LATEST ADDITIONS

Last week, TiVo found itself the focus flurry of unwanted media attention as a new <A HREF="http://www.privacyfoundation.org/privacywatch/report.asp?id=62&action=0"... was released by the <A HREF="http://www.privacyfoundation.org/">Privacy Foundation</A> detailing at length how the TiVo system collects personal data. The report also reveals what the Privacy Foundation found while comparing a TiVo PVR's actual behavior under test with the company's stated privacy policy. The Foundation says that it and University of Denver Privacy Center have recently completed a fourth independent investigation of the TiVo device.

The third corporate makeover in three years begins April 1 at <A HREF="http://www.sony.com/">Sony Corporation</A>. The electronics and media giant announced March 30 that it will create a new top-level management group to be called the "Global Hub," with responsibility for coordinating all of Sony's vast empire, including entertainment, electronics, games, and financial and Internet services. "We'd like to make it a highly efficient group headquarters," explained Sony chairman Nobuyuki Idei.

Michael Powell, the newly appointed chairman of the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A>, announced March 29 to the House Telecommunications Subcommittee that his agency will soon begin reviewing ownership caps on broadcast television and other forms of media.

Get a load of those feet. Someone slipped a set of solid-brass isolation cones on Pinnacle's AC Sub 100, a working-class $350 subwoofer dressed humbly in black vinyl. So what's with the magic slippers? Another Cinderella story perhaps? Or is it merely a Mr. Blackwell- caliber fashion faux pas, like matching Prada with Wrangler? Well, the AC Sub 100 isn't a thing of beauty, but you can take it to the ball—or put it in your entry-level home theater—without embarrassment. This 13-inch cube can dance a bit. The AC Sub 100 resides at the low end of Pinnacle's subwoofer line, and its feet are hand-me-downs from the company's more-exotic designs. They're standard equipment on, among others, Pinnacle's $1,200 Digital Sub 600. Is there another manufacturer that fits such fancy footwear on its nickel-and-dime subwoofers?