04/08/96 COUCH POTATOES GET THEIR MOUSE

COUCH POTATOES GET THEIR MOUSE

ONE OF THE KEY OBSTACLES to the convergence of the personal computer and consumer-electronics gear is control. Wired keyboards and computer mice are O.K. for PCs, which are designed to be used at arm's length. But consumer devices such as TVs reign in the family room, where many people just want to sit back and enjoy--clicking through the channels with the remote control. Now, a small company in Camarillo, Calif., has come up with a compromise.
In May, Interlink Electronics Inc. will make available to computer-equipment makers and consumer-electronics giants a new handheld remote-control unit, called the Interactive Remote Control (IRC). It looks and functions like an ordinary infrared TV remote control. But to carry out cursor commands, such as moving an onscreen pointer to the icon for the latest hot spot on the World Wide Web, the IRC makes use of a so-called force-sensing resistor--the same component used in many notebook computers. Clicking is accomplished by pulling a trigger on the bottom of the IRC. Interlink officials say several companies already are in talks to use the device in their forthcoming products.
EDITED BY IRA SAGER By Paul Eng