Forgive me, A/V gear, for I have sinned! Even though you have been so good to me - providing me with not only years of entertainment but also a terrific career in the custom installation business, - I have wronged you in the past. I've broken things...
Audiophiles first came to know Paradigm as a manufacturer of speakers in the affordable/cheap 'n' cheerful/bang-for-the-buck category—speakers you might buy when you're in college, until you can afford the speakers you really want. However, Paradigm's products now cover a wide range (five distinct series, plus in-walls and outdoor/marine), topped by the Reference Signature line. This year marks Paradigm's 26th in business, so it must be doing something right.
"The consumer spending boom may already have come to an end," says Business Week. But consumers are still spending on TVs, according to data the magazine obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Ahh, who doesn't remember the Golden Age of Napster? When music was "free" and just a click away. Then those pesky record labels had to come along and ruin everything. And whether it is fear of Big Music showing up on your doorstep with a subpoena...
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/419onemissedcall.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>College students start dropping like flies when they receive voicemails from their future selves with the exact date, time, and horrid details of their eventual deaths. Psychology student Beth Raymond (Shannyn Sossamon) becomes concerned when a number of her friends are murdered, so she enlists the help of detective Jack Andrews (Ed Burns) to search for answers as quickly as possible, because Beth has received her own disturbing voicemail from the future.
Panasonic has been making pro video projectors for years, but its first home theater projector to catch my eye was the PT-AE700U. Both that model and its follow-up, the PT-AE900U, were competent 720p LCD designs in deceptively small, businesslike black boxes that offered good value for the money.
Since the arrival of Blu-ray, I’ve been waiting for a player from Denon, whose high-end DVD players have served as references for me for years. So far, the standalone Blu-ray players I’ve used have left me wanting. Pioneer and Sony are the only manufacturers offering players with the construction quality I expect from a top-end player. But both of these manufacturers have delivered products with their own issues, including extremely slow response times and lack of support for cutting-edge Blu-ray features.
Long-suffering New York City cable customers will soon have a new option when Verizon offers its FiOS fiber-optic TV delivery technology to all five of the city's boroughs. Yes, that means you, Brooklyn! And you too, Queens! And the Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan. Verizon scores five apples.