Ken C. Pohlmann

Other Tech
Pure and Perfect?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 02, 2008

Audiophiles laughed when the CD was first marketed as "Perfect sound forever." They rejected the notion that digital was better than analog, or that the CD sounded better than the LP. Today, it's generally accepted that 44.1-kHz, 16-bit files (with modern improvements such as noise shaping) can challenge the ability of most listeners to detect aural format flaws.

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Other Tech
Reality Bytes: My Fellow Americans
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 24, 2008

Red states, blue states. Which color do you subscribe to? My fellow Americans, as November approaches, our country faces a monumental decision. Our great society must choose between two very different candidates with visions of the future that are profoundly diverse. All of us must look into our hearts, and answer the question: satellite or cable?

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Other Tech
What's up, Dock?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 28, 2008

The sight of a dancing iPod user, and particularly her white earbuds, is a genuine cultural icon. But it would be a mistake to overlook the iPod's nonportable applications. Most of your music collection might be on a 'Pod, but you don't have to condemn your tunes to the lowly fidelity typical of most 'buds.

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JBL ES Series home theater speaker system
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 13, 2008
JBL Classic Sound Redux ES80 JBL ES80 Having used JBL speakers in recording studios and at home for many years, there's something about them I've always found reassuring.
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Other Tech
Music's Ray of Hope
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 02, 2008

Congratulations! Way to go! You, the consumer, picked Blu-ray Disc over HD DVD as the high-def disc format of the future. And now, instead of two formats, we have one. Like it (those with cool, futuristic Blu-ray gear) or not (those with obsolete HD DVD junk), Blu-ray is the new world standard.

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To the Victor Go the Spoils?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 11, 2008

After 4 years of testy hostility and 2 more years of bare-knuckled conflict, the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc came to an abrupt end. Hours before the start of the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Warner Bros. announced that it was abandoning HD DVD. Warner is the largest studio in the home-entertainment market, and its decision tipped the scales.

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Other Tech
Energy Take Classic Home Theater System
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 21, 2008

The Short Form

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Other Tech
Is Your TV Already Obsolete?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 30, 2008

When your TV suddenly stops working at midnight on February 17, 2009, blame Vice President Dick Cheney. Back in 2005, the Senate's vote on a spending bill that included $1.5 billion to help people buy digital-TV converter boxes was deadlocked 50-50, so Cheney flew back from the Middle East to cast the tiebreaker.

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5 Tech Trends for '08
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 05, 2008

Personal hovercraft. Jet-propelled backpacks. Robots that automatically prepare your meals and clean up afterwards. And everyone's favorite - weekend junkets to the orbting Hilton space station. Back in the optimistic 1950s, technology writers were confident that by the 21st century, such things would be a part of daily life.

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Other Tech
Reality Bytes: I Am Audio Legend
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 04, 2008

I trudged through booth after booth, aisle after aisle, mile after mile, becoming increasingly depressed. The Consumer Electronics Show - held mainly in vast, warehouse-size buildings - was like an inventory manager's nightmare. Some idiot had leaned on the "TV" button and unwittingly ordered up a zillion screens.

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