Camcorders

I recently got a camcorder for my birthday. I'm reading the instruction manual and tryin to make sense of what I am doing. The problem I have is that I don't understand some of the technology terms to understand what I'm doing! I just googled some stuff to get extra info on firewire cables, USBs, zooms and pixels. It was so much easier with the bulky VHS recorders! I guess I have to get used to this technological generation. I'm kinda grateful right now to TECH Pete because I have learned things.