John Sciacca

For computer owners, few things bring about the sea of change like a new operating system. And for the vast majority of us, the winds (Windows?) of change are starting to blow with Microsoft's upcoming Vista replacement, Windows 7.

We had a saying back when I worked in the golf business: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." For a while, I felt like I was getting into the rut of teaching and not doing. While my Custom Installer column strives to help you get the most out of your system, I allowed technology to pass my system by.

The first "real" A/V component I ever bought was a subwoofer - a glorious 15-inch beast that made no attempt to hide what it really was: a big, black, utterly style-less cube. At the time, there weren't really any other options available, so adding a sub meant a big, black cube.