Megabucks multimedia setups

Outdoor electronics
My buddy Tom recently moved into one of those planned communities in Texas -- the kind with a giant rulebook that dictates how tall your grass can be and limits the colors you can choose to paint your house. At the moment, he's busy designing his backyard paradise, complete with an in-ground pool, and ringed by palm and banana trees. Knowing Tom, an outdoor entertainment system like that offered by Lux Entertainment LLC can't be far behind.

Lux (www.luxoutdoor.com) is one of those companies that makes weatherproof media centers with price tags well over $5,000, so you have to be a hardcore home theater junkie to buy one. Lux's Outdoor Media System, which runs on Microsoft's Media Center 2005, lets you watch TV, listen to music, and play games between dips in the pool or between burger flips in your outdoor kitchen. The hardware is designed to resist punishment from rain and sun, and belly flops in the pool. It also limits the need to have cables snaking around your backyard.

Lux's ARISS-WFSS, for example, accepts wireless feeds of television, radio, and Internet content from inside the house. You can also plug your DVD player or gaming consoles into the 26-inch flat-panel LCD monitor, which has water- and glare-resistant glass, a stainless-steel shell and marine-grade speakers.

Home Entertainment

Software patches for your TV

You can tell something's gone horribly wrong when you realize you need a manual to tell you how to safely operate your television.

Some high-end TVs have break-in periods during which they require the gentlest of care. If the picture is too bright or contains static elements during this time, you run the risk of burn-in, according to the manuals. Now there's another new worry: The current generation of digital TVs have as much as 64MB of computer firmware, which controls the display modes and other menu items. A bug in all those lines of code could have you hauling that giant set back to the store, presuming it is still under warranty.

``Today's digital TVs are more like personal computers, with Linux operating systems," said Tripp Blair, the chief executive of UpdateLogic Inc. in Hopkinton. ``And anyone who knows enough about Linux knows how complicated that can be."

Blair's company is developing something called the UpdateTV Network, which delivers firmware patches and updates from set manufacturers directly to digital sets, using available bandwidth on cable and terrestrial digital broadcast networks. The free fixes take place automatically: Consumers do not have to press any buttons to approve a download, as they do with their PCs.

UpdateLogic is testing its system over the nation's PBS stations, and Blair was in Japan last week negotiating with major TV manufacturers.

As early as next year, we may see UpdateLogic (www.updatelogic.com) stickers on the back of most new sets, Blair said.

That should provide some insurance against possible recalls.

Photo Management

Tabblo improves sharing, adds layout

I have to admit, I was a bit wary of exploring yet another new photo-sharing website, since so many now offer the same features. But Tabblo (www.tabblo.com) has blown me away. The site, pronounced ``tableux," is by far the best I've experienced in the field largely pioneered by Flickr, another site I use regularly. Tabblo has all of the conveniences of the other photo-management sites, such as software plug-ins for uploading, and print service options. But it also allows you to do some basic edits (and add effects) to your pics, and create sets, called tabblos, with attractive layouts with text boxes, hyperlinks, and color backgrounds.

Sharing your photos with family and friends, and limiting access to private pics, is much easier with Tabblo than with other sites. You can give your friends permission to share your tabblos with their friends, or you can choose to keep the photos within your inner circle.

Tabblo, which has just completed beta testing, allows you to incorporate the photo sets you may have already created in Flickr and Picasa, while retaining the privacy settings you designated for your pictures on those sites.