LATEST ADDITIONS

They say that size matters. With audio products, it is often the case: bigger speakers, bigger amplifiers, and bigger batteries can often translate into better sound and added convenience. The Nyne Rock boombox is one of the biggest and most powerful portable Bluetooth speakers we’ve seen in a long time. Let’s see if bigger truly is better.

Residents of the West Bluff public housing in Kansas City, Missouri will be the first to receive free gigabit Internet service under a partnership between Google Fiber and ConnectHome, an initiative by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the White House to accelerate Internet adoption by families with school-age children in public housing.

Author Walter Farley’s sweet, timeless tale of a young boy and his special bond with a spirited horse was brought to cinematic life with irresistible visual and sonic beauty, more appreciable than ever on Criterion’s fantastic new Blu-ray. Our boy, Alec (Kelly Reno, what a find), is washed ashore on a remote island after a shipwreck, and the only other survivor is a magnificent Arabian stallion. Their time alone together is a prolonged marvel of wordless storytelling, while the post-rescue second half is quite a different animal, as a grizzled old trainer (a wonderfully cast Mickey Rooney) agrees to prepare the horse to race. It’s a thrilling adventure for kids, but without the sap that might otherwise send the adults fleeing.

Last year I got all excited about the Syfy channel turning one of my favorite book series into a TV show. I got even more excited when it became clear how much money they were throwing at it. The trailer, too, looked amazing.

So now we’ve had all 10 episodes of the first season of The Expanse. The fact that it got a second season before the first one even aired notwithstanding… how is it?

(Don’t worry, no spoilers)