life more convoluted—especially when something doesn't work right or doesn't do what it's supposed to: Say, for instance, a GPS device tells you to turn the wrong way on a one-way street (yikes!), or a computer erases all of your important data (ouch!).
Unfortunately, it's not always easy to understand how a product or service works, not to mention whether or not to hold off on adopting it until a better, shinier thing comes along. A perfect example is the ever-evolving video format. We've gone from Betamax to VHS to DVD to HD DVD/Blu-ray to just Blu-ray (and everything in-between, of course). It can take years before a technology catches on, and even more time before we see a significant price drop.