Fred Manteghian

Central hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center was littered in brilliantly colored posters intended to pound product name recognition into even the most casual observer’s psyche. <Br>
<i>Viiv</i>. <br>
Rhymes with Five. I don’t know how I knew that, other to admit, their marketing campaign must have been a success.

Christmas is a special time when madness invades the homestead and the urge to give and give and give and, well, you get the picture. But what are these gifts with which we hold these truths to be self evident? One year, a very long time ago, it was a special little baby I found in a cabbage patch. At least, that’s what is said on the label. When the blue light went on – and yes, there really <i>was</i> a blue light - I, along with all the other shoppers in that alphabet-mart, went careening through the aisles like so many pinballs driven in reverse until we converged at the same single spot. A towering monument of pastel packaged Cabbage Patch dolls had just been unwrapped. We, one man and host of hostile woman, were the chosen ones. We each grabbed. I got one. Studying her, my little rainbow coalition brown Jolene, asleep with her eyes open, waiting for the moment when her child would hold her and bring her to life.

While we’re sitting around waiting for Blu-ray or HD-DVD high definition players and discs to hit the shelves, we can still do a little hi-def pickin’ and chosin’ on our own beyond switching hi-def channels. On Apple’s web site, you can find links to hi-def trailers that you can download and watch right now, like <A HREF="http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/x3/" TARGET="NEW"> <b> this one for <i> X3</i></b></A>. Of course, you need a home theater PC if you want to show it on your projector or hi-def set, but I was satisfied to watch it on my not too shabby IBM T42P laptop. Even though the 15” screen’s aspect ratio is an old school 1.33:1, the resolution is an eye-popping 1600 x 1200.

Looking for home theater on the cheap? The 1280x720 <A HREF="http://www.infocushome.com/amer/eng/products/screenplay/sp5000.asp" TARGET="NEW"> <b> InFocus ScreenPlay 5000 </b></A> LCD projector can be had at Costco for $999. Follow the directions glued to the box and they’ll mail you a 72” screen as well. Not that the guy in front of me in the checkout line was going to bother with a screen. Last year he bought his first projector and just painted his basement wall white. This second InFocus projector was for his kid (click <u>here</u> to download adoption papers).