# will using the internet become a lean-back-in-the-couch experience, like TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542 "2006-05-12T18:06:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/1 "2006-05-12T18:06:56Z")
Watching TV , you lean backward, relaxing. Using the internet–you lean forward, hunched over a screen. Very different experiences. Can they be combined? I was in an electronics store, fantasizing over the huge plasma TV screens. (I don’t have enough wall space in my apartment for one, let alone the money to buy it.) But the salesman was serious, and he suggested a new use for the big screen: He said "get a wireless keyboard, and you can browse the web from the comfort of your couch. Why squint at a tiny 19 inch screen, when you can read the NY Times website (or watch porno!) on a wall-sized screen? " Is that the way of the future? Will todays computer screens soon look as old-fashioned as a model T Ford does now? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/2 "2006-05-12T19:13:23Z")
I can’t see surfing on a big screen that’s across the room from me, because surfing is more about “reading” than about “watching,” so I think it is a fundamentally different activity from watching TV, even though there is a screen used in both cases. I suppose you would be able to see all the words because they would be larger, but that isn’t how people are used to reading…your eyes would have to travel across the screen too much. Interesting thought, though…it definitely would be physically more comfortable! ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/3 "2006-05-12T19:58:09Z")
I already surf the net from the comfort of my own couch - with a laptop and wireless internet. I don’t really care for it on the big screen, because I mostly read things on the net and wouldn’t want to read a book on a big screen. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/4 "2006-05-12T20:18:38Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I can’t see surfing on a big screen that’s across the room from me, because surfing is more about “reading” than about “watching,” so I think it is a fundamentally different activity from watching TV, even though there is a screen used in both cases. I suppose you would be able to see all the words because they would be larger, but that isn’t how people are used to reading…your eyes would have to travel across the screen too much. > > Interesting thought, though…it definitely would be physically more comfortable! Exactly - I get a headache playing RPG-style video games from the couch sometimes because there’s a lot of reading. I usually get up and sit on the floor in front of the TV. I wouldn’t want to do any real surfing that way. I have a laptop at home anyway. ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/5 "2006-05-13T02:42:22Z")
Comfort would be the only plus for me, I couldn’t read words on a huge screen. There would be too much space, I couldn’t concentrate. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/6 "2006-05-13T02:57:13Z")
I already [surf the internet](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=370815) in comfort. Laid back in my big comfy chair with my feet up. A track ball in a necessity. If I increase the text size a few times I can read it about six feet away easily. It does take some getting used to typing in your lap instead of like like in an office. I use a 19 inch monitor. I’d be much happier with something 5 or 6 times larger though. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/7 "2006-05-13T04:00:23Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > He said "get a wireless keyboard, and you can browse the web from the comfort of your couch. Why squint at a tiny 19 inch screen, when you can read the NY Times website (or watch porno!) on a wall-sized screen? " > > Is that the way of the future? “Wall-sized” makes it sound very _Fahrenheit 451_, but that could happen in the future. Nobody would complain if the eye- and backstrain of computing were reduced. To make things even more futuristic, you can remove the keyboard from the equation. We could just reply to everybody’s posts with effective talk-to-type software, and perhaps with some kind of voice samples, the computer would be able to speak everybody’s posts. The reading would be almost entirely eliminated. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/8 "2006-05-13T04:37:32Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > will using the internet become a lean-back-in-the-couch experience, like TV? Stop spying on me! ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/9 "2006-05-13T15:31:35Z")
I wouldn’t enjoy the thought of anybody walking past being able to see what I was doing. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/10 "2006-05-14T19:03:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [snip]…We could just reply to everybody’s posts with effective talk-to-type software, and perhaps with some kind of voice samples, the computer would be able to speak everybody’s posts. The reading would be almost entirely eliminated. Unlikely in the extreme, at least as the primary interface. Most people can read much, much, faster than speech. Talk-to-type would be nice, but even if we had the AI necessary to actually get it right near 100% of the time, can you imagine an office building with 350 people in cubes sending e-mail at the same time with their voice? It might work in the home (although it would still make computer use disruptive to everyone around), but most folks will use the same technique everywhere. I wouldn’t sell my keyboard & monitor stocks just yet. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/11 "2006-05-14T20:11:45Z")
Sort of, but not how you mean it. (all this is MHO) The TV and computer will be linked, you will go to your computer and select what you want to watch, then head over to the TV to watch, if a email comes up, you get a signal on the TV and you will be able to read it there, or take it to the PC. Tired of a program, you can call up a menu on your TV and look for something else, or just flip around or go back to the computer. The problem is that TV watching is passive, web surfing is active. However there are crossovers, like watching the preview channel for something then entering the channel - which usually gets you hunched over the remote. Or downloading a video clip on your PC then sitting back and watching. And video games are another example of crossover activities. This shows how a controller (joystick) can make all the difference, if you can make it almost like a extention of one’s body it will help a lot in this area, but playign a video game is not sit back and relax most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/12 "2006-05-14T20:33:12Z")
I want to surf the web from the comfort of my bathtub. I think all I need, really, is a waterproof laptop. When is this going to happen? (cross references post from Real Age thread) Oh. Probably not in my lifetime. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/13 "2006-05-15T03:19:05Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > I already surf the net from the comfort of my own couch - with a laptop and wireless internet. Me, too. 🙂 > [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > I want to surf the web from the comfort of my bathtub. I think all I need, really, is a waterproof laptop. When is this going to happen? Will [water-resistant](http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/df_spill.asp) do? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/14 "2006-05-15T07:03:01Z")
_slight hijack because I’m too busy leaning back on my couch to be bothered to start a new thread_ I’d like to see a hand-held thumb pad. It would resemble the clicker they use on Jeopardy!, and would be about the size of a flip phone. The thumb pad would be on the broad side of it, and you would right-click with your first two fingers on the narrow side, and left-click with your pinky and ring fingers. There were actually times, when I was still using a desktop and mouse, that I would hold the mouse upside down in my hand and control the roller ball with my thumb because I was too lazy to hold my arm out to the desk and use the mouse in the traditional way. I always thought this would be handy, expecially when using your laptop with an overhead for presentations. Does something like this already exist? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-using-the-internet-become-a-lean-back-in-the-couch-experience-like-tv/356542/15 "2006-05-15T09:55:30Z")
[http://www.alphagrips.com](http://www.alphagrips.com) Other than the mouse speed needing to be upped, the thing is great for veg-surfing and game play.