know if there is anyway I can use my notebook as a universal learning remote to control my home audio equipment. I am looking for free or shareware programs/software. Your help would be kindly appreciated.

You should read some of the threads in this forum, there does appear to be some share ware links out there for this.

The problem with most Irda hardware is that they are designed for short range usage. I have had good luck with the RedRat2 serial port based learning remote control. It's about the size of a normal remote control device and I have mine hooked up to my desktop machine to control my A.V stack(DVD/VCR/PVR/TV/...).

Here is a link to the web site:

[Link: dodgies.demon.co.uk]

I have written a bunch of Linux software for it:

[Link: slip.net]