So, you have all of these digital photos, video’s and music on your hard drive but now you really want to be able to enjoy all of it on your TV and stereo in the living room; well if you have a network connection and any of the game consoles like PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, you may have everything you need to enjoy streaming digital media. Each one of them is capable of streaming a wide variety of photo, video and audio formats from the PC to the TV using your home network. However, if you are not a gamer there are some products that will fit the bill.

Sonos digital music system (bundle 130) – it is a 2 room wireless audio system that can be expanded for up to 32 rooms. The wireless remote uses an iPod style scroll and has a very easy installation process. It has audio input that allows you to access 3^rd party audio sources and will stream the same audio to all rooms or different music to every room.

Apple TV (40 GB) – this allows you access to both premium and free media content that includes TV shows, movie rentals, photos, podcasts, music and YouTube videos. Works with both Windows and Mac, has a great sleek design and a good user interface with a simple setup and provides smooth streaming.

Roku Soundbridge M1000/M1001 – a network receiver with a sleek design, big front panel display and has great compatibility with all digital files including those purchased from online sites and premium subscription services (includes DRM WMA files). Has both analog and digital output that allows you to connect to any speaker or stereo system and works with any Ethernet or wireless home network. Both the setup and the user interface are simple and it streams from both Mac and Windows.

The Sony VGF-WA1 – this is a very reliable wireless audio stream with a lithium battery providing 4 hours of life; includes an auxiliary mini-jack for external sources and digital audio output.

MVIX MX-760HD – great file compatibility, room for internal hard drive and a DVI output capable of us to 1080p. It has 2 USB ports, Dolby soundtracks and both wireless and Ethernet networking.

So, if you love gadgets and want some excellent streaming video then any one of these should be more than adequate.

Let’s face it, everyone loves gadgets. They come in many different shapes, sizes and uses, but the one thing they have in common is their novelty. While it is not known exactly how the word came about there are several theories on the subject. 

One such theory is that Rudyard Kipling invented the word sometime in 1904, citing the phrase “Steam gadgets always take him that way” that appears in his book titled Traffics and Discoveries. But evidence suggests that he may have actually picked up the word during a journey to India.

Another theory is that it comes from a gentleman in France by the name of Gadget who was connected with the building of the Statue of Liberty which was a gift to the United States from France in 1886. It has been said that he sold small bronze copies of the statue in New York, with his name printed on the bottom of each one; however this is false.

However, the word gadget is actually associated with the construction of the statue because the business that was responsible for creating the outer copper portion of the statue was called Gaget, Gauthier & Cie and there were small versions but they did not have the name Gadget stamped on them. But, other than the company being associated with it, there is no evidence that he was indeed responsible for creating the word.

The person who actually made the word known was writer Robert Brown in his book “Spunyarn and Spindrift: A sailor boy’s log of a voyage out and home in a China tea clipper” written in 1886 where the boy describes words used by sailors when they forget the name of something.

Most prefer to think of it as a hand-waving phrase or term for something that one has temporarily forgotten the name of; similar to a doohickey or thingamajig. Wherever it came from it sure has become a popular term.