If you have Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate editions, you've got Windows Media Center. The software makes it easier to watch movies, listen to music, access online media, or even watch and record live TV (if your PC has a TV tuner) without holding your nose six inches from your computer display. In fact, Windows Media Center works best when your PC is plugged into your television set, not a traditional monitor.

But what if you didn't buy your computer to use in the living room, but would would still like to take advantage of the so-called "10 foot interface?" You could go out and buy a media center remote control. But if you've got a laptop PC or Windows Mobile PDA and a home network, there's really no need.

Home Theater PC makers Niveus have released two applications that let you control your media center PC from the comfort or your couch. The company's Pocket Remote software runs on Windows Mobile devices and lets you use a virtual on-screen remote control to access any Vista machine on your home network. You can play music, videos, DVDs, or anything else this way. If you don't like the virtual remote, you can also browse, search, and control playback of your music library directly from your phone or PDA. The Pocket Remote software is free while in beta, but will only work for 10 days.