So on Nov. 4 the information technology consultant became the Chicago-Loop franchisee of a company called Expetec Technology Services , based in Aberdeen, S.D.

Buchanan provides technical support and computer training and "answers to a lot of `how do I do this' questions" for individuals and small businesses.

Basically, he helps clients integrate electronics into their lives.

"There's a big need out there in homes and small businesses for technical support," he said. And on a day when people across the country are opening new tech toys and trying to figure out how to use them, the need for a service like Buchanan's seems obvious.

He also helps people with things like configuring a PC to automatically back up every week. Recently he visited a Chicago lawyer and configured her Windows-based PC to prompt her to insert a blank CD to run a backup every seven days. It took him an hour. Total cost to the lawyer: $75.

Sometimes a single accessory can really help apply a technology to your life. Take digital cameras, the top-selling holiday gift this year.

"The novice user feels confusion with digital cameras," Buchanan said, adding that he experienced it first-hand when his 66-year-old mother got her first digital camera.

"My mom saw it as a tech toy," he said. "She can't take the film out and put it into a slot in the drugstore. It was not enabling her. It was disabling her from her normal routine of bringing in her [film] pictures."

Since his mom was not comfortable with a computer, Buchanan bought her a small, portable photo printer that accepted her camera's memory card directly.

"We completely bypassed the computer," Buchanan said. "There's no use getting your mother from no technology right into the computer world."

That did the trick.

"Now she knows that the camera holds X number of pictures before it gets full. At that point, she takes it to the printer. She embraces [digital] now."

Epson makes a photo snapshot printer called the PictureMate (about $200), and Hewlett-Packard makes two snapshot printers called Photosmart Compact Photo Printers that retail for $150 and $200

Digital music players have also been hot commodities this holiday season.

Recently, Buchanan found himself helping a neighbor install a Linksys Wireless Media Adapter (about $160), which wirelessly transmits music and photos from the computer to a home entertainment system.

The adapter hooks up to a television and audio receiver, allowing you to select from music that's on your computer--which the adapter lists on the TV--using a remote control. Photos stored on your computer can also be viewed on the TV. You can even play a slide show to music. "The quality is quite good," said Buchanan. "It works really well."

Some media adapters, like one from D-Link Systems, can also transmit video wirelessly. But while integrating technology still requires an extra step, the future will bring "all-in-ones" to some surprising places.

Like your kitchen.

"The Internet microwave, for example," Buchanan said. "Just plug a [network cable] into the back, and use the built-in [bar-code] scanner to scan your popcorn or Lean Cuisine. "And the microwave will automatically know how long to cook it for."  The same principles will apply to other appliances: "The refrigerator is not too far away either. It will know the date your milk goes bad, and will warn you two days before."

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Source: Expetec