A method includes implementing a single GUI for all the appliances which includes a set of input panels, an appliance selector panel and an output panel, communicating with the appliances with a multiplicity of agents, each implementing one appliance protocol of communication and converting between an internal format and the appliance protocol of communication; controlling activity of the agents, receiving a user command to a selected appliance issued from one of the input panels and generating at least one associated internal command in response to the user commands, providing the at least one associated internal command to the controlling for instruction to one of the agents associated with the selected appliance, storing information about each appliance to be controlled by the remote controller, and receiving notifications from the agents about the state of at least one of the appliances and providing the notifications to be displayed on the GUI.