OTHER TECH

Three years ago, I received an e-mail from my cousin, Chris, who was stationed in the Philippines with his team of Navy SEALs. His message described life in the village where they were staying, the people he was "working" with, the unusual local cuisine, and so on.

Here are some CDs and DVDs you can use to evaluate subwoofers in stores, to set up and test the one you choose, or to scare your neighbors. Pick out a couple and listen to a few tracks over and over. It'll drive your wife crazy, but trust me, it's a lot easier to hear the differences between subs by playing a few tracks you know well than by playing a lot of different material.

[This is an extended version of the interview that appeared in the October 2004 Sound & Vision to accompany Carrie Fisher's exclusive interview with George Lucas.]

The Empire Strikes Back director: Irvin Kershner Restorer of the Star Wars Trilogy and THX 1138: John Lowry

Media Center PCs are designed to replace a stack of A/V components, letting you watch live or recorded TV shows, play or burn DVDs, download movies and music, and play home videos and photo slideshows. Available in various hardware configurations from several computer manufacturers, these remote-controllable systems share the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 operating system.

I love George Lucas. There, I said it. Even though I have to give him a lot of awards these days, it's not so bad 'cause I get to make fun of him in a way that he seems to like.