Audiophiles everywhere were saddened to learn of the death of Frederick Fennell on December 7. He was 90, which made him only a few years senior to the process of electrical recording—an art form in which he made quite an impact.

In a decision delivered in late December, China's top court has elevated intellectual property theft from misdemeanor status to felony. The move may be a sea change for the giant Asian nation, where piracy has long been a way of life.

<A HREF="http://www.meridian.co.uk">Meridian Audio Ltd.</A> is the latest electronics maker to weigh in on the continuing DualDisc controversy.

One of the drawbacks of the new DualDiscs released by the major labels to date is a lack of consistency when it comes to portability&mdash;the ability to easily transfer the music to any device the listener prefers, such as an iPod, media server, PC, or MP3 player, or to make a back-up CD for car use.

You dodged a bullet.

You dodged a bullet.

When, on his long-running TV variety show, Jackie Gleason used to order up some "traveling music" from music director Ray Bloch, he got a live orchestra's worth. But when Gleason, a composer and conductor in his own right (he wrote his show's unforgettable theme song, "Melancholy Serenade"), actually traveled, his listening options were severely limited compared to ours. By the time the comedian died in 1987, Sony had introduced the Walkman cassette player, but Apple's iPod was still more than a decade in the future.

When, on his long-running TV variety show, Jackie Gleason used to order up some "traveling music" from music director Ray Bloch, he got a live orchestra's worth. But when Gleason, a composer and conductor in his own right (he wrote his show's unforgettable theme song, "Melancholy Serenade"), actually traveled, his listening options were severely limited compared to ours. By the time the comedian died in 1987, Sony had introduced the Walkman cassette player, but Apple's iPod was still more than a decade in the future.

When, on his long-running TV variety show, Jackie Gleason used to order up some "traveling music" from music director Ray Bloch, he got a live orchestra's worth. But when Gleason, a composer and conductor in his own right (he wrote his show's unforgettable theme song, "Melancholy Serenade"), actually traveled, his listening options were severely limited compared to ours. By the time the comedian died in 1987, Sony had introduced the Walkman cassette player, but Apple's iPod was still more than a decade in the future.