How to Use Your Gadget Gifts

By
ABC News
December 26, 2006, 3:47 PM ET
3 min read

Dec. 26, 2006 — -- So you got a cool, new tech toy for the holidays. Now what do you do with it?

Becky Worley, "Good Morning America's" technology contributor, recently explained how to get some of the hottest gadget gifts up and running.

Digital Camera

1. Unpack the box. Everything you need is in there, including the software.

2. Install the software by putting it into the CD tray of the computer.

3. Lots of different windows will jump up on your screen. It's usually fine to just accept the default. Just click yes, next, yes, yes, yes. That sets up the software in standard mode.

4. Plug in the camera to the computer using a USB cord.

5. A lot of different stuff will pop up automatically. The computer will automatically recognize the camera and copy the photos over from the camera to the hard drive. This is all in the software that comes with the camera.

6. Edit the pictures and e-mail away to friends and family.

iPod

1. Start with iTunes, the software that manages everything for the iPod. (You can download it from the Internet or install it from the CD that comes with the iPod.)

2. Connect the iPod to the computer. The computer should automatically recognize that the iPod is hooked up.

3. If you want to add music from a CD onto your iPod, pop the CD into the computer. Again, the iTunes software will automatically recognize it.

4. Click the import button in iTunes to import all the tracks on the CD into your music library. Then go to the music library and drag the songs over to the iPod icon. They'll now live on both your computer and your iPod. Repeat this process to add all your CDs onto your iPod.

HDTV

1. First, get the HD signal. It's a signal that comes into your house from the cable company, the satellite provider or through the HDTV, which is the free option.

2. To get a signal through the HDTV, get an HDTV antenna. It can be an indoor or outdoor antenna.

3. Take a coaxial cable, plug one end into the external antenna and plug the other into the antenna input at the back of your TV.

4. Call your cable company and tell it you want to upgrade your signal to HD.

5. If you don't want to bother with the inputs in the back of the TV, get an HDMI cable. Hook it up to the back of the HD box that the cable company sends you. Then connect the other end of the HDMI cable to the TV set and hook up the cable coming from the wall to the back of the new HD receiver.

For more help, visit www.directv.com/hdd.