Unlike Napster, which used central servers to link large databases of music files, Grokster and StreamCast (maker of Morpheus) simply make their software available for any application their users…
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The entertainment industry is pondering its next move in the wake of a legal setback delivered Thursday, August 19. On that day, a Federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld a ruling by a lower court in Los Angeles that file-sharing software made by Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks, Inc. does not violate US copyright law. The three-judge panel voted unanimously in favor of the defendants.
Editor's Note: This item is an excerpt from an e-mail received from Russia late last week. It's noteworthy that the US Congress has spent hundreds of days and more than $50 million investigating the President's adolescent shenanigans, while elsewhere in the world serious trouble is afoot. Leonid Korostyshevski is a computer consultant and audiophile in the university town of Saratov, on the Volga river 600 miles east of Moscow. His previous dispatch appeared here in March.----BW
20 degrees Fahrenheit here. I'm looking out the window. There, a mad dance of snow, a strong wind, not yet…
How likely would you be to buy a computer, TV, or DVD player knowing that it could monitor your activities and automatically report possible copyright violations to the federal government? That's one of the nightmare scenarios that could evolve from the proposed Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA), drafted by Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings and strongly backed by Walt Disney Company and other members of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Scheduled to be introduced for consideration in late October, the bill stipulates that "an interactive computer service shall…
Skyrocketing ticket prices kept summer concertgoers away in droves, according to reports in the entertainment industry and financial press in mid-October. The summer 2004 concert season was one of the slowest ever, with some superstars canceling shows and others moving planned arena or amphitheater events into smaller venues. Previously one of the summer's most popular events, the Lollapalooza tour was cancelled due to slow ticket sales.
This past spring saw ticket prices for big acts go off the charts, from $70–80 for terrible seats to the low hundreds for merely good seats, to the high…
From the current issue, Wes Phillips and John Atkinson tell the story of Against the Dying of the Light: the Second Cantus CD. Phillips sets out to find the true genesis of this astonishing new recording from the Minnesota-based male-voice choir, while JA fills in the technical details.
"How much fun can you have with an audio component?" asks Michael Fremer as he kicks off his review of the Musical Fidelity CD-Pre24 CD player-preamplifier. Fremer gleefully exclains, "Think of the CD-Pre24 as a CD player with a bonus analog preamplifier, bonus digital switching facility, and analog and…
The numbers are up for Sirius Satellite Radio. On June 23, the New York–based digital broadcaster announced that it had exceeded 100,000 subscribers for its 100-channel music/news/entertainment service. Sirius offers 60 channels of commercial-free music and 40 channels of news, sports, talk shows, comedy, and other programming.
The 100k milestone is an encouraging development for the company, which expects to see further growth in sign-ups following the introduction of new "Plug and Play" digital satellite receivers this month and next. Kenwood's "Here2Anywhere" gear arrived at consumer…
In an aggressive move into the used audio equipment market, New York retailer Harvey Electronics announced last week that the company will begin to sell used audio products and special purchases of new merchandise on eBay, an online auction site, beginning June 1, 1999. The company also recently announced that it will sell merchandise through other website partnerships.
Franklin Karp, president of Harvey, stated that "our efforts on eBay are part of our evolving strategy to increase sales from Internet commerce. Selling quality used audio products and special manufacturers' promotions on…
Anthony H. Cordesman and John Atkinson tackle the classic Vandersteen 2C loudspeaker in a review from 1986. "Whenever I think of cone speaker systems, I think of three brand names: Snell, Thiel, and Vandersteen," says Cordesman, prompting JA to add, "I must say that I just don't understand how Richard Vandersteen can sell the 2Ci at a hair under $1200/pair and expect to make any money."
From 1992, we have Martin Colloms' review of the Sonus Faber Extrema loudspeaker. He exclaims, "The Extrema represents one of the fullest expressions of the art of speaker design: performance rules…
Audiogon/Videogon.com—the online resource for buying and selling high-end audio and video equipment—has joined forces with Primedia and the Elf Foundation for a charity auction, which will be held at the Home Entertainment 2003 Show in San Francisco, June 6–8, 2003.
According to Stephen Clay, CFO of Audiogon/Videogon.com, "We are jointly seeking contributions of audio and video equipment to auction off to the highest bidder online during the Show. All proceeds will be donated to the Elf Foundation—a favorite charity of the home-entertainment industry. The Elf Foundation's mission is '…
Back in January of 2002, we reported that loudspeaker manufacturer NHT and DEQX (then known as ClarityEQ) had begun to co-develop a new line of active loudspeakers using DEQX's custom digital room correction technology. It's two years later, and NHT says it is finally ready to unveil the first speaker system incorporating digital signal processing (DSP) developed during the alliance.
NHT says that its first DSP-based system will consist of small satellite speakers, a unique powered subwoofer, and an outboard electronic component housing a DSP processor and class-D amplifiers. The company…