[arokh]

OpenELEC boots fast and is easy to install. It also makes upgrading a breeze, it's built like an appliance tailored to run XBMC and nothing else. That's a good thing if all you want is run XBMC, but personally I like to install any emulator I want or use a browser with my wireless keyboard. These things can be done in OpenELEC, but the only way to extend it is through custom add ons made by the community. I'm running Arch because it's a rolling release which allows me to follow the bleeding edge if I want and be able to do tons more.

As for a remote, I didn't get one but found an old white Apple remote I had and it works great with Linux (had to do the trick with nuvoton_cir mentioned in this thread). In addition you can use the Smart IR Remote from the Google play store, some of the MCE controllers work with the kernel/xbmc keymaps out of the box. Just because I can, I also got my PS3 Sixaxis hooked up through Bluetooth. Actually makes for a lot more responsive controller than IR.

EDIT: Below is my keymap for the old white Apple IR remote using NEC protocol:

Code:

0x77e1d02b KEY_UP
0x77e1e02b KEY_RIGHT
0x77e1b02b KEY_DOWN
0x77e1102b KEY_LEFT
0x77e1202b KEY_ENTER
0x77e1402b KEY_BACKSPACE