Mac mini media center

We recently got a new LED/LCD TV (our prior TV was over 10 years old) -- this is the first flat-screen TV in our house.  Now that we are emerging from behind the home entertainment curve I have embarked on a project to solve our problem of not having a home desktop computer.  Jessica and I both have laptops, but sometimes we look at things online together (budgeting, or online shopping for rugs - one recent example).  Doing this on a laptop is really difficult wherever you sit, because it is hard for both people to get comfortable and see the screen well.

Our house does not have a study, so I have decided instead to get a mac mini and hook it up to the new flatscreen.  This will turn it into a multifunctional media center for: music, web browsing, games for Madeline (and eventually Emily).  After some research it seems that if you use a DVI connection for the mac mini then the picture is of good quality.  I may have to increase the minimal font size for the system so that you can read text from the couch.  

The biggest problem is managing all of the remotes.  I have resisted getting a Logitech eHarmony universal remote, mainly because they look confusing to me and are very expensive.  And I'm sure Jessica would never use one so half the purpose of getting one is shot anyway.