Take a look at
www.pcremotecontrol.comI have been playing with this app and it works very well. I have successfully used it to emulate the XP-MCE remote with my Pronto.
One odd feature I noted is that while working on my laptop, the app was seeing output from the IrDa port and displaying the code. (SMC IrCC controller)
I believe that this may prove useful for those of you playing with other remote devices.
The app Serial Watcher also lets you view the incoming IR to a receiver on your PC. The Packard Bell "WinAmp Remote" at
www.tekgems.com provides a serial IR Receiver that receives IrDa IR and sends the result to the above apps. I do not know if this is intentional, or if the PB receiver just has a wide range of sensitivity.
Hope something here helps....