Clark’s wife recently had a birthday, and he bought her one of those fancy new MP3 music players. It’s about half the size of a deck of cards and it holds 2,500 songs. Lane loved the gadget, so they signed up for a music service. But it turned out that the service is not compatible with the device he bought. And, it turns out he’s not the only one. According to the New York Times, many people are having trouble. There are so many formats, including WMA, MP3, AAC, etc. Everything is incompatible with everything else unless you are a super techie. Apple is the only one moving ahead of the pack with these gadgets because, even though it’s a closed system, the company has made it so easy with its iPod. They range from $250 to $500, and people love them. But a lot of people are going to end up with “orphan electronics” that they can’t use as the marketplace works out the kinks on these gadgets. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into before you buy. If you’re not a technical wiz, you may want to wait a while until these companies come out with gadgets that are easier to use.