if i get something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/XBOX-REMOTE-CONTROLLER-...1QQcmdZViewItem

how much control will have in xbmc? will simple navigation thorugh the menus (and my folder shares) as well as play/pause/stop work properly?

I have the MS dvd kit and the remote from that worked just fine. In fact I never used the controller. I am assuming that the generic should work as well as the MS one.

One issue is that with the remote, there is no easy way to get to a currently playing playlist or to one that you are building (navigating to songs pressing '0' to add, and getting to the actual playlist you are crating).

To get to the playlist you have to press "Title" then from the resulting sub dialog, choose "Now playing". If somebody knows how to map a key (on the remote that is) to go directly to the playlist as you can using the game controller, please post it. Thanks!

I just got a Harmony 680 from Logitech and that works perfectly.