We are living in a world that is full of gadgets such as ipods, mobile phones, computers, Xboxes and PlayStations.

It's so bad that every spring our household finds it necessary to go on a useless gadget hunt, to clean out the house and free up some much-needed living space.

These things are outdated as soon as you buy them, and their life expectancy is a couple of years at best.

I am often asked the question: Which device should I buy? This brand or that one?

Well, things have greatly changed in the last five to 10 years, with most consumer electronics now built to the same exacting standards … cheap and cheaper.

This simply means my answer is easy. It doesn't really matter which brand you purchase, or how much you spend, you're only going to get three to five years out of the electronics before they will be dead or not worth repairing.

Spending more doesn't necessarily equate with better quality; it may just many more features or processing power. The extra processing power usually means that your word processor will open .5 of a second faster.

People are flat-out keeping up with things at the speed they are now.

The “more features” issue is an interesting one. Most people never use a fraction of the features provided, never mind being able to work out how to use them.

When that salesman is trying to sell us a more expensive model, saying, “This is a great feature you don't get in the cheaper model!” shouldn't you question whether you will actually use the particular feature?

Some people are just fascinated by the challenge of working out how to use all the features and functions. They see it as an electronic puzzle game, and simply buy the device for this reason.

Once the puzzle is solved, they become bored and wait with bated breath for the latest new device to be released.

That's me. I think this should probably be classified as a new psychological condition – New Gadget Syndrome.

Another trick of manufacturers is to come out with a new model or device that is not innovative or unique, but a prettied-up older model. It has the old model's function and features buttons moved around, or renamed, so it appears new.

This is a common trick used in some modern computer or mobile phone operating systems. It can be spotted a mile off by the New Gadget Syndrome sufferer.

If you're an audiophile, home theatre enthusiast or just love listening to music or watching movies, come along to SCCC Inc to find out how this all works.