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Conspiracy theories are like computer problems—almost everyone has one. From JFK's assassination to the demise of TWA flight 800, it's rare that everyone will accept the simplest explanation as the truth. Consumer electronics has its fair share of conspiracy theories, as well. They may not be as complex as a Louisiana district attorney's triangulated-bullet-trajectory theory, but they exist, nonetheless. What do you expect to happen when a large number of obsessive-compulsive personalities have too much free time and join a chat room?

Over thirty years ago, B&W Loudspeakers set out to build a speaker that would set the standard in sound and build quality, a speaker that other companies would strive for years to keep up with. Today, there is little doubt that B&W's goal was achieved. In fact, the designs of yesterday were so successful that 80 percent of all classical recordings are monitored using B&W loudspeakers.

G<I>eorge Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane, William Fichtner, John Hawkes. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1. 130 minutes. 2000. Warner Home Video 18584. PG-13. $24.98.</I>

The idea of watermarking high-resolution audio signals has riled audiophiles for months, ever since Verance announced that the controversial tracking signals would be incorporated into DVD-Audio discs. Now videophiles can get in on the action: last week, <A HREF="http://www.digimarc.com">Digimarc</A> announced that it is partnering with Hitachi, Macrovision, NEC, Philips, Pioneer, and Sony to form the Video Watermarking Group (VWM Group) to provide video copy prevention and play control solutions for digital recording devices.