LATEST ADDITIONS

Although Planar has a significant presence in the video-display business, it's relatively new to the home-theater market. The company first popped up a couple of years ago at a major trade show with some intriguing prototypes. Since then, it has expanded its home-theater resume by acquiring Runco and Vidikron, and all three brands maintain their separate identities under the Planar umbrella.

Sony introduced seven new Bravia LCD HDTVs yesterday in sizes from 40 to 70 inches. Most prominent was a head-to-head comparison between a Bravia LED-backlit set and a "leading plasma brand" that loose lips identified as Pioneer, though the badge was covered up.

I recently spent a weekend cleaning up my home office, the retreat where I write much of my deathless prose. I hadn't rummaged through some of my files for several years, but had to make room for the piles of new stuff that have managed to build up to the point where I couldn't find things. This sorting process invariably takes longer than you plan, as you find things that require instant action (as they did two years ago) and others that demand to be re-read and enjoyed again.

Ask anyone the name of the company that still makes tube amplifiers, and odds are everyone will say McIntosh. Not the bright red variety of apple, and certainly not the computer variety, but McIntosh Laboratory. Now the amplifier gurus are...