LIRC sounds very promising, but I'm a tad confused as to exactly what I could use to get signals from my remote to the computer. The only two devices it lists in the "hardware" side are both in german so I'm not sure which I need/should get. What did you use to receive signals from your "exotic" remote?
Comment on Re: Re: (Mostly OT) Using a remote with perl?
Inspired by your post, I bought a serial IR receiver from Zapway (english version). I will use it with a remote controller sold with my Lego Mindstorms construction set...