Our high-tech world has made our lives easier by offering us aids for performing everyday tasks and ways to solve some of our problems.

Yet those same high tech offerings have, unfortunately, caused many new aggravations.

We are pleased when we can locate a roaming companion in a crowded mall by using our cell phones, yet we are aggravated when people drive poorly because they are talking on a cell phone while driving.

We are happy to be able to use Skype and other VoIP solutions to talk to faraway friends and relatives without astronomical costs. Yet we are aggravated when our business calls are handled by automated answering machines that take us through those infuriating telephone trees — you know, press “1” for English, “2” for Chinese, etc.

We are pleased with computers and the wealth of information that they bring but are irritated by waiting for them to boot-up and trying to figure out all of their intricacies.

We love the instant communications that email provides, but we hate dealing with spam.

Some of these aggravations will eventually be eliminated, but the question is, “How long will it take?”

You see, we are just now — after decades of using certain devices — seeing some of the aggravations that they cause removed. Regular telephones and televisions fall into that category.

For years, we were plagued by telephone calls from solicitors at inopportune moments. Yet, a few years ago, the do-not call list was initiated, and the calls have really lessened. (That is except for the political calls, which our Washington bureaucrats have exempted from this law.)

Now leeway has also been made in one of television’s biggest aggravations — commercials that are louder than the regular programming. We have come to accept television commercials, but everyone is annoyed when the commercial comes on blaring loud enough to give everyone a headache.

Just this week, the Federal Communications Commission put out a mandate saying that the sound level has to be the same for commercials, news and entertainment programming. These will completely eliminate one of television’s biggest aggravations. Don’t get too excited though, the new rules don’t go into effect until December 2012.

Although the telephone has been around for more than 140 years and the television more than 80 years, we are just now getting rid of some of their aggravations. That may not bode well for newer technologies such as mobile phones, computers and the Internet.

Although progress has been made in the ease-of-use of computers and some states have legislated against driving while talking or texting on a cell phone, many of our high-tech aggravations will not be easily eliminated.

By next year, we won’t have to listen to obnoxiously intrusive loud commercials, but automated answering machines, people who speak too loud on cell phones in a public place and cell phones that ring during church services may be with us for a very long time.

Thanks to all of you for your holiday wishes. Hope that you all have a wonderful holiday!

Conact Sandy Berger at sandy@compukiss.com.