There’s a conspiracy afoot – to keep us awake! TV, iPods, the barrage of e-mail, cell phone calls and messaging – they’ve all got “important messages” for us, information we can’t do without. Or so we believe. Either way, most of us can’t sleep knowing that there’s something we need to know, but don’t. Hence the late nights spent reading messages, looking at web sites, and checking out cute cat videos on Youtube that our friends tell us are “the funniest” things they ever saw. The result? We chuckle at …

The sun is out, the birds are singing, and you’re packing up the family car. Memories are made of this, as they say. But how will you remember the memories? Like most of us, you’ll take photos, record video, and if you’re on the “cutting edge,” as so many are today, you might even upload your photos and videos to a blog or your Facebook page, the better to share those memories with the rest of the world.
Naturally, you’ll need some equipment to take those memories – I mean photos …

If you’ve got a phone these days, you’ve got a music player. Why shlep an iPod or other MP3 player if you want to listen to music on the go?
Because you can get more music on an MP3 player than on a phone, of course. Unless you’ve got a really fancy phone with a big memory card, you’re limited to only a couple dozen songs on your device, and you’re constantly tethering your phone to your computer in order to get music on it. Ah, the hassles of modern life!
But …

Once there were “boomboxes,” those quaint suitcase-sized stereos that turned heads – and created headaches – whenever they were in the vicinity. Then music went “private,” as Walkmans and iPods provided walkers, runners, and bus and train riders with hours of musical enjoyment.
And now that we’re in the age of the “digital device,” the music player of choice for a new generation is – the cellphone! It’s all about “convergence,” using a single device for data, messaging, internet use, and of course, playing music and video. And because they’re …

The world is full of stars these days – movie stars, that is! Thanks to the internet, everybody and his cousin can now star in their own production, using techniques straight out of the Hollywood playbook. And not just plain-vanilla Youtube videos, either; the sites I have in mind will let you assemble your video and photos into a smart-looking production, accompanied by music or voice, and interspersed with special effects. These are the kinds of videos you see at friends’ weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, the kind you’ve always wished …