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The economy may be slowing down in some parts of the country, but not, apparently, in Minneapolis, where national electronics retailer Best">http://www.bestbuy.com/">Best Buy Co., Inc. announced December 7 its acquisition of both Musicland">http://www.musicland.com/">Musicland Stores Corporation (also of Minneapolis) and Seattle-based Magnolia">http://www.magnoliahifi.com/">Magnolia Hi-Fi, Inc. The buyouts will give Best Buy increased exposure in rural malls and in the Pacific Northwest. The company also announced a plan to open several stores in Canada over the next three years, beginning with eight locations for which leases have already been signed.

One of the constraints of the DVD format that is much hated by consumers around the world is the notorious "region code," whereby a DVD disc will only play in a machine that was bought in the country or region that the disc is licensed for. Hollywood claims that this is the only way to protect a work's licenses, which may vary from country to country. But region codes have made it tough on citizens in countries with few DVD releases and world travelers who try to bring home and play discs that they find abroad, leading to the widespread use of "hacks" to circumvent the restrictions.

The Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com/">Sirius Satellite Radio constellation will soon be in position, thanks to the successful launch November 30 of Sirius-3, the third satellite in the Sirius system. The transponders are being arrayed in geosynchronous orbits above North America for maximum radio coverage, which will begin in 2001. The previous two satellites were launched last summer and in early autumn.