I've been engaged in an interesting e-conversation with Steve Gutierrez, a builder/developer who won a Panasonic plasma at his workplace and wants to install a complete home-media system. Here's the gist of our dialog, but I welcome any comments from readers with suggestions I might have missed.
It was 40 years ago today (well, just about) that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. What a year 1967 was! It was also the year of Are You Experienced by Jimi Hendrix, Disraeli Gears by Cream, Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd, Surrealistic Pillow by the Jefferson Airplane, The Doors by the Doors, and that album with the banana on the cover by the Velvet Underground. A scan of Rolling Stone magazine’s “40 Essential Albums of 1967” also turns up Moby Grape, the Hollies, James Brown, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Arlo Guthrie, the Beach Boys, Tim Buckley, the Kinks—please, a sustained round of applause for the Kinks—Van Morrison, Dionne Warwick, Buffalo Springfield, the Moody Blues, Love, the 13th Floor Elevators, and (a previously undiscovered gap in my listening life) the Serpent Power. Thank God I wasn’t into drugs then. Look at what I would have missed.
Perfection—is it possible? Some look for it in a significant other, others in the newest sports car to hit the market. I look for it in A/V equipment, be it my display, speakers, or source components.
New moms and dads, as well as any other gearhead who has recently purchased a high-end camcorder, will be glad to know they can now share high-definition home video over the Web. Motionbox, which used to seem like just another video-sharing site,...
If you live in an eco-conscious city, you may have heard something about "earth hour" over the weekend. In various locales, public awareness campaigns were conducted for the March 29 at 8 p.m. holiday from electricity. National landmarks went dark,...
One of the difficulties in swallowing Microsoft's home theater PC concept is the ugliness associated with plopping a boxy tower anywhere near your sleek living room set-up. This post is neither the time nor place to discuss the merits of HTPCs and...
If you've got an eye for crisp video, surely you've wished the high-definition signal being pumped into your living room was even better. The signal quality appears to have good days and bad days, and you may have even wondered if the same HD...
Blu-ray will take 29.4 million more homes by storm by the end of the year, say researchers. Blu-ray is doomed, says the chief scientist of THX. Who to believe?
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/403alvin.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Struggling songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee) opens his home to a talented trio of chipmunks—Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The three are funny, mischievous, adventurous, and, oh yes, they can talk and sing! When music producer Ian Hawk (David Cross) forces Dave out of the picture, he plans to make millions from the chipmunks' unique abilities.
Struggling songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee) opens his home to a talented trio of chipmunks—Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The three are funny, mischievous, adventurous, and, oh yes, they can talk and sing! When music producer Ian Hawk (David Cross) forces Dave out of the picture, he plans to make millions from the chipmunks' unique abilities.