To use the IrDA protocols within Linux you will need to get a suitable copy of the IrDA Utilities. More detailed information about these and associated programs can be found on http://irda.sourceforge.net/ For more information about how to use the IrDA protocol stack, see the Linux Infrared HOWTO by Werner Heuser : There is an active mailing list for discussing Linux-IrDA matters called irda-users@lists.sourceforge.net