Will couch potato mentality kill the digital living room?

Everyone is buzzing about the next big thing — the digital living room, starring computer to TV networking. Some predict that it might not fly for technical reasons, like DRM or lack of equipment interoperability. Others worry that the mutual greed of the corporations involved could kill the concept.

David Pogue sees it another way. He thinks the idea might flop for the simple reason that consumers like their entertainment in passive mode. Pogue reminds us that it was Jobs who predicted back in the '90s that consumers wouldn't want the Internet on their TVs. Jobs was right, as evidenced by the quick demise of WebTV. Jobs' reasoning then was that people love TV because it's so passive. TV doesn't require us to move, think, or engage in any interactivity. It's the place we go to "turn off our brains."

Could that same couch potato mentality be the fatal flaw in today's digital living room concept? Pogue isn't worried about the typical TUAW reader or other early adopters, but about Mom and Pop, the neighbors, and other regular folk. What do you think their reaction will be? Will the digital living room catch on among the masses, or will it go the way of WebTV?