Audio feud

We've been hearing about the wows of directional sound — those audio laser-like beam so focused that only the person caught in its narrow path can hear the sound — for a bit too long now. It was supposedly going to revolutionize everything from riot control to billboard advertising to museum displays,
but no single contender has yet to claim and perfect the technology. But there's been a growing sound feud between two inventors battling to reach the summit first and thus conquer the awaiting vast millions of dollars market share. Both Elwood "Woody" Norris, of American Technology Corporation (ATC) and F. Jospeh Pompei at Holosonic Research Labs have created parallel directional sound devices which harness the same principles and work in the same way — both systems use a signal processor, an amplifier and a platelike device that shoots out a beam of ultra sonic sound. 65-year-old Norris has a lifetime of audio patents and has gotten Sony to start selling his device in Europe, while Pompei has a shmancy MIT education and developed a prototype for Daimler Chrysler (though the prototype was sacked before manufacturing because the sound bounced back and forth across the seats). Since joining forces seems out of the question, each inventor is striving to outperform the other,
making the devices smaller, better and more affordable than the $1,000 to $2,000 they are now.