Since the day my child was born, I knew I'd inevitably have to take measures to protect my home theater gear once she was mobile enough to press buttons and turn knobs. My taste in style has always been what I would call "understated contemporary," meaning plain, simple, and functional. I'll also admit I have little desire to spend a fortune on something that holds my A/V components. I'd rather buy new gear. 

My prior solution was the pinnacle of cheap, yet functional. Many of my components are stacked on top of my big 55" CRT rear-pro HDTV, while the others are stacked neatly under my left and right speakers using a stackable desktop wire shelf/organizer system I picked up at an office supply store. It doesn't support the bulk of my larger components, like my 65 pound receiver, but it does handle my light weight devices like my cable box, DVR, DVD player, component width surge protector, and my VCR. On the right side, I've used the same shelving to house several game consoles.

I think I spent twenty-five bucks in total for my current solution, and it has performed far better than expected for over 8 years. Unfortunately, the problem I'm now facing is many of my components are near the floor, putting many of my components and game systems within easy reach of tiny hands. She could easily push the components through the back (it's not a "secure" solution by any means) or do things like stick toys into the VCR (yep, I still keep one of those connected).

After careful consideration, I have two solutions. Gate off the entire living room wall in front of the TV, or consolidate everything that's currently stacked on top of the TV and in the wire shelves below each speaker into a single audio tower. The decision is pretty simple, a gate across the entire living room would look terrible (I do have SOME sense of style), not to mention the total cost of all those gates would be pretty pricey. So, it's off to find a simple audio tower with a door.

Thinking back to my days working in a home theater specialty shop, I remember Mitsubishi made a simple, black audio tower to match up to their 50" and 60" TVs. It was made of fairly cheap materials, but had ample space for gear, several adjustable shelves, one fixed shelf that could support a lot of weight, and a glass door. Best of all, it sold between three hundred and four hundred bucks. Surely they still make something like this, right?
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Apparently not. After looking at several stores and almost everywhere online, I've been having a devil of a time finding one with a door that can accommodate my receiver... at any price point. The receiver is almost 9.5 inches tall, 20 inches deep, and really, really heavy. Those cabinets with a door simply aren't deep enough, or can't support the weight. 

Even the open shelf designs are typically, well, weird. So many of them sport flashy metals, glass shelves that barely support any weight, over styled designs... many are just rediculous looking, in fact. Not all, but a lot of them.

In all my searching, I did find one thing that would work; Salamander's Synergy line is a modular system that can accommodate my needs, and it didn't look completely stupid. After building it with their little online design tool (complete with perforated side panels and doors), the grand total was over twelve hundred dollars for a six shelf cabinet. That's right, $1,200. To give you an idea, the Salamander cabinet shown to the right is similar to the one I priced out, and this one came in around $1,300. Are they serious?

Seriously, what ever happened to the basic audio tower? I know the selection of audio cabinets, in general, has gone down-hill from the rise of flat panel TVs, given that now many people now have a wide cabinet base that houses their (probably more reasonable number of) components. I'll also admit that most audiophiles with massive receivers, separates, and boatloads of components are probably okay with spending a fortune on furniture, but isn't there a middle ground? Isn't there someone else in this world that also finds the vast majority of audio towers over-priced, over-styled, and under-performing?

Fortunately, I have another few months until the little tyke is going to crawl, which gives me a little more time to keep hunting. Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and score a used Mitsubishi cabinet at a garage sale.

Earlier this evening, word spread that the Federal Communications Commission is investigating Apple and AT&T regarding the recent rejection of Google's Voice application for the iPhone. At the heart of this investigation is the very nature of the exclusivity agreement between AT&T and Apple, and whether or not that agreement is hurting consumers, limiting choice, and hindering innovation.

According to reports, the FCC sent a letter to each of the three involved companies, in which contain all of the tough questions Slingbox owers have been asking since the SlingPlayer app for iPhone was apparently stripped of any ability to use AT&T's 3G network in order to be approved.

Here are just a few of the tough questions being asked:

• Does AT&T play a hand in which apps ultimately get approved?
• Does Apple and AT&T have standing contracts or agreements in regards to what apps can use the AT&T 3G network?
• What are the standards for considering and approving iPhone applications?
• Do any devices that operate on AT&T’s network allow use of other applications that have been rejected for the iPhone?

There are more... a whole lot more. TechCrunch managed to obtain copies of the three letters and posted them on their site in full. Hit up their site to read all the questions in full (trust me, it's worth the read).

While this probe was fueled by the rejection of Google Voice, the questions asked also allude to the FCC's interest in all apps that have been denied, in whole or in part, by Apple and AT&T. Depending on the outcome here, there may still be hope for a 3G enabled iPhone SlingPlayer, a full Skype app, Google Voice, and many more useful programs and services currently blocked from AT&T's 3G network or from the iPhone entirely.

No doubt Apple and AT&T will file for confidential treatment in this matter, so we may never know exactly what the FCC uncovers. What I do know is AT&T and Apple will be forced to sing a different tune, or things will continue status quo. I'm hoping for the former. Of course, I'd be much happier if Microsoft, Google, Palm, or anyone else put pressure on Apple and AT&T with innovative and open products that actually forced this dynamic duo to rethink their oppressive ways. Still, I'll take this in a pinch.

What do you think? Post your comments below.

A few days ago, Microsoft took the entire Xbox LIVE Service down for around 24 hours to complete scheduled maintenance and perform upgrades. Sounds innocent enough, but for a paid service like LIVE, I'm finding it more and more difficult to accept these scheduled downtimes. Xbox LIVE is no longer a niche service for hardcore gamers to frag each other in HALO 2. Today it's the backbone to an entertainment experience that families, moms, dads, and kids rely on.

Now, I'm a reasonable guy. I understand that systems like LIVE, which are always being pushed to their limit, need maintenance, patches, and expansions. However, Microsoft's approach needs to change; they need to ensure a basic level of service for all their paid customers.

What do they need to do exactly?

1. Tell Users Xbox LIVE is Down for Maintenance on Their Console

I'm not even sure why I have to suggest this. On Tuesday I attempted to connect to the LIVE service, and of course, it failed. My Xbox told me I have a problem with my Internet connection, apparently my router or the gateway has an incorrect MTU setting. I know that's not true, but I did waste 10-15 minutes resetting network extension kits, rebooting my router, rebooting the 360, and various other troubleshooting steps. When nothing worked I finally went to Major Nelson's blog and learned that Live was down for maintenance. 

My problem... lot's of people who use LIVE don't religiously read Major Nelson's blog. LIVE customers like me should be told Xbox LIVE is down for maintenance when we attempt to connect to the service through our console, not that we have Internet connection problems. Microsoft shouldn't waste our time suggesting we investigate problems that don't exist.

2. Other Paid Services, Like Netflix, Should Continue to Work

In fact, that was the primary reason I was firing up my 360. Since my first child was born, I get very little opportunity to watch TV, and wanted to kill my free hour watching something from Netflix. Oh that's right, I can't access and stream Netflix content without a connection to LIVE.

For starters, why Microsoft insists on Gold level memberships to access Netflix is beyond me. I can live with it though since I also subscribe for other reasons, but if MS wants money for me to watch content that doesn't even come from them, their service shouldn't stand in the way of me doing so. 

3. Content Purchased through Xbox LIVE should always work

Several others in the LIVE community feel this way, as highlighted by this comment from Andrew over at the LIVE Operations blog. "it's pretty ***** when you can't play videos you've downloaded or even xbox arcade titles because the certificate is hosted on the xbox live servers, this is stuff i've paid for and i can't even play it without being online???"

I agree with Andrew. Certificate servers should never be inaccessible. There's simply no excuse to deny users access to previously paid content. Multiplayer experiences are an exception to this rule, but I should never be denied the option to play a paid Xbox LIVE Arcade game or view a video.

There it is... the basic level of service.

Those are my three basic suggestions/expectations I expect Xbox LIVE to fulfill 100% of the time; a 'basic' level of service. The rest of it (friend lists, chat, multiplayer gaming, marketplace, downloads, etc), though inconvenient, is acceptable to have offline for periods of time for upgrades or maintenance... at least in my opinion.

What basic expectations do you have? Post your comments below.