There's an almost infinite number of methods you can use to create a remote control with an Arduino, and another useful example has been published by Greg Tan describing his remote-control garage door opener. With Greg's example, an Ethernet-enabled Arduino board is running a simple webserver sketch to provide a simple HTML page, which is then served over a local WiFi network. Once loaded, the page can control a relay connected to the Arduino via a simple circuit on protoshield which taps into the motor control for the garage door.
It might sound complex but is quite simple - and can be the framework for other web-controlled devices that you might consider useful. For more information including the sketch and notes, visit Greg's growing website. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
When putting together your next Internet-enabled Arduino project - save time, space and money with the Freetronics EtherTen. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.