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Extra-terrestrial radio is poised to celebrate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday. From Wednesday January 25 through Friday, January 27, XM Satellite Radio will broadcast live performances by many of the most celebrated Mozartians of our time direct from the Carolino Augusteum, a 17th-century castle and former home of the Archbishops of Salzburg that overlooks the Salzburg Cathedral and the Mozart Platz. Artist interviews and sound portraits of the Salzburg milieu will spice up the proceedings.

More changes coming to The">http://www.internationalaudiogroup.com/">The International Audio Group as it continues to sort its product lines and distribution plans. Starting February 1, 2006, IAG has assigned sole US distribution of its Quad branded products to newly formed Taiga LLC.

For 14 years now, Stereophile has recognized the components that have proved capable of giving maximal musical pleasure with its "Products of the Year." Based on a vote by the magazine's reviewers and editors, the 2005 winners were announced in the December">http://www.stereophile.com/features/1205poty/">December 2005 issue and the awards were presented by Stereophile editor John Atkinson at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held January 4–8 in Las Vegas.

Certain ideas (or memes in Internet jargon) seem to achieve instantaneous critical mass, at least if you judge them by how frequently certain web URLs are transmitted among friends. One article that appeared in our inbox many times this week linked us to research by music psychologist Adrian North of the University of Leicester, who led a team of researchers who monitored 346 people for two weeks, evaluating how they related">http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Research-Claims-MP3s-Create-Apathy/stor… to music.

Apple's release of its latest version of the iTunes software for Macs on January 10 promised "stability and performance improvements" over the 6.0.1 version already in existence. It also included a new iTunes MiniStore feature that "watches" what you click on your library or playlist and, when you double-click on a selection to play it, changes its display to reflect "matches" you might consider purchasing. This means that iTunes 6.0.2 is sending your now-playing information to an outside server.

The Elf">http://www.elfsystems.org">Elf Foundation's accomplishments are extraordinary. In just four and a half years, the nonprofit organization has facilitated the design and construction of more than 40 Rooms of Magic. These are private entertainment theaters in medical facilities for children: hospitals, as well as centers for autism, abused children, and kids with long-term disabilities. And none of the design work or state-of-the-art equipment for these children's oases costs the host facilities a cent.

In his January "Sam's Space" column, while writing about the system he used with Sutherland's Director line stage (p.32), Sam Tellig wrote "For the most part, I used now-discontinued XLO interconnects and speaker cables. XLO itself has been discontinued, alas. I do miss its founder, Roger Skoff."