Microsoft's Freestyle - A better remote control?

Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) kicked off its eleventh year with the emphasis on the connected home. The first major announcement to come out of the show, which is being covered by our own Omid Rahmat in detail tomorrow, is Freestyle. Freestyle is a set of protocols and specifications that basically turn a Windows XP PC into a media server, and you get a Microsoft remote control so that if feels more like a couch potatoe experience. In short, Microsoft has discovered that a remote control is the best wireless WIMP device around, and is trying to own that, too. Does the Justic Department know about this?

Take a look at the announcement from Philips and Microsoft here. and see what you think.