TWICE - December 22, 2003

Julian Hirsch, an engineer and magazine writer who was instrumental in transforming hi-fi from an esoteric hobby into a multibillion-dollar global industry, died Nov. 24 at the age of 81, after a long illness. Through more than 40 years of testing and reporting on the performance of audio equipment for consumer magazines, and especially for Stereo Review, Hirsch helped demystify...

• Accessories
• Battery Makers Key On Function, Boosting Power

• Business News
• Costco Profit Up 10% In Fiscal Q1, Sales Climb 14%
• Conn's Revenue Rises 9.4% In Q3, Net Climbs
• PalmOne Revenue Rises 5% In Fis. Q2
• Business Notes
• Mitsubishi CE Segment Sales Grow 9% In 1st Half
• Samsonite Sales Flat In Q3, Income Drops

• By the Numbers
• Video Industry Sales Scorecard
• Handset Replacement Rate Exceeds 80%
• Portable MP3 Sales, Average Prices Rising

• Communications
• Cellular Replacement Cycle To Spin At CES
• Camera-Phone Sales Increase, Boosting Handset Price Points
• Cordless Style To Strut Stuff At CES

• Computer Technology
• Altec Lansing Plans To Unveil Flat-Panel Speakers During CES
• PC Briefs
• Personal Computer Picture Rosy For 2003, 2004

• Digital Imaging
• Fujifilm Enters Inkjet Paper Arena
• Visioneer Ships New Photo Scanner
• Nikon Previews Lower-Cost Digital SLR, As Part Of Trend
• Imaging Briefs

• Home Audio
• '04 Audio: Not Your Father's CES
• Potential Growth Contributors
• Audio: How Do We Get Out Of This Mess? (Part II)
• Rising To The Challenge?
• NPD: HTiB Dollar Sales Rising Faster Than Unit Sales

• Major Appliances
• Major Appliance Business Rebounded In 2003

• Mobile Electronics
• Cerwin-Vega, /a/d/s Return
• Cobra, Garmin Show New Navigation Units
• Year-To-Date Subwoofer Sales Down; But Up In Oct.
• Audio Briefs

• News
• API To Enter PC, Game Speaker Category At CES With Xbox Brand
• GPX To Bow Upscale Bantam Brand At CES
• Milliken Replaces Feuer As OfficeMax Chairman
• Workman Named Ultimate CEO As McEntire Retires
• Kodak Reshuffles Management Responsibilities
• LG Goes Broadway With Branding Effort
• LG/Zenith Selects Bob Perry As Its New Sales VP
• Jens To Replace Blanford As Pres. Of Philips CE Unit
• Vonage Taps Motorola As Equipment Supplier
• Pacor Named D&M President
• Best Buy Doubles Net Profit In Fiscal Q3
• Good Guys' Comp-Store Sales Drop 11%
• Circuit City Nets $1.4M In Fiscal Q3
• TWICE People
• Dolby Expecting More TV Shows With Pro Logic II

• Retailing/E-tailing
• That Was The Year That Was: A Retail Retrospective

• Video/Home Satellite
• ADS Technologies Adds HDTV Upconverter To Lineup
• News Corp./DirecTV Plans Stir Multichannel Pot
• Westinghouse Adds MARTA To Buyer List
• New LCD-TV Brands, Rear-Projection Advances To Top CES Trends

• Viewpoint
• 'The Year That Was'… So Far