how many are you tripping over?

Speaking of multiple remotes, if you want to spare yourself the frustration and also dineros on all the batteries...

The Apple iPhone or iTouch does EVERYTHING that Elizabeth mentioned she wishes for, and then of course about a million things more...!
It can not only act as a multitouch mouse/trackpad for your pc, but also a complete keyboard replacement.

There is a FREE application made by Logitech which effortlessly does the mouse/keyboard bit called Touch Mouse.

And the ultimate universal remote control stuff can be done with another FREE app called RedEye, which along with the matching tiny plug in dongle can beam out a near limitless number of infra red commands and allow users to customize the way they control their gear, with full multitouch and accelerometer support complementing the ability to add (soft) macro buttons for pretty much any device extant.

Hiya Mark,
I should have said the Red Eye Mini.... it goes for around $40.

For the price and the near limitless customizing ability compared to any other universal remote control, I think that it's actually an excellent alternative, particularly as I most frequently have my phone within reach wherever I am.

Its activity-based controls and macros are damn nifty as is its database of over 45,000 IR codes and ability to learn commands from any existing remotes you may have which have obscure functions.