Expertise

If the major record labels have their way, that bright red "record" indicator on your CD burner or personal computer could eventually become as unresponsive as the long-wave band on a vintage AM radio. Some of the labels have already released music discs that prevent you from using your computer to make digital copies on either recordable CDs or the computer's hard drive.

Ever since that Philips commercial where a European-looking couple try hanging their thin TV in every room of a minimalist apartment, finally settling for a spot on the ceiling above the bed, plasma sets have been creating a stir. From airports to movie theaters to corporate boardrooms, these slimmed-down big-screen TVs draw stares from almost everybody.

For a century we've been industriously broadcasting radio programs all across the globe, with the great majority of programs received free of charge. After light bulbs, radios are probably the most ubiquitous electrical devices on earth. Radio is cool. Life is good.

You wouldn't know it to look at the "mine's bigger than yours" installations featured in some home theater magazines, but having a decent amount of money to spend on a whole-house audio/video system doesn't necessarily translate into gaudy opulence. Or, to put it another way, modesty isn't always dictated by a limited budget.