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Could the average computer hard drive soon be able to store the equivalent of over 80 DVD-Audio discs or 600 CDs? Last week, IBMhttp://www.research.ibm.com">IBM; announced that it is using just a few atoms of what it has termed "pixie dust" to push back the data storage industry's most formidable barrier, and will effectively quadruple disk drive densities in the next two years.

The Secure">http://www.sdmi.org">Secure Digital Music Initiative has decided to reconfirm San Diego–based Verance">http://www.verance.com">Verance Corporation's watermarking technology as its choice for inhibiting piracy in digitally recorded music. The May 21 announcement was made by the SDMI Plenary after a year-long campaign to evaluate the effectiveness and audibilityhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10870/">audibility; of watermarks from 14 different vendors. The group has also apparently decided to halt further research and development efforts, which have been widely blamed for hobbling the rollout of DVD-Audio.

Please bear with us a moment here—we know most audiophiles react to MP3-related news with a serious case of ringing ears, but tracing where the lo-fi market is currently headed can be instructive for understanding the distant hi-fi future. And if the new technology previewed last week at Qualcomm's">http://www.qualcomm.com/brew/">Qualcomm's BREW conference in San Diego is any indication, some parts of your audio future may, in fact, be wireless.

Mark Levinson has traveled from Woodstock to the Whitney, and Michael Fremer lends an ear to his Red">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/350/">Red Rose Music R3 loudspeaker to determine if the journey was a fruitful one. As Fremer characterizes it, "If Levinson's Cello foray was haute monde, Red Rose is Dockers: loose-fitting and relaxed."

Many small classical record labels are facing an uncertain future in the wake of a decision by Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records to put three classical distributors on buying hold. News of the decision, and discussions about its ramifications, have circulated on the Internet after an internal memo was leaked on May 1. The memo from company headquarters ordered store buyers at all 113 Tower stores in the US not to purchase from Allegro, Harmonia Mundi, and Qualiton, until receiving further notice. The three distributors represent dozens of small independent jazz and classical recording labels.

The Home Entertainment 2001 show, held in New York City May 11–13, 2001, received high marks and a standing ovation from show attendees, who came to experience some of the most innovative and exciting consumer electronics products in decades.

Will audio dealers be interested in selling a product that's been available so far only via mail-order? Audio">http://www.audioadvisor.com">Audio Advisor thinks so, and has created a new distribution company, WS Distributing, to begin selling the Musical Fidelity product line through "qualified" high-end audio dealers in the USA beginning May 21. Musical Fidelity has been available through retailers in Europe and Asia for years, but in the US, only from AA's catalog and website sales.