LATEST ADDITIONS

In anticipation of demand for new digital services, <A HREF="http://www.aoltimewarner.com/about/companies/twcable.html">Time Warner Cable</A> says it has committed to purchase 625,000 Explorer digital set-tops from <A HREF="http://www.scientificatlanta.com">Scientific-Atlanta</A>. Under the agreements, announced last week by SA, TWC says it will purchase a mix of Explorer set-tops and other head-end equipment to meet projected consumer demand for digital cable and interactive TV services such as video on demand (VOD), subscription video on demand (SVOD), personal video recording (PVR), and high definition television (HDTV).

About eight years ago, as a recent college graduate working a low-stress job, I made my own short movie. I had a couple grand in the bank and a handful of friends willing to help out.

Clichés are truisms, Jack Kerouac once reasoned, and therefore true. But maybe not always - or at least not completely. One of the many clichés about Miles Davis is that beginning with cool in the late 1940s and ending with fusion 20 years later, he anticipated nearly every significant movement in jazz after be bop.

Despite all the huffing and puffing over copy protection, making your own audio and video recordings is easier than ever. And for audio in particular, recording quality is also better than ever. The tough part is sorting through all the alternatives - a task we'll strive to simplify here.