My name is Bill, and I'm an electronic gadget junkie.

I've always been fascinated by technology and the toys it spawns. Televisions, cell phones, computers, sound systems - they tend to draw me in like a fish to a shiny lure.

My home is a testament to that addiction. Against the will of my lovely wife, it is full of electronic gadgetry which performs a myriad of necessary (my judgment) tasks no modern household should be without.

That addiction begins with the centerpiece - the television. Mine is a widescreen 50-inch High Definition LCD TV I bought just before Game 6 of the Sox/Yankees playoff series in 2004 - and we all know what happened after that. Since then I have treated it with deference and respect, and it holds a place of honor in our home.

Of course, no good television is worth its salt unless you surround it with devices which allow it to be utilized to its full potential. I owe it to the TV to make sure it has what it needs. At least, that's how I explained it to my Beloved. That starts with a digital HD DVR cable box to capture the incredible high definition programming available today. It also allows for digital, tapeless recording of any program. That is accompanied by a Direct TV box which I keep only to get the NFL package. I have to give my kids a good reason to come home weekends during football season.

Beside that sits a DVD player/recorder, enabling us to watch the latest DVDs as well as record movies and shows onto discs. Transferring our old home movies from VCR tapes to DVD is now a snap.

Below that on the component rack sits a piece of pure electronic bliss - a Bose surround-sound system. The unbelievable sound this generates is worth the time it took to set it up. It also serves as a giant music source, digitally recording up to 200 hours of music for playback. The fact I have not listened to a total of 200 hours of music in the last 20 years does not diminish my respect for this ability.

Also occupying a place of great honor is a unique device called Slingbox. This modern technological miracle allows me to connect to my home television from any web-based computer with no monthly fee. This has come in very handy when traveling on business, allowing me to watch Red Sox games in areas of the country where they are not being shown.

My newest electronic toy I resisted for quite some time, but finally gave in and acquired. I am now the proud owner of an iPhone, perhaps the most amazing cell phone ever invented. For a long time I told myself they were merely trendy and not practical, but after just a few short weeks of iPhoning I'm not sure how I survived the previous 53 years without one.

It gets my e-mail, holds my photos, and has "apps" that do things I never even thought of doing with a cell phone. Of course, I don't really need to do most of those things with my cell phone - but now I can. My wife doesn't understand, but surely some reader out there does. Besides, my son got one and I can't let him get ahead of me.

My wife and I both have satellite radios in our vehicles. Our cars have remote starters. Our computers are hooked up to wireless high-speed Internet. Our home phone is wireless and portable.

I am driven to this addiction not out of the need to keep up with anyone, but rather by sheer laziness and selfishness. I love gadgets. I love the ease they add to my life, the things they allow me to do. I am hopelessly hooked.

As I sit typing this on my laptop computer and prepare to send it to my editor by e-mail over my wireless Internet while watching a movie in high definition on my widescreen TV with the sound pouring through the surround sound system, I say again I am an electronic gadget junkie - and happy about it.

My wife? Not so much. Do you think this iPhone has a Happy Wife app? BILL GOUVEIA is a local columnist and a hopeless gadget geek who can be emailed at aninsidelook@aol.com.