According to everyday practice and the results of a recent Harris Interactive and RightNow Technologies survey, many gadget owners suffer fits of rage, cry and become hysterical when they start having problems with, say, a computer. Failing to find a cure in the manuals, users bombard servicing companies with phone calls which, the reports' authors agree, may really drive anyone crazy.

Almost 85 percent of the 2,225 Americans polled, admitted that their high-tech gadgets often make them feel extremely nervous and even aggressive. Some said this often gave them headaches, heartaches and sleeping problems. Nearly half of those surveyed said that what really burned them most, was the inability to get through to the technical support people and that the service personnel often failed to show up at the right time.

PCs, digital camcorders, photo cameras and DVD players were named as the most problem products. The authors of the survey also threw in the Internet and mobile gadgets. The Apple iPod and Sony PlayStation were singled out as the most simple and easy to use, according to USA Today newsmagazine.

Experts advise companies to post FAQ lists on their websites which they say may result in a 50% to 70% drop in the overall number of incoming calls.

Callers, for their part, are advised to memorize or write down the name of a company worker they are talking to and to be sure to make maximum use of it during the exchange. According to Wikipedia, a gadget is a device that has a useful specific practical purpose and function and serves to boost its owner's social standing. Gadgets tend to be compact and usually come in the form of pocket computers and cell phones bristling with such additional features as a voice input, organizer, text and graphics editor and a sliding keypad to boot.

Among the better known such gizmos are ballpoint pens that can also double as telephones, cameras, etc., souped-up radios, computer notebooks, wristwatches, bracelets, electronic books, bedside lamps packed with sound effects, special "emotion" meters, all-purpose players for presentations and so on and so forth.

The so-called educational consoles with sensor screens (LeapFrog, etc.) have recently been a big hit among youngsters in the US, Japan and the EU countries.

These days any digital unit with a virtual keypad can be called a gadget.

By Mike Sullivan - Voice of Russia