John Sciacca

What I'm about to tell you might not make any sense. In fact, it might even upset you a little. But I'm your friend, and I've promised to tell you the truth about your A/V gear, so it's a risk I'm willing to take. Here goes: Your TV doesn't look right.

Whether it is an iPod, a Zune, a Zen, a cell phone or something else, more people are satisfying their music Jones via portables than anything else. You can debate the merits of different codecs and bitrates or the need to go lossless, but one thing links all listeners on-the-go: Headphones.

This is the tale of two companies whose products you likely interact with on a daily basis. Two companies that aim to capture the Holy Grail of the consumer electronics world: your living room. One company has had great success with its mission, while the other one has repeatedly failed.

The companies are Apple and Microsoft.