CATEGORIES

CES 2020: THE START OF A BIG

Editor’s Note: This year’s annual Consumer Electronics Show, CES 2020, which is the Consumer Technology Association’s flagship event, took over Las Vegas on January 6 through January 10. New and novel drones were among the products on display by the 4,400 exhibitors, spread out among 11 venues across the city, in 2.9 million square feet encompassed by the event. As it has in past years, the Las Vegas Convention Center hosted a dedicated space for civil uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS).

US JOBLESS CLAIMS HIT 3.3 MILLION, QUADRUPLE PREVIOUS RECORD

Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — more than quadruple the previous record set in 1982 — amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus.

SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING THE CORONAVIRUS? TRY BANKING ONLINE

If the coronavirus has you self-isolating, you’re likely more concerned about staying in touch with loved ones and carefully planning your grocery excursions than about changing your money routine.

REVIEW: MACKIE LEADS A LITTLE-KNOWN STORY IN ‘THE BANKER'

“The Banker ” is an odd title for this film. It has the effect of underselling a fascinating story about a black business savant that was inspired by real events. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) became a real estate mogul in Los Angeles and (eventually) the owner of a bank in his Texas hometown at a time when all the cards were stacked against him.

VIRUS-SHOCKED HOLLYWOOD GETS BREAK WITH STREAMING SERVICES

Sports are on hold, theaters are closed and so are amusement parks, a disaster-movie scenario that has stunned Hollywood.

ROBOPONY: CHINESE ROBOT MAKER SEES DEMAND SURGE AMID VIRUS

While other industries struggle, Liu Zhiyong says China’s virus outbreak is boosting demand for his knee-high, bright yellow robots to deliver groceries and patrol malls looking for shoppers who fail to wear masks.

NETFLIX ESTABLISHES $100 MILLION VIRUS RELIEF FUND

Netflix said it is establishing a $100 million relief fund for workers in the worldwide creative community affected by the coronavirus-caused halt of most film and television production.

TRUMP HOPING TO SEE US ECONOMY REOPENED BY EASTER AMID VIRUS

President Donald Trump said he is hoping the United States will be reopened by Easter as he weighs how to relax nationwide social distancing guidelines to put some workers back on the job during the coronavirus outbreak.

MANY AIRLINE FLIGHTS NEARLY EMPTY AS VIRUS UNDERCUTS TRAVEL

Airline service in the United States is teetering on the brink of collapse, with near-empty planes and coronavirus outbreaks that have left some air traffic control towers empty.

FITNESS ENTHUSIASTS THINK OUTSIDE THE GYM DURING CORONAVIRUS

Steve LaTart in Minnesota is thinking of installing a space heater in his basement to recreate the atmosphere of his hot yoga classes now that his gym has closed due to coronavirus fears.

THE NEW iPAD PRO:LEVELING UP THE TABLET EXPERIENCE

With Apple pulling the plug on its March Special Event over coronavirus fears, where it planned to show off new iPads and MacBooks, the company decided to launch its biggest update to the iPad in a press release.

SOFTBANK TO BUY BACK $41 BILLION IN ASSETS TO TRIM DEBT

The Japanese technology and telecoms company SoftBank said it plans to buy back up to 4.5 trillion yen ($41 billion) of its assets as it seeks to trim its gigantic debt burden.

Teams, Toddlers and Cabinets: The Joys of Working from Home

In the early days of working from home to prevent spread of the COVID-19 disease, some Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers talking strategy on a video chat couldn’t help but get distracted by their team leader’s kitchen cabinets.

VIRUS SPURS UNEXPECTED TEST FOR US SCHOOLS: ONLINE LEARNING

The coronavirus shutdowns have launched an unplanned, unprecedented experiment with online education at schools across the U.S., and the nation’s largest school system plunged in Monday as New York City asked over 1.1 million students to log in and learn.

NETFLIX'S ‘SELF MADE' TELLS OF FIRST FEMALE MILLIONAIRE

Madam C.J. Walker may be one of America’s most successful “pull yourself up by your own bootstrap” stories, but many have never heard of her. However, that’s changing, thanks to the recent release of a Netflix limited series starring Octavia Spencer.

NO FAMILY, FANFARE FOR NASA ASTRONAUT LAUNCHING NEXT MONTH

A NASA astronaut who’s about to leave the planet for six months will blast off without any family or fanfare because of the coronavirus.

MANY AIRLINE FLIGHTS NEARLY EMPTY AS VIRUS UNDERCUTS TRAVEL

Airline service in the United States is teetering on the brink of collapse, with near-empty planes and coronavirus outbreaks that have left some air traffic control towers empty.

8 EUROPEAN SPACECRAFT PUT IN HIBERNATION AMID VIRUS LOCKDOWN

The European Space Agency said that it is putting eight of its spacecraft into hibernation as it scales down operations during the coronavirus outbreak.

Broadband's Big Breakdown

This was supposed to be the year of superfast wireless 5G. Instead, providers are battling to keep the creaky old internet online.

Can Blood from Coronavirus Survivors Treat the Newly ILL?

Hospitals are gearing up to test if a century-old treatment used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in the days before vaccines, and tried more recently against SARS and Ebola, just might work for COVID-19, too: using blood donated from patients who’ve recovered.

Vimberg Mino - LOUDSPEAKER

JOHN ATKINSON

ProAc Response D2R - LOUDSPEAKER

Between the mid-1980s and late 2000s, Stereophile published 14 re-views of loudspeakers from England’s ProAc Limited.

MY BACK PAGES

From 78 to 24/384

Jadis Orchestra Black - INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

I am the world’s worst consumer.

Introducing the New BRX from GoldenEar Technology ®

Introducing the New BRX from GoldenEar Technology ®

Innuos Statement - MUSIC SERVER

Put these two quotes together, shake vigorously, and you’ve got the essence of a music server. Unless your container isn’t tightly sealed, in which case you’ve got a mess.

FOLLOW-UP

Kalman Rubinson very favorably reviewed the three-way, active Dutch & Dutch 8c1 in the August 2019 issue of Stereophile.2

Döhmann Helix One MK2 - TURNTABLE

Designing and building a turn-table isn’t all that difficult.

Being There

Reflections on ways of experiencing jazz

As We see it – Hi-fi Arcana I

Some Stereophile readers will surely remember—some may even have in their collections—Christian Marclay’s 1985 vinyl release Record Without a Cover, surely one of the oddest records ever, right up there with the dying-rabbit record and the seven-inch single that’s tinted yellow by the band’s actual urine.