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The latest figures for the music industry remain grim: Online sales of recorded music have dropped 20% through the first half of 2002 compared with the same period last year, losing ground faster than the overall US music market, which lost 7% during the same period, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). And the trend is accelerating. The latest numbers show online sales down 25% in the third quarter over last year.

Napster has been taking its share of hits this past week from the music industry and the RIAA as a result of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling last Monday that will likely pave the way for shutting down the file-sharing service. In its findings, the Court states that "Napster users who upload file names to the search index for others to copy violate plaintiffs' distribution rights. Napster users who download files containing copyrighted music violate plaintiffs' reproduction rights."

As reported">http://www.stereophile.com/news/121308oyaide/">reported on this website on December 9, Joseph Cohen of the Lotus">http://www.lotusgroupusa.com/">Lotus Group, exclusive distributor of Oyaide products in North America, discovered that Chris Johnson of Parts ConneXion was selling counterfeit Oyaide AC plugs at regular Oyaide prices. Given that Johnson had previously signed a contract with the Lotus Group to distribute genuine Oyaide plugs, Cohen immediately attempted to reach Johnson to resolve the matter.

I was shocked and greatly saddened by news of the passing, at age 68, of Brian W. Russell, President and co-founder (along with his brother Chris Russell) of Bryston, Inc.

Times are obviously tough for personal computer manufacturers, who, in the quest for new sources of revenue, are increasingly dipping their toes into consumer electronics waters. The latest firm to join IBM, Intel, and Compaq (see previoushttp://www.stereophile.com/news/11066/">previous;) in the rushing stream is Hewlett-Packardhttp://www.hp.com">Hewlett-Packard; which announced last week the expansion of the company's drive into the living room. HP says that its new initiative is intended to "blend interactive product innovations with easy-to-use services and offer consumers new ways to enjoy digital music, streaming video, and Internet information in the living room."

CD prices have been a sore spot for many music lovers. Our own online">http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?242">online polls indicate that Stereophile readers think CDs cost too much (most think they should be under $10), while Stereophile editor John Atkinson has pointed">http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/578/">pointed out that for smaller labels, the economics of CD production only work when the prices are kept higher.

We've written frequently about the lawsuits brought by the recording industry against alleged downloaders, but here's an interesting fact: None of the cases has actually gone to trial yet. Many have been dropped by the labels when it appeared they had targeted the wrong defendants; even more have been settled by defendants intimidated by the $750-per-song damages claimed by the labels. Now an attorney is vigorously seeking a trial—and one of his big arguments is that the labels' math doesn't add up.