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The gear has been packed back up and the rooms cleared. The demo material has been tossed into suitcases, destined to end up in an obscure corner of each exhibitor's factory, the place where overplayed and now unloved recordings go to die. And copious notes have been made on what worked and what needs to be improved.

Panasonic thinks - and rightly so - that a lot of consumers haven't got a clue as to what HDTV really is or how to get real HDTV content. The company also says they expect almost three million of these clueless people (some of them probably understand what's going on, but a lot more of them don't) will purchase plasma TVs this year. For those smart enough to buy a Panasonic plasma HDTV, the manufacturer will offer the Panasonic Plasma Concierge program.

Red! Red! Red! Apple no longer sees the world in black & white. Aside from the newly reddened click wheel, the new iPod U2 Special Edition is business as usual. It is based on the 30GB iPod, fifth generation, and is the first iPod not to be offered in white. Clearly U2 will remain part of the iPod marketing program for some time to come and Bono can feed even more starving millions. Battery life is still 14 hours and the price is $329. In other news, 73 percent of college students surveyed by research firm Student Monitor said the iPod is "in," up from 59 percent last year, and surpassing beer at a mere 71 percent. Yes, the iPod is more popular than beer. Meanwhile, Apple has not only countersued Creative Labs but filed a second countersuit for good measure. Both companies allege patent infringements. And three more nations have taken up the aborted French proposal to make iTunes downloads interoperable with non-Apple devices: Norway, Sweden, and via the British Phonographic Institute, the United Kingdom. Apple is also feeling the heat from an anti-DRM group, Defective by Design.

EA Games (PS2, Xbox) Game •••• Graphics/Sound ••••

While Francis Ford Coppola would have you believe that this game is blasphemous to the legacy