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MP3.com Features Thomas Edison's Original Recordings

Stereophile Staff Dec 03, 2000 First Published: Dec 03, 2000

Recordings more than 100 years old can now be heard on the Internet, thanks to a new">http://www.mp3.com/oldest">new program established by San Diego-based startup MP3.comhttp://www.mp3.com/">MP3.com;. Among the sonic treasures is Thomas Edison narrating a "phonographic trip around the world" recorded in 1888. The site offers copies of Edison cylinder recordings and early 78 rpm discs, all available for free.

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Third Sirius Digital Radio Satellite Launched Successfully

Barry Willis Dec 03, 2000 First Published: Dec 03, 2000

The Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com/">Sirius Satellite Radio constellation will soon be in position, thanks to the successful launch November 30 of Sirius-3, the third satellite in the Sirius system. The transponders are being arrayed in geosynchronous orbits above North America for maximum radio coverage, which will begin in 2001. The previous two satellites were launched last summer and in early autumn.

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Even Better Than the Real Thing?

Jon Iverson Dec 03, 2000 First Published: Dec 03, 2000

Widely known for its consumer electronics products and musical instruments, Yamahahttp://www.yamaha.com">Yamaha; actually got its start making pianos 100 years ago. To celebrate this milestone, as well as the 300th anniversary of the piano, the company is introducing its first CD player-equipped, "high-tech" player piano that, it claims, is capable of "singing" along with its piano performance.

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Added to the Archives This Week

Stereophile Staff Dec 03, 2000 First Published: Dec 03, 2000

First up is Stereophile's">http://www.stereophile.com//features/294/">Stereophile's 2000 Products of the Year. This is an important resource for readers, and Stereophile editor John Atkinson has once again decided to post this oft-requested article in our online archives in the same month the original appears in the paper edition.

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Another Record-Breaking Retail Sales Quarter

Jon Iverson Nov 26, 2000 First Published: Nov 26, 2000

Retailers Ultimate Electronics, Sound Advice, Harvey Electronics and Good Guys have all reported strong sales for their most recent quarters, leading into the holiday shopping season. The only sour note was posted by Circuit City, which has stated that earnings are below expectations across all product categories.

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Verance Awarded Patent for Anti-Collusion Technology

Jon Iverson Nov 26, 2000 First Published: Nov 26, 2000

Last week, Verancehttp://www.verance.com">Verance; announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued them a new patent intended to prevent the disabling of a watermark on recorded content. The patent is entitled "Method and Apparatus for Preventing Removal of Embedded Information in Cover Signals." The company has recently drawn the ire of audiophiles, who claim that its watermarking methods are audible in high resolution media such as DVD-Audio recordings (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10807/">previous report).

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CEA Study: Shrinking Difference in Technology Use by Men, Women

Stereophile Staff Nov 26, 2000 First Published: Nov 26, 2000

When it comes to purchasing and using electronics products, the gap between men and women appears to be disappearing. That's one conclusion reached by a study conducted in early October by eBrain Market Research and published by the Consumer">http://www.ce.org/">Consumer Electronics Association. The study, titled Women, Men & Consumer Electronics, questioned 1000 random households about their involvement with electronics technology.

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Added to the Archives This Week

Stereophile Staff Nov 26, 2000 First Published: Nov 26, 2000

First up, from the November, 2000 issue, is the Hovland">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/291/">Hovland HP-100 preamplifier. Michael Fremer writes, "While the HP-100 is Hovland's first publicly traded audio component, it is . . . the fulfillment of what's been Robert Hovland's goal all along: to bring such a product to market. Or so I was told. It's just taken 'some time to get it all right.' Given the company's history of more than 20 years, that sounds like an understatement." Fremer offers his sonic assessment.

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Sirius Digital Radio Satellite Launches This Week

Barry Willis Nov 26, 2000 First Published: Nov 26, 2000

A new era in radio will begin on November 30, when a rocket lifts off from the Baikonur">http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/baikonur_cosmodrome_000710.html… Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying a commercial digital radio transponder to a geosynchronous orbit over North America. The satellite, which belongs to Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com/detect_flash/index_flash.htm">Sirius Satellite Radio, will eventually beam as many as 100 stations providing "CD-quality" sound to listeners throughout the continent.

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Hewlett Packard Will Pay GEMA for Piracy

Barry Willis Nov 26, 2000 First Published: Nov 26, 2000

In what may be the precursor to a deluge of lawsuits against electronics manufacturers, computer giant Hewlett-Packardhttp://www.hp.com/">Hewlett-Packard; has agreed to pay fees to German music licensing organization GEMAhttp://www.gema.de/eng/index.html">GEMA; for revenue supposedly lost to piracy. Hewlett-Packard was targeted by GEMA last May, because the Palo Alto, Calfornia-based company's CD burners dominate the German market, and was originally asked to pay 30 marks ($12.90) for each unit sold in Germany since February, 1998.