By Peter H. Lewis
April 13, 2000
Compared with sitting on a comfy couch, using an old-fashioned remote control to surf through a mere 100 channels on cable television, surfing millions of World Wide Web pages using WebTV and a keyboard can be physically exhausting.
At least that seems to be the thinking behind the La-Z-Boy Explorer ''e-cliner,'' a plush new reclining chair that may be the first piece of furniture to come with a two-month subscription to the Microsoft's WebTV service.
Following on the success of its Oasis recliner -- the first reclining chair to have a six-pack-size beverage cooler built into the arm -- La-Z-Boy worked with Microsoft's WebTV Networks division to create the ultimate throne for mouse potatoes who want to surf the Net, send and receive e-mail and watch TV at the same time.
The left arm of the Explorer recliner has a keyboard tray that folds and swivels, just like the snack trays in the first-class section on airplanes. The tray supports a battery-operated Sony wireless keyboard, a laptop computer or a bowl of popcorn. Naturally, the chair also includes a power outlet with surge suppression and a modem jack. There is a storage compartment in the right arm for essentials like a remote control and the user's beverage of choice.
The Explorer chair comes with a WebTV Plus Internet receiver, the Sony keyboard and two free months of WebTV's Internet service. (You provide the TV and the popcorn.) Unlike the Oasis, the Explorer does not have a 10-motor massage and heat system or a built-in corded telephone with Caller ID.
The base price of the Explorer chair in a choice of fabrics is $1,049. Leather versions, presumably for high-performance Web surfers, will start at $1,299.
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Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
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