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Recently, the Optical">www.osta.org">Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) announced the release of a new CD compatibility specification called "MultiPlay&quot">www.osta.org/multiplay">MultiPlay" for the computer and consumer electronics industries. OSTA says that the new specification is intended to ensure that Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) and Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW) discs created on personal computers can also be played in consumer CD and DVD players.

"This has to be one of the best sounding rooms at T.H.E. Show," said self to self. Listening to Count Basie and his Orchestra's rendition of "After the Rain," the beauty, clarity, and absolute spot-on rightness of every single high-end parameter I could think of impelled me to write in my notes, "The price reflects the pedigree of the sound."

There were no seats available. Nor was there any real reason to sit. Assembled partly for the fun of it, with components more common to DJs than audiophiles, Common Wave Hi-Fi's Club set-up was designed for enjoyment plain and simple. You've got to hand it to a dealership/social gathering place that devotes as much time to entertaining its guests as selling equipment. They go hand-in-hand, actually, if you do it right.

Need proof that baby boomers and their attendant interests are having an effect on the frontiers of computer research? Look no further than Triumph PC Online's announcement that it has introduced The">http://www.triumphpc.com/john-lennon">The John Lennon Artificial Intelligence Project (JLAIP), the first AI-based clone of the late Beatle.  The project, initially titled The Plastic Digital Karma Project, has been under development for two years.

We were taking our morning constitutional around the Interwebs one day last week when we happened upon an article on Timesonline titled "Why">http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music… Music Really Is Getting Louder". Oh boy, we thought, a mainstream outlet is catching on to the whole issue of dynamic compression—a subject we have inveighed against repeatedly over the years. (JA first preached that particular sermon back in 1999http://stereophile.com/asweseeit/177/">1999;.)

In an effort to make computers more useful as audio systems, MusicMatchhttp://www.musicmatch.com">MusicMatch; and Xing">http://www.xingtech.com/">Xing Technology recently announced MusicMatch Jukebox, a digital audio management software program for the consumer market.

Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12: Fillion Électronique will host seminars on the fundamentals of computer audio, with specific focuses on digital-audio file formats and networking strategies. Saturday's seminar will begin at 10am and will be held at Fillion's Laval location (2323 Laurentides Highway), while Sunday's seminar will begin at noon and will be held at Fillion's Montréal location (5690 Sherbrooke East).