Seems like the obvious next step for home entertainment: let your PC
manage the controls.  In particular: I want a (big) MP3 and/or video
recorder that have LAN (wireless) access and a control program that
runs on my laptop to create playlists and be the ultimate remote
control.  Do the components exist yet?  Without requiring me to take
the covers off of boxes?

I think I may have the perfect solution for you.  I assume you want to
access your MP3?s stored on your desktop machine at home and access
them from your laptop anywhere?  Well, as long as you have a
connection (Wireless or otherwise) to your PC directly or via the net
you can do so.  A sweet little program I?ve come across called Command
Cubes from http://www.commandcubes.com/ allows you to play your music
and videos from your garden or from work while they play from your
home PC.  You could simply install NetMeeting within Windows and use
the Remote Desktop to grab the files and play them locally, but
Command Cubes is like Media Player in the sense you can create play
lists and play with ease (you can also use the software as an FTP
server if you wished).

Your connection to your music relies on knowing your IP address to the
outside World.  To find your IP address go to
http://www.myipaddress.com/

You may find your IP address changes after each reboot which means
your ISP is providing you with a Dynamic IP address.  To stop you from
constantly checking your IP address each time you reboot, ask your ISP
to upgrade you to a Static IP service (can be costly) or use a free
service like www.zoneedit.com to give your changing IP address a
recognizable name.

Once you have the software installed and are connected remotely the
interface is relatively self explanatory (although not as pretty as
Media Player).

Have fun.

This sounds pretty good --- thanks!

A very easy way to control your stereo equipment from you laptop would
be to use iTunes and Airport Express. AirPort Express is a wireless
router and it has a technology called AirTunes. You simply plug it in
to the wall and into your stereo's audio input. Then, on a wireless
equipped laptop, you can play music using iTunes and it will play
through the stereo. More info is available at apple.com. Hope this
helps.