Despite the economic hard times, lighting-control leader Lutron continued the tradition of honoring its best dealers at a big soiree, presenting its Excellence Awards in various categories. The event was held Wednesday evening at the Georgia Aquarium, said to be the largest in the world. After the ceremony, attendees were allowed to roam the exhibits, which are home to a huge variety of aquatic life, including whale sharks and beluga whales. The eel pictured here looked pretty happy to see all the visitors.

With all the hoopla surrounding digital rights management (DRM), which strives to protect A/V content from being illegally copied in the digital domain, there's been little attention paid to copies made from analog outputs. That could soon change if the recent agreements between Macrovision and Microsoft are any indication.

When I ran across the Ultimate II speaker from <A href="http://www.magico.net">Magico</A>, I knew I had to profile it here&#151;hey, the name says it all! This 5-way, horn-loaded monster stands 7.5 feet tall and weighs 800 pounds, and from all reports I've read, it sounds just as impressive as it looks.