So, Amazon has the Kindle and now Barnes & Noble has the nook. A wireless ebook reader that is strikingly similar to the Kindle. I went to barnesandnoble.com to check this thing out and I wanted to put some of the features here today. Since I do not plan to buy this item, I will just post what information I see on the site.

First, let’s take a look at the appearance

I must say that it really does look a lot like the Kindle by Amazon, but then I realized, how much different does it HAVE to look? It’s a slim item about the size of a book (7.7″ x 4.9″ x 0.5″ to be exact), that is lightweight (11.2 ounces) and super easy to handle. I guess the appearance could resemble a book in more ways than one, but since it is a technology toy, I expect a sleek look at best.

Wireless

Apparently the download time is in the seconds. The Nook is hook to free wireless via AT&T and that is a 3G network, so in my opinion is most likely a fair estimate. With a color touch-screen that is 3.5″ wide allows for one touch control and navigation. Swiping your finger across the screen will “flip” through your library of full-color book covers.

The display is easy on your eyes in the sun or inside your home and you can adjust the font size for easier ready and to keep the headaches to a minimum.

Storage

The Nook comes with 2GB, or about 1500 books worth, of storage and can be expanded via microSD slot. These days you can get SD cards up to 16GB, so that would be an additional 17,500 books!

Audio

Audio is supplied by a built-in mono speaker and since the Nook serves as an MP3 player, you can listen to audio books as well. Universal 3.5mm stereo headphone jack is included.

Battery

The Nook uses such little battery juice, you can actually read for about 10 days before having to recharge. And that only takes a cool 3.5 hours from wall outlets. Now if you have the wireless in the ON position you won’t be able to go quite as long, but let’s just say that if you were trapped in a cave with your Nook, you could at least read for 7 days before the battery dies out.

Update from Amazon.com:  Apparently there is a coupon worth $80 off ContourHD – HD Helmet Camera by VholdR at Amazon.com right now!  Just enter coupon code: CONTOURH when you check out and you will save $80 instantly!

You are going to flip your lid with this super compact 1080p HD helmet camera!  This camera is the world’s FIRST HD Helmet Camera and is ideal for any person that loves to shoot and share videos of their extreme lifestyle.

The ContourHD is small, light and easily attaches to your helmet, goggles or equipment without any wires.  There is ONE button that starts recording and the same button stops it.  The ContourHD comes in 1080p HD and can record in HD or smooth High Action SD.  Weighing in at only 4 ounces, you won’t even feel the camera attached to your helmet while you scale a tall rock ledge or cruise down a mountain trail on your bike.

Product Description
ContourHD is the World’s First High Definition Wearable Camcorder and with the introduction of ContourHD1080p, it’s also the first to shoot and share 1080p video. While ContourHD is ideal for the everyday outdoor enthusiast and ContourHD1080p is a professional camera, both models combine amazing video clarity, a wide angle lens (135°), single button simplicity, and a click to share online experience.

Perfected for outdoor use, ContourHD’s all-in-one design means you can record hours of HD video without any tapes, wires, or separate recorders; instead record all of your adventures to a removable microSD memory card (compatible up to 16GB). Its light but armored aluminum body (4 ounces) lets users capture video in any weather conditions. ContourHD’s TRail™ Mounts seamlessly attach the camera to the body, helmet, goggles, and/or a vehicle for hands-free recording.

Put HD video on your head and share it online in seconds!

The VholdR Community

There are plenty of adventure sports enthusiasts out there and now more of them are logging what they are doing exactly, in brilliant HD.  The point of view videos make it easy to show others what you are doing on your way down the ski hill, climbing or hiking in the mountains or just cruising in your favorite weekend sailboat!

You can share your videos with others or check out some of the amazing locations discovered by happy ContourHD customers.  With easy to use software you can click to import, tag and share your videos from the ContourHD to VholdR.com.  Share further with Twitter and Facebook, right from the site.

Your adventurous friends are going to want to buy this product as soon as they see the high quality images it produces!

Additional Information from VholdR.com

How does it work?
ContourHD is an all-in-one wearable camcorder that records HD video to a removable microSD memory card, and it also includes Mac/Windows software so you can share your adventures online. Its use couldn’t be simpler—even with a pair of gloves on. Slide the single record switch forward to record and then slide it back to stop. The TRailTM Mount System slides and locks the camera onto a series of mounts so you can wear ContourHD on your goggles, helmet, handlebars, and/or a vehicle. Its wide angle lens, two lasers, and 180° rotating lens are designed to make video easy to capture from inside the action.

Where I work, there is a lot of people touching the LCD monitors that we use. Some are smart and use their fingers, while others, are not so smart and insist on using things like pens or markers to touch the screen. I know, it’s tough to watch. Most of the time the screen will not mark up, but there is always an instance that creates a pen, or marker, line on the screen itself.

If you have the same thing, you might be wondering how to remove the mark from your LCD monitor.

How To Remove Pen, or marker, From Your LCD Monitor

I noticed I small mark near the bottom of an LCD screen and originally thought it might be a scratch of some sort. Upon further investigation, I saw that it was in fact a short mark from a pen. When I rubbed it with my finger, it DID not come off so I was left wondering what I could use to remove it.

I searched the web today to see what other people suggested, because I wanted to see if what worked for me, was mentioned, so far, it was not. Some of the suggestions included:

• Using rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip
• Glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth
• Hand soap or dishwasher soap on damp cloth
• Hairspray and cloth

It seems that all of those suggestions worked fine, but none of them mentioned the tip that I have for you today. I grabbed a pencil with a new eraser and GENTLY “erased” the mark on the LCD screen. Please make sure that it is a NEW eraser as to not scratch your screen with any metal part of the pencil. Also make sure not to add too much pressure to the screen in the process. It did not take that much pressure for me to eliminate the pen mark.

Have you ever had to remove a mark on your LCD? Tell us your story below.

Today I was reading the tech.msn.com site and see they have a list of the 10 Most Extreme Laptops and thought I would share them with you. I will post the name & extreme spec and give my 2 cents on the whole deal.  (PC World)

Dell Adamo XPS

• Coming soon
• Price unknown
• .40-inch thickness

I think this laptop is crazy thin. Pretty soon laptops are going to be actual sheets of paper and you will be able to just roll them up and stick them into your pockets. You can expect to pay over $1500 for this laptop, but if you want the thinnest of the thin, just wait another 6 months, another one will be made.

Sony Vaio X

• Available Nov. 2009
• Priced at $1300 and up
• Weighs only 1.6 pounds with battery

Lightweight is good when you have to lug a laptop all over the place in your daily job. 1.6 pounds WITH battery is nice. It only has an 11-inch screen, but that seems to be the trend these days with the netbooks gaining popularity, etc.

HP Pavilion HDX Dragon

• Discontinued, but check ebay
• Over $2,000
• 20.1-inch screen

Yes, this gem is discontinued, but I am sure you can still find them on ebay. With a 20.1 inch screen, this is one of the largest laptop screens around. Naturally, with a screen so large, it will weigh more (about 15 pounds), but if you don’t have to move it much, it’s worth it. 4GB of RAM and TWO 160GB HD, this thing is a computing all-star.

Dell XPS M2010

• Limited availability, check for refurbs
• Under $1,000
• 18.30 pounds

Well, we can easily see why this “laptop” isn’t around much anymore. The thing is just an ultra-portable desktop in a sense. You are getting a 20.1-inch screen again and a ton of computing power, but I really don’t see the desirable spec on this one.

Eurocom D901C Phantom-X

• Available now
• $5900+
• 133 score in Worldbench 6

The specs on this thing are insane even for a laptop. 8GB of RAM, 2 solid-state 80GB HD, one 320GB traditional HD, nVidia 9800M GTX graphics card and a 3GHz Xeon Quad Core X3370 processor. The WorldBench 6 speed champion here is super fast and only weighs 9 pounds, not bad and cheap!

Alienware M17x (European Model)

• Available in Europe
• $3,000+
• TWO 500GB hard drives

What could you do with TWO, yes TWO, 500GB hard drives in your LAPTOP? Just about anything you want. Don’t have to worry about every filling those bad boys up with music, photos, games or whatever you download. The optional TV Tuner and BluRay drive is a sweet deal as well, although the battery life is only about 3 hours.

Toshiba Portege r600-ST4203

• Available now
• $3,500
• 512GB solid-state drive

Now you are getting into less moving parts on a laptop with the solid-state drives.  SSD can download faster and they are much more durable than regular HD.  12.1-inch screen is OK, but the built-in webcam is a nice touch.  All this fancy-ness for under 3 pounds.

Gyy

• Available in Europe
• $220
• First solar powered laptop

All fine and dandy for the Greenies out there, but what are you going to do with no sun, you ask?  Who cares, this thing is so slow you could make ten phone calls while you wait for your IM program to start up.  8-inch screen and only 128MB of RAM is nothing, you might as well look into a iPhone or something.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200

• Available now
• $999
• Eight hour battery life

I like the long battery life, but of course, most of the time you can plug in the laptop by then.  If you travel a lot, this might be an option for you.  12.1-inch screen 2.4GHz Core processor, 4GB RAM, fingerprint reader and weighs under 3 pounds.  I like this one a lot for the power and portability.

Umid M1

• Available now overseas
• $599
• 6.1×3.7×0.6 inches

I am not a fan at all.  I just don’t see why laptops have to be smaller.  What can’t they just be portable and pack some power and storage?  This thing is just a tad larger than a smartphone, so I wouldn’t see any advantage of having one.  Blah.

Eee PC 900HD

• Available now
• $250
• Cheapest around

Well, if you need something cheap, here it is.  Don’t forget that you get what you pay for, no matter what it is.  1GB of RAM, 160GB HD, 10GB of online storage, 8.9-inch screen and built in Wi-Fi.  Under 2.5 pounds and cheap, what more can you ask for?

Ego Bentley

• Available now
• $19,943
• Over the top price tag

Will you take a look at this thing?  What a crappy laptop, unless you live in Beverly Hills of course.  I would hate to see ANYONE with something like this.  If you buy a laptop like this you are not even into using a computer.  It’s all about looks, check the name, but it does have a 12-inch screen, 160GB HD, 2GB of RAM, webcam, Wi-Fi and more.  Weighs in at only 6 pounds, it might be lighter than most handbags woman carry around.

MacBook Air

• Available now
• $1499+
• Droolicious

The MacBook Air is quite stunning and there is a lot of hype online about this laptop.  I have never owned a Mac, but if you are serious about something hot-to-trot and portable, this one is for you.  The price is very reasonable considering the specs.  13.3 LED screen, 1.86GHz, 128SSD, 2GB of RAM, nVidia GeForce 9400M and iSight webcam, just to name a few.

That is correct.  Solar Based Solar Power is one thing that might be considered and would change everything!  I see the picture and I think to myself “what if this things is tilted 10 degrees in the wrong direction”?  Is there any possibility of this thing creating a major disaster on Earth?

The article says that “low powered beams are considered safe”, but what happens when you put your cat in the microwave?  (please do not abuse your kitty).  The technology is simple and really, it seems like a great idea, but to only support the electricity for 1,000 homes, just doesn’t seem worth it to me.

There is a receiving grid a mile wide, even that takes up too much room.  I would put the worth of the idea higher if it could power 10,000 homes.  Small cities could take advantage and maybe even help to fund projects like this.  To power only 1,000 homes, the city I live near would have to send up 50 light collectors and have a receiving area even larger to convert the light on Earth.

It is nice to see others “looking outside the box”, at least.  The ideas may seem far fetched, but at least they are in idea form.  I would like to talk to whomever thinks it’s cost effective to send up a solar collector that can only power 1,000 homes.

Feedback

What do you think?

Yes, it is true, Symantec has reported that millions of computers actually have fake security software installed.  Even though most of these computer owners paid for the security software, it may be fake and actually makes their computer even more vulnerable.  Typical names of fake security software included, Antivirus 2010, Spyware Guard 2008 among the 250 varieties that Symantec found.

While reading the article I can think of a few times that I have seen popups on my system regarding some antivirus software, but I have NEVER purchased anything like that.  According to the report on Yahoo Tech, the number of people affected by such a scam is in the “tens of millions”.  That is a lot!

I started to think about how these cyber-criminals can get the software delivered so fast and then I read about “affiliates”.  These are middlemen that will actually try and convince you to download said programs and they will earn money for each download they refer.  Of course, this also might take them right out of the equation if big brother is watching and arrests are made.

TrafficConverter.biz, which has been shut down, had boasted that its top affiliates earned as much as $332,000 a month for selling scam security software, according to Weafer.

I have been involved in affiliate marketing in the past, but never thought about how much worse a scam can be if you have affiliates pushing the products as well. I hope that if you have downloaded one of these programs, you know how to get rid of it.

Do you struggle with your computer? Are you always looking up websites that may, or may not, help you with your computer?

I thought I would put a couple of easy to do computer tips out there for everyone to read. Maybe these will take a little of the stress off you while using your computer.

Tip #1:
Did you know that you can search your entire computer from the “Start” button? Right click on the Start button and select “Explore”. A split window opens and there is a “file tree” along the left side of your window. From there you can look into any folder or drive you have in your computer.

Tip #2:
Shift+Tab will move your cursor “backwards” one field in a form or selected item on a web site. Go ahead and try it. And of course just Tab will move the cursor forward one field.

Tip #3:
Opening links in a new tab will keep your browser from getting all messed up or putting tons of open browsers on the bar on the bottom of your screen. Just right click any link and select “open in new tab” (IE 7, only) and whaalaa, you are now checking out two sites in one browser window.

Do you have a newer computer? Maybe less than 3-4 years old? The reason I ask is because you might not be aware that you have a graphics card that is capable of setting up dual monitors on your system. You might not think that another monitor will do any good for you, but let me tell you from experience, that second piece of real estate is worth it. Of course, if you are not online all the time, like I am, then it might not even be useful to you.

I am online a lot of my free time and I cannot believe that I went so long without another monitor. Do you know what you need to have in order to set up dual monitors, besides two monitors? The first thing you need is 2 outputs on your video card. Either VGA or DVI outputs on your video card will work, but you do NEED to have two of them. To check this, it’s as easy as looking at the back of your computer and see if you have two outputs. There is NO reason to open your case at this point.

Do you have TWO outputs? If not, you need to buy a graphics card that is capable. You can check out Amazon for starters. If you do have two outputs, then read on. The second step is really just to make sure you have the right cables to complete the cast. You may need to get an adapter to go from DVI to VGA for one, or both, of your monitors. If you do not have the cables you can check out Amazon or Best Buy for them. You should be able to get them for around $20.

Ok, now you have the extra cable, monitor and a video card that can handle the two monitors. Once you have them both connected and powered up, you will have to change some display settings under your control panel. Here is the way you check the settings you need to change:

1. Click “Start”
2. Access your control panel
3. Click the Display icon
4. Go to the Settings tab
5. Right in the center you can see “display” and there are TWO options (one for each output)
6. Right under that you can simple check the box that says “extend my windows desktop onto this monitor”

Typically, if everything is connected, this is really all that you have to do. Under the same tab you can see your two monitors and select which one you want as your primary. And there you have it, another place to open more browsers, another program or whatever you feel like. I use my second monitor to have my email client, TweetDeck, Music, Photoshop all open while I can read, write and browse on my primary monitor.

It’s a great time saver and I really can feel the difference in my productivity. Give it a try and if you cannot afford a new monitor, ask around for a used one, you can usually get them for under $50, like I did.

Do you have a multi-monitor setup?