Digitally Daunted: The Consumer's Guide to Taking Control of the Technology in Your Life

Wi-fi or wired? Cable or fiber optic? HDMI or RCA? MP3 or AAC?

Do you feel overwhelmed when you hear these terms? You’re not alone—smart people everywhere feel intimidated by the technology in their life. Standing in an electronics store trying to decode the specs on a purchase can make anyone feel powerless. Worse—it can leave you with costly mistakes that you can barely get out of the packaging. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right education, you can regain the control you need to survive and thrive in the digital world.

In Digitally Daunted, an IT pro and his practical wife show you how to demystify the mumbo jumbo and become a confident consumer of all the things that are supposed to make your life easier. You’ll learn how to shop for and manage the electronics in your household: PCs to phone systems, televisions, cameras, and music and movie software and hardware.

Digitally Daunted will help you:
* Choose, use, and maintain all the modern “appliances” you need or want
* Decide what to buy, how to buy, and how much to spend
* Be prepared for the digital television conversion
* Get and stay connected on the Internet the fastest, cheapest, most secure way possible
* Discover everything you needed to know about phone service, both landline and cellular
* Determine what you need and want from your television, DVD player, DVD recorder, and service provider be it cable, fiber-optic or over-the-air
* Get the most out of digital cameras—still and video
* Learn about new ways to enjoy your music, photos and videos
* Introduce you to the latest in home gaming systems
* Figure out what to do when things go wrong
* Organize your tech stuff with checklists for shopping, maintenance, and service calls

Also includes a glossary of all the tech terms you need to know, green tips and some suggested web resources. Companion website is Digitally Daunted.com

JEAN RIESCHER WESTCOTT took a History of Computers class back in 1985 and spent a summer studying programming in high school, but has been more of a book geek since she finished her law degree. She spent a long, wonderful time in independent bookselling and now works in book publishing. She writes a column on consumer technology. Sean and Jean have two children and live in Northern Virginia. They are the co-authors of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Electronics 101.