Barry Willis

Adcom first appeared on the technophile radar in 1979, with the introduction of the GFA-1 power amplifier—the beginning of a long series of affordable, high-performance audio products. Then based in New Jersey, Adcom hit its stride in the mid- to late 1980s with its GFA-555 and GFA-565 power amplifiers and GTP-555 and GTP-565 preamplifiers, all of which were well received by reviewers and music lovers alike. Solidly built, extremely reliable, and musically satisfying, these products earned Adcom a reputation for quality that reviews of its more recent products continue to confirm.

Although electrical systems and broadcasting standards vary from country to country, visionaries have always imagined that one day worldwide technology would adhere to one set of specifications. That may never happen. The electronics industry's hope that the DVD would become a universal format, the video equivalent of the CD, may be scuttled by Chinese manufacturers seeking to avoid paying royalties to the format's designers, according to several stories appearing in industry publications in the wake of the recent Consumer Electronics Show.

Merger news: <A HREF="http://www.IMDb.com">IMDb</A> to <A HREF="http://amazon.com">Amazon.com</A>. If this sounds like a chess move, it certainly is for a few folks at the top of the Web's food chain. On April 27, the Internet Movie Database became part of Amazon.com, the world's largest online bookseller.

The world's largest Internet service provider is teaming up with the world's largest video rental chain to deliver movies and as-yet-unspecified content over broadband connections. <A HREF="http://www.aol.com/">America Online</A> is pumping $30 million into a three-year joint venture with <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/">Blockbuster Video</A>, with the intent of leveraging the two companies' huge customer bases for mutual benefit. AOL members will have access to Blockbuster's enormous library of discs and tapes, and Blockbuster will promote AOL by giving away CD-ROMs of AOL version 5.0 at its more than 4000 outlets in the US.