Darryl Wilkinson

Although the new DualDisc format - a two-sided hybrid disc with a CD on one side and a DVD-A on the other - has had a rough beginning, a recent announcement from Dolby and 5.1 Entertainment's Silverline Records label brings to light another benefit of the flipping disc.

Despite the results of recent statewide elections banning same-sex marriages, consumer electronics retailers and manufacturers may not want to dismiss the gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) community quite so readily. A recent nationwide Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs on-line survey found that the tallied responses are indicative of "the enthusiasm and affinity that gay and lesbian consumers have for electronic technology and their propensity to seek out the latest trends in consumer electronics and television." The survey looked at preferences for service providers (both cellular and TV) as well as HDTV ownership and intent to buy and HDTV.

Want an easy way to store, manage, access, and enjoy digital entertainment content in your home? Beginning to think Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition 2005 doesn't quite live up to all the hype? Afraid you'll run out of storage room? Concerned about so many questions to answer?

Despite the fact that financial analysts remain nonplussed by VOOM, the HD-content leading satellite service (provided by Rainbow DBS, a subsidiary of Cablevision System Corp.), those of us on the receiving end of the small-dish system see big promise in such a large selection of HD channels from which to choose. That's why the recent announcement that Rainbow DBS has selected Lockheed Martin to build five more geostationary telecommunications satellites to provide direct broadcast services across the continental US (conus) should make all HDTV owners smile. The first of the five satellites is expected to be completed and launched before the end of 2007. VOOM anticipates an ultimate capacity of over 5,000 HD channels.