Laptop IR Port As A Learning Remote?

JWhitlock asks: "My wife recently purchased a Handspring Visor. There is a program that turns your Palm-based handheld into a learning remote control, which seems like a cool (and possibly useful) application, since I have at least four remotes, and digital cable's navigation system is nearly worthless. One problem - she won't let me install it. She's under the illusion that her toy is just for productivity, or that I'll steal it if I play with it too much. In any case, I do have a laptop with an Infrared port to play with, but there appears to be no software out there that uses it. Is this because it's not technically feasible, or has no one else thought of it?"