OK, let's tote up the recent wins for Steve Jobs. The trademark lawsuit from the Beatles is history. The music labels have renewed their 99-cent download arrangement with iTunes, amid much grumbling, even after Steve rejected their demand for variable pricing. The French parliament may be backing off its legislative requirement that iTunes downloads play on non-Apple devices. Disney is paying $7.4 billion for Pixar, of which Steve owns more than half, and he's got a seat on the board of directors, presumably alongside Mickey. The iPod is dominating the audio industry. Intel-driven Macs are being positioned for higher sales. Microsoft just can't seem to get its act together for the next generation of Windows. And whether or not Jobs ever gets to beat Bill Gates, he's already beaten an even meaner adversary, pancreatic cancer (God bless). I'll bet there aren't even any widows in his sock drawer.
Bang & Olufsen - the Danish maker of fabulous audio and video gear seen in movies, TV shows,and magazines but rarely seen in homes such as yours and mine - now has a multi-room wireless audio system. B&O says the new BeoLink Wireless 1 system offers "unrivalled performance and superior sound quality", and the audio can be distributed to as many as 21 rooms simultaneously with zero delay and no echoes (well, except for the ones you'll hear in acoustically dreadful rooms...)
I've heard that you started out as a set dresser, but became an actor to have more control over how a film turns out. My heroes growing up, going back to the silent days, were actors like Buster Keaton and Clint Eastwood who empowered themselves as filmmakers.
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO. There's no more awe-inspiring sound in music than the vocal tapestries of these South African singers. For their Long Walk to Freedom (Heads Up/Telarc; Music ••••, SACD ••••), they've recut old favorites with guest artists.
THE SOPRANOS (HBO, above - left). Jersey mafia don Tony Soprano: bigger than your average bear, and ten times as deadly. These movie-quality transfers set the standard, with excellent contrast, rich colors, and crisp, atmospherically lit images.
