Are you one of those rental people frustrated in front of your VCR because you can't make it stop flashing 12:00 over and over again? Are you the type of rental store owner who continually beats the top of the new computer because - even after reading the manual four times and calling technical support - you still can't make the thing work?

High technology has invaded our stores, our cars and our homes. But relax, it's a friendly invasion. There are all sorts of new toys (electronic marvels, let's call them) aimed at making our lives easier - at least that's what they are intended to do - and readying us for the technological wonders of the next century.

But be honest for a moment. In these stress-filled, high-tech days, aren't you feeling a bit like a techno-nerd? Come on, admit it. While others are whipping around the information super-highway, you can't even program that stupid alarm clock on your nightstand. You thought you were cool when you mastered the automatic teller machine at the bank. And then when you finally learned to put that first fax into that odd-looking machine and it actually went somewhere, you thought you had finally made it to the top. (Remember back? Just buying that fax machine was a big step for you.)

Just when you thought you were home free, along came all this new techno-stuff and overwhelmed you all over again.

It wasn't very long ago that a computer in the home was a trendy thing, like a beeper or cell phone, but now it has become another appliance just like the toaster, telephone and microwave. Many, many Americans now own a personal computer. Many own several - and take a laptop along when they go places.

But of the rental stores that have some sort of computer system, even now very few use it for much beyond point-of-sale rental contracts.

Many longtime rental people admit to being intimidated by technology and wonder how our kids, some as young as four, can master a computer terminal as easily as they climb a jungle gym.

I'll bet there's an employee in your store who used to be a "troublemaker" but now can come into your store and program your computer system in 30 minutes or less and leave you in a state of disbelief.

Computer technology is now a common curriculum in the schools. Our kids are growing up with it. We did not have this opportunity. Now we have to play catch-up with them. Any kind of change is hard for us to accept, but changes in the way we run our businesses, especially when they deal with technology, are the hardest of all to accept.

Just think about the options available to you. You can pay your bills, invoice customers and listen to music from your computer, all at the same time. Profile your customer base. Track your accounts and inventory to see what's hot, where the action is, where things are heading next.

E-mail has become the hottest means of communication available. No more phone tag. No more voicemail. Get your mail anywhere, any time. It's cost-efficient. Some day the post office might become a thing of the past. Your days of licking stamps are numbered.

In the next few years we will be introduced to virtual reality on our computers. A computer will re-create the image from ultrasound echoes or a scanning device and then project it like a hologram for you to view.

Picture this: you have a backhoe or a trencher with a problem. You use a virtual reality device to scan it and produce a 3-D image in your office, where you can diagnose the problem without ever getting a drop of grease on your new suit.

On vacation? No problem - have the image downloaded through your modem to your notebook computer, right in your hotel suite in the Caribbean. Take it to the beach with you and work on it there. So you forgot to do something important before you left? No problem - access your office files and take care of it as you sip a piņa colada.

So maybe the flashing 12:00 still frustrates you, but take heart. The future is now, and it's really not all that bad. Technology is providing a lot more good answers than frustrating questions.