There are protocols like upnp and then there is the dlna which are suited for controlling all kind of devices. I think dlna is a protocol suite which includes upnp. upnp is not limited to multimedia devices control and it is flexible so it allows writing device profiles for any kind of devices. Also there are the apple's bonjour or was it zeroconf protocol and their open source counterpart the avahi which make possible device control in same way as upnp. Those are things you could take a look before you think about reinventing the wheel. This is interesting subject.

Just for the coolness factor I think there is the star trek theme for the IT's on maemo pages somewhere. I'm not sure but it could make the IT look a bit like tricorder. Lol... Krisse beat me. there it is, the theme.