MILWAUKEE - A new segment on Live at 4:00: Scott Steele's tech tips will be a regular feature on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our new technology specialist will bring us exclusive looks at everything from the latest computers and gadgets to simple ways technology can enhance your household. For the first time since the personal computer came on the scene, we're seeing its standard design change shape. It's all about making the machines more comfortable for us and a better fit for our everyday lives. The Shapiros are like most families these days: busy. "Pretty much it's our daily life, pure chaos,” Sharon Shapiro said. Keeping track of everyone's schedule wasn't easy and communicating usually centered around post it notes on the fridge or scribbled scraps of paper. "Nothing was really working and this new computer has really piqued my interest because it gets the kids involved in it,” Mark Shapiro said. Families like this are the target for a new type of technology I call lifestyle computing, and the consumers HP is hoping to attract with a brand new product line called Touchsmart PC's. For years, developers have promised to converge all our high tech devices into a single unit. This is a huge step in that direction. In addition to mundane computer stuff, you can watch TV, play your DVD's, or listen to your music collection. The all-in-one computers are specifically designed to fit-in around gathering places like the kitchen or living room. The sleek, self contained unit is a direct shot across the bow at Apple's latest Macs. "Yeah, well I think it just looks so nice it's very family oriented. It's visually great to look at,” Sharon Shapiro said. More important than how it looks is how it works. With one touch of the screen you have access to communication tools and entertainment. That's right, you can leave the keyboard and mouse behind and literally let your fingers do the walking. A proprietary software interface called Smartcenter provides powerful options like leaving video messages for each other with the built in camera and microphone. You can attach the multimedia to a virtual Post-It and even link it to the calendar on a specific date. "I think it's great to have it all there in one. It kind of is hopefully going to eliminate the need for all the other things that are taking up space in our kitchen which is the hub of everybody's house, especially when you have kids,” Mark Shapiro said. Of course the core of this unit is still a computer: customizable with additional software, and if you're more comfortable interfacing with a keyboard and mouse, the wireless ones included are unobtrusive and allow you to enter information from across the room. Incidentally, Good Housekeeping magazine just named this one of it's top technology picks of the year.