Is there an application that would allow my wi-fi enabled laptop to act as a remote control for my television?

Answer 1

The both send signals throught the air. But wi-fi is not the same as infra red.

You would need to get some hardware that send infra red signals out.. but the costs would probably mean it woukld be cheaper to buy a universal remote (like a Harmony).

Answer 2

Whislt the information above about hotspots will be of use to you, you need to consider that most modern (built in the last 50 years) narrowboats have steel hulls and steel superstructure (there are some with fibreglass tops). You will be sitting inside an earthed metal box which will act as a Faraday cage restructing the radio signal getting into the boat. Another option worth looking at would be to get a 3G GPRS pcmiaa card for your laptop, here you use the mobile phone network (watch out for the costs). You will find more places with a mobile phone signal than you will looking for wifi hotspots. The same comments about radio signals apply, so work near the window, or outside (now the sun has come out).

Answer 3

you would need an IR port, which is almost discontinued in most WiFi enabled Laptops

as for the software, i once found a software to run on a nokia 6600 to make it's IR port act as a remote control, but it never worked