Hi Mike,
The nurses at my local hospital gave me a load of Accucheck stuff too. Mainly this IR meter. I used to be able to get the test strips for this on prescription also.
I too wanted to connect to my PC, so I started investigating and found that my meter could talk via IR. I called Accucheck's helpline and they wanted me to pay for the cable and for some management software. They were happy enough to sell these things to me - £15 for the cable, £10 for the software, IIRC - I held back at that point because I naively expected this stuff to be free. I naively expected them to help me manage things.
My only other experience with IR has been a Polar Sports watch, 20-odd years ago. The quality of the IR connection was rubbish, although hopefully the technology has improved over the years.
If it helps any, I use a Beurer
GL-50, which has a USB connector built-in. They do management software and it's both free and pretty functional. I got my meter for about £20, new on eBay. The downside is that my GP won't fund the strips - they cost me just over £20 for 50. But I found that it is all swings and roundabouts - if you want the functionality, you need to pay for it somewhere along the line. Strips, cables, whatever. Incidentally, the latest Beurer offering will use their management software and will connect to your smartphone using Bluetooth. This seems far more "leading edge", although because I've already got connectivity through USB, I haven't tried it. I tend to use my computer as a computer, and my phone as a phone! - although it's handy to have my blood results on my phone, for when I go and see the nurse or the consultant.