LIRC is a package that allows you to decode and send infra-red signals of many (but not all) commonly used remote controls. Former versions focussed on home-brew hardware connected to the serial or parallel port. Current versions of LIRC also support a variety of other hardware. NOTE: for FTDI chips support you need install libftdi and ftdi_eeprom from http://www.intra2net.com/en/developer/libftdi/ before run slackbuild.