Everyone knows that computing technology in evolving into "appliances," right? The buzz in the industry is that real people don't want computers, which are expensive, complex, and hard to use. They want "Internet appliances," which we can only assume means that there's a growing market for blenders and Salad Shooters that can look up current stock prices. Hey, who doesn't want to fetch driving directions while mixing up a big bowl of cake batter? Or, if by "Internet appliance" they mean a cheap, simplified, nonthreatening computer that specializes in accessing the Web, then we've got plenty of systems on the market that achieve that goal with varying degrees of success.

But what you may not know is that the "Internet appliance" fad is quickly fading. The next big thing in this industry is actually going to be "Internet furniture." Apparently some genius figured out that reading up-to-the-minute news headlines off the side of a toaster isn't all it's cracked up to be, and decided that the integration of Internet technologies into comfortable furniture is much more likely to catch on with the general public. And faithful viewer Kent Hull clued us in to the first volley in what will surely be a vicious battle to market iFurniture: according to a Reuters story, La-Z-Boy has teamed up with Microsoft to present the "e-cliner," a comfy recliner with a WebTV unit built right into the armrest. (All it needs is a Twinkie dispenser in the other armrest and you've got the ultimate in American decadence.)

All we can say is, we sure hope Apple's got something brewing to compete. Sure, an AirPort-enabled iBook makes for comfy feet-up surfing in the love seat of your choice (as we can well confirm), and it does a lot more than WebTV, besides. But with La-Z-Boy's e-cliner starting at $999, the iBook is a lot more expensive-- especially when you factor in the cost of your furniture. No, we figure Apple's going to have to come up with something more holistic. And we don't mind telling you, we can't wait to see what a G4-powered, AirPort-connected, Jonathan Ive-designed living room set is going to look like. Do we get a choice of fruit flavors for the throw pillows?