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We know from reading the press reports that folks who shop on the Internet are wearing their bathrobes

For lifelike audio presentation in your living room, what could be better than the real thing? When it comes to putting the sound of a piano in your home, nothing comes close to, well, a real piano. For more than a century, several companies have marketed player pianos, first using rolls of punched paper, and most recently sophisticated MIDI programs. But if a real piano represents the ultimate audio performance in your living room, who has the ultimate real piano?

Last year, Internet commerce schemes were the darlings of venture capitalists and small investors alike. For months, it seemed that almost any business plan, no matter how half-baked, could attract millions of dollars with the simple mention of "online retail sales"—otherwise known as "e-commerce" or "e-tailing."

The age of downloadable digital music is showing signs of maturing. Territory that was explored by hobbyists, pirates, and startup companies eager to stake their claims will soon yield to the irresistible force of multinational conglomerates.

Jonathan Scull has seen the future of audiophile proselytizing and aches to spread the word. In <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//finetunes/217/">"Fine Tunes" #18</A>, J-10 shares the new tweak-audio mantra, and more.

With multichannel DVD-Audio and SACD promised and the increasing pressure to add high-quality 5.1 audio to video systems, has the number of channels in your listening room increased?

In an "increasingly complicated and competitive media environment," public broadcasting intends to be there. So declared the <A HREF="http://www.cpb.org/">Corporation for Public Broadcasting</A> on March 30, when it announced an almost $2 million investment in projects for <A HREF="http://www.npr.org/">National Public Radio</A> and Public Interactive. CPB has long held the intellectual high ground in broadcasting, and its new investments are intended to continue that tradition. The goal of the program is to create "new content and services which will broaden the public square of ideas and civic discourse," according to a corporate press release.