How do u stay on the learning curve for all the new techie gadgets?

I hate this too. That is a lot of junk to buy. If you think you will be irritated by buying the "wrong" thing, then you should find a friend who's an expert and just do whatever they tell you. If you're not worried about buying the wrong thing, but just want something that will meet your needs, go to Best Buy, and make someone there pick out all those items for you. They are not experts, but they will do an OK job.

A great website that distills many reviews on products (from all the top review sites) is consumersearch.com. I can heartily recommend them. They cover a wide range of products, they're very thorough. They even tap from paid services (like consumer reports)...

I depend upon cnet.com. They have simple, well written, reviews and allow for both editor and user rating of a variety of technology. I've regularly bought "Editor's Choice" items and have never been disappointed.

I know about consumersearch.com,but appreciate the tip about cnet.com. Thanks..and I'll head out to Best Buy in Jan. when all salespersons are slavering for business and prices are perhaps plummeting.

I also follow engadget.com. They have reviews on all of the latest gadgets, and if you read through a few articles (and comments) you can get an idea for the general trends and thoughts...

I love engadget.com, but it inflames my techie geek lust. Dynamism.com is great for all the really neat laptop and mobile technology it seems the tech companies think will only sell in Japan (they import a lot of Asian market technology you can't find anywhere else). I know a lot of people have been complaining about Sony, but my X505 laptop is under 2 pounds, sturdy, adequately powered for all but graphic design, good-looking and I haven't had a single problem with it for 3 years.