Mark Fleischmann

Already a leader in fuel efficiency standards for cars, California may become the first state to impose energy efficiency requirements on television sets as well.

Price: $3,695 At A Glance: Distinctive bell-shaped footprint offers unique look • Gleaming enclosures with top-drawer fit and finish • Great midrange and deep, confident bass

Ringin’ the Bell Curve

The Vision and Sound speakers from Boston Acoustics were in my listening room when a friend visited. He works for a competing manufacturer and has spent time on the retail floor. He said, candidly and emphatically, “Boston Acoustics has never made a bad speaker.”

Hard times just got a little harder. Circuit City, the second largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S., will close all stores and liquidate assets, according to a press release. This is the end for Circuit, which had already filed for bankruptcy in November 2008.

Announcing the death of a format can be tricky business. After all, a lot of them live on in our hearts, minds, racks, and libraries--and at least one "dead" format, the LP, never really died. But if the manufacture of hardware is a major criterion, then the laserdisc format has died. Pioneer has discontinued its last three laserdisc player models, according to a brief announcement in Akihabara News.