Signals

Without a doubt, it is a cheesy idea. On the other hand, at least it doesn't cost a lot of dough. Pizza Hut Hong Kong is selling pizza in a specially designed Blockbuster Box. Figuring that movies and pizzas go together like, well, mushrooms and pepperoni, the cardboard box can be rigged to project movies played on your phone. Yes—you read it right—a pizza box that projects movies.

James Atkinson invented the "Little Nipper" mousetrap in 1897. Its familiar spring trap snaps shut in 1/38,000 of a second and is still the go-to method for addressing your rodent issues. Still, the trap's simple and efficient operation hasn't stopped other inventors from trying to build better mousetraps and patenting over 4,000 of them. All of which raises the question: can you invent a better Bluetooth speaker? Meet the Vamp.

Start saving up now. In about 20 years, you'll have to buy another complete home theater. Except this one won't be at home. It will be in your car. Put in perspective, the Compact Disc is about 30 years old so 20 years isn't so far off. Like I say - start saving now.

So anyway, I was standing in line at my local FedEx store. I’m there quite a bit, returning review products from whence they came. A nice lady comes up behind me with a box measuring about 12 x 12 x 12. It looks heavy, so I offer to hold it for her. “I hope it’s not too heavy,” she says. “It’s my old records—for my 16-year-old nephew. He loves records.” Hmm, I think to myself. Is this an omen—has she handed me some kind of business opportunity?

I’m shopping for a new TV. Should I buy an older technology that performs well and costs very little, or a newer technology that is better but costs more? Specifically, I’m trying to decide which LCD to buy—HD or 4K? Two angels have landed on my shoulders. As you might expect, they have very different points of view...

Meridian Audio Ltd. does some pretty cool stuff. Its hardware products are well known in audio circles, but it is their innovation at the further reaches of audio frontiers that really catches my eye. The latest example of Meridian's creativity, via Bob Stuart, is Master Quality Authenticated (MQA). MQA is an infrastructure of technologies designed to promote a high-quality signal path from the master recording to playback loudspeaker. More specifically, MQA is designed to stream hi-res files more efficiently than a brute-force transfer, and Meridian claims that it can improve the playback quality of the original file.

The numbers don't lie. One look at sales figures will verify that Apple and Samsung rule the world of high-end smartphones. Every new phone is eagerly anticipated, and phone companies compete for first dibs on new models. Apple and Samsung - when it comes to smartphones, those are the names you think of. Sony - not so much. That is truly unfortunate, because in some ways, Sony is making far better phones.