Technology You Can Really Get Into

Lou Bergeron

Ergonomically correct office chairs be damned. If you want true comfort while cruising the Web, the new La-Z-Boy Explorer lounger is the way to go. This cushy recliner comes equipped for Microsoft WebTV Plus service, giving you Internet access and interactive TV while you vegetate. All you provide is the TV, the phone line, and electricity.

Roomy enough for even the stoutest couch potato or Yahoo yam, this "e-cliner," as La-Z-Boy dubs it, is the first Web-enabled easy chair. When my $1299 black leather shipping unit arrived, I sat down, lolled back, and promptly zoned out for 20 minutes. Once back to reality, I had no trouble connecting the hardware for WebTV to my television, and I was quickly logged on for viewing and limited surfing.

Both armrests on the Explorer flip open. The right one houses a drink holder and remote; the left contains a tray table bearing the wireless keyboard you use to communicate with the Sony INT-W250 Internet terminal perched atop your television. If you were a whiz at Rubik's Cube, you'll easily maneuver the keyboard tray in and out of the arm (I resorted to the manual). Once it's out, the tray easily swings out of your way, but it can't move back and forth or tilt. The keyboard detaches, however, so I just set it in my lap. Beer bellies should also work nicely.

Inside the tray table arm, the Explorer has outlets for power, phone, and DSL--if you want to use a laptop. My only gripe about the chair: its overly soft arms. If you lean heavily on them while heaving yourself up, they give a lot; the infirm may end up crying, "Help! I've e-clined and I can't get up!"

The WebTV aspect of the La-Z-Boy Explorer can't compare with using a PC for Web access, but in most respects, the chair itself is a dream. If you're trying to entice an older, comfort-loving relative onto the Web (or are just plain lazy yourself), the Explorer could be the answer.