Brian C. Fenton

A few years ago, it would have been hard to imagine chatting about computer networks at a party. But today, you don't have to be a geek to be interested in networking - and awareness will only increase as more people realize that a home network can be a great way to send movies, music, and digital photos around the house.

Computer networking isn't a subject you'd necessarily expect to read about in Sound & Vision.

Because every new format seems to set off a format war, we were a little surprised when nine major electronics manufacturers announced that they actually agreed on what the next-generation recordable optical-disc format should be.