LATEST ADDITIONS

Powered-subwoofer specifications have long been a minefield of inconsistency. How deep, how loud can they really play? Consumers may shop with greater confidence now that the Consumer Electronics Association has delivered its long-awaited sub specs. Given the catchy name CEA-2010, the document commands that subs be tested "in a calibrated anechoic [non-echoing] chamber, in a suitable ground plane environment, or in a large calibrated room." Test tones, with one-third octave spacing, are at these frequencies: 20, 25, 31.5, 40, 50, and 63 Hertz. The specs don't cover power ratings, but it will be great for consumers to get standardized information on the acoustic output of powered subs. The end result on spec sheets should look like this:

Soon to be announced in Congress is new legislation that would strip the fair-use rights of consumers to the bone. And maybe beyond. c|net's News.com got a look at the draft bill crafted by the Bush administration and Congress and it's not pretty. Under the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006, just trying to infringe a copyright would become a federal crime. Existing law that makes it illegal to distribute hardware or software that circumvent anti-copy systems would expand to punish anyone who makes, exports, imports, obtains control of, or possesses such tools. Wiretaps, forfeitures, and seizure of records—including server logs—are part of the package. My favorite part is the provision that would permit copyright prosecutions even in cases where the work is not registered with the U.S. copyright office. The existing DMCA has had some unintended consequences but its successor promises to be far worse. This bill isn't about mass piracy, which is amply covered under existing law (and prosecutions). It's about you. The bill will first surface in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), though the official sponsor will be James Sensenbrenner (R-WI, pictured), chair of the Judiciary Committee. Does someone on this list represent your congressional district?

Philips, the company that thinks the asses of their TVs should pulse in unison with the video image on the front of their sets has yet another idea they think is really swell. I hope for their sake it's a real money maker because, if it takes off, there won't be a single reviewer on this side of the Milky Way that is ever going to request, much less favorably review, another Philips product ever, ever again.

When manufacturers announced the first three-chip DLPs aimed at the home theater market, my first thought was, "I'm there!" One thing about even the best single-chip DLPs continued to bug me: those pesky rainbows.