consumer electronics  When the kids asked for new MP3 players for Christmas this year, I got an education on consumer electronics big time. I had no idea that the progress that had been made in the new MP3 and MP4 players since I last bought mine. Now there are MP3 players that will play movies, record FM stations, record voice, and play music. Some of the memory cards are massive, too. I've seen them as high as 8 gigabytes which is a whole lot of music and video.

The new cameras have also made a huge leap forward in the short time since I looked for a new one. They are truly megapixel consumer electronics devices now and they shoot both videos and stills, so what used to require a 20 pound or better video camera can fit in my shirt pocket and weigh just ounces. And anybody with a computer can edit these movies, too. We did order new MP3 players for the kids that have all the bells and whistles and soon it'll be my turn to order brand new consumer electronics for myself to take advantage of all the progress that's been made in these everyday devices.