Hey, it's great idea! If you manage to come up with writing/porting some software to control it, I'll gladly patch-up a receiver and transmitter and send it to you, of course as a donation.

As you've said, it might be nice idea to boost N900 Ir output power:
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/reso...er_tvbgone.jpg

...while still keeping "brain" processed by N900 (like with Pierogi), allowing much better functions, than any "learning remote" in universe (like stateful AC control).

Keeping my thumbs for it!

/Estel