It's the difference between what is often called the "lean forward" experience of the PC, versus the "lean back" experience of television.

The last thing such people want to do, skeptics suggest, is "interact" with their televisions. "People already interact with their TVs," says Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff. "It's called the remote control." Maggie Wilderotter agrees. Television viewing a classic "lean back," exertion-free activity, says the CEO of Wink Communications, an interactive-TV start-up in Alameda, Calif. "I'm leaned back while I'm watching television," she explains, "and I'm leaned in when I'm at my PC. People won't respond to interactive television if they have to lean in and work."

Most people want to sit in front of a TV with a beer — not a keyboard," said Philip Monego, chief executive of NetChannel, which makes the new device. "TV is a lean-back experience. PCs are a lean-forward experience.