france

Focal Audio, aka JM Lab, may not be a well-known name in the U.S., but it is France's largest speaker manufacturer. I had Focal Mini Utopia speakers in my reference two-channel system for years and the Focal Grande Utopia EM ($180,000 per pair) is the best sounding speaker I've ever heard.

Maybe that's why the Focal Dome 5.1 satellite/subwoofer system ($2,595 MSRP) review by Michael Trei in Sound & Vision magazine piqued my interest.

The Dome replaces the Sib and Cub 5.1 system I favorably reviewed a few years ago. Unlike the Asian-built Sib and Cub, the Domes are manufactured at Focal's factory in Saint-Etienne, France.

The Dome 5.1 package is Focal smallest home speaker system yet. Trei writes: "the Dome satellite's cast-aluminum enclosure feels solid enough to withstand being run over by a small car." Each satellite speaker has a 4-inch woofer and a 1-inch aluminum/magnesium inverted dome tweeter, similar to the one Focal uses in its upscale Profile and Electra S models. Optional stands are available for the sats.

The matching cylindrical, rounded-top subwoofer has a single downward-firing 8-inch woofer and a built-in 100-watt amplifier.… Read more

Earlier this week hopefully I whetted your appetite for more sidecar racing action. As I noted in my previous blog this week, over this past Labor Day weekend (September 4-6 2009) international race promotion Superside FIM Sidecar World Championship held its final event of the 2009 season in Le Mans, France. Today's video clip features highlights and breathtaking footage from the qualifying rounds of this year's final Superside event.

I had trouble finding web video footage of the actual final race, I did however find a very high quality video compilation of the qualifiers that took place on … Read more

Orange and T-Mobile are to merge their British operations to create the U.K.'s largest mobile carrier, their parent companies said Tuesday.

The as-yet-unnamed joint venture will have a combined customer base of about 28.4 million people, or 37 percent of the market, with the deal expected to complete in November. Orange chief executive Tom Alexander will be chief executive of the new company, with T-Mobile UK chief executive Richard Moat as chief operating officer.

The companies said the merger will cost between 400 million and 600 million pounds ($655 million and $983 million). It is expected to … Read more

The other day I saw a cell phone commercial featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Phil Jackson and Jesse James. The sight of Jesse made me think of an episode of his fun little show on Spike TV, "Jesse James is a Dead Man", where he was the co-pilot for a sidecar race where it was as much his responsibility for guiding the vehicle as it was for the guy officially steering the damn thing. (Trust me, these are not the same sidecars you saw in reruns of "Batman" from the 60s - these cars are high tech and … Read more

Google is about to sign a deal with the French national library to grant patrons access to Google's archive of scanned books, according to a report.

France's La Tribune reported Tuesday (spotted by The Times Online) that the Bibliotheque Nationale de France has all but given up on its own attempt to create a digital library in partnership with other European countries, paving the way for Google Book Search to get a foothold on the continent. Google declined to comment on whether a deal had been reached, providing this statement: "Like we've always said, we'd … Read more

Jasmine France joins us as we cover a slew of unreadable watches, clocks and bulletproof watch winding safes. She also shows off her insane ability to read the faces of watches that no one else can decipher.

Samsung claims its watch is world's slimmest

LG Watch Phone clears FCC

Turning a Power Mac G3 into a wall clock (Thanks, Nicholas!)

Pong clock (Thanks, Jon!)

Continue Time clock

Digital black-and-white clock is a milestone in minimalism

The Twilight Watch… Read more

In the not-so-distant past, the only way to follow the Tour de France was through TV, newspapers, or radio. People in the U.S. (lucky enough to have cable) would wake up before dawn to watch the race in real time. Then came the Internet, which made stats and information on the race course and teams more readily available. Technology continued to expand, and last year the big advance was Google's Street View of the race.

But, now there's Twitter, which takes it to a whole other level. No longer are riders' recaps spliced into packaged sound bites, … Read more

We take a walk on the virtual side in today's Gadgettes. Virtual reality museums, robotic kittens, and fusion in your pocket!

Household gadgets we’d like to see

A propos (of) nothing Vroom: Surf the Web with a Ford GT

It's About Time Eris Planetary Sphere watch goes anywhere but the wrist

Pink Watch Juicy Couture goes geeky

Tool Time Ript Fusion body-shaping undershirt (thanks, Sam!)

Reverse Gender Gap Ostrich three in one chair for sunbathing bookworms

BlingRX Russel Hobbs RHG2TSW crystal encrusted bling toaster (thanks, Colleen!)

Kill Me Fantasy coach bed for the budding superiority complex… Read more

France's controversial attempt to crack down on Internet piracy was dealt a setback Wednesday when that country's highest legal authority struck down a provision that would have denied Internet access to those who repeatedly download copyrighted material illegally.

The French Constitutional Council rejected a key provision that would have given a newly created government agency the authority to cut off Internet access to those deemed to be copyright scofflaws after two warnings. The council said "free access to public communication services on line" was a human right that only a judge should have the power to … Read more