Mommy Niri

How To Unfreeze Nook!

Mommy Niri — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:37:43 +0000

While reviewing the Nook (the eReader from Barnes and Noble) we asked our readers what their thoughts were. There were concerns about the Nook freezing and though we love the Nook we also love our readers. We were baffled with what we could do to help. We found that there were already troubleshooting steps out there and finally came up with the idea to add pictures. While both Mommy Niri and I are both pretty technical people (at least coming from Software Engineering backgrounds you would hope so) we felt that adding pictures would hopefully make those instructions easier to digest.

We take no responsibility for the instructions, they are not ours, we merely added our pictures. Another wonderful service provided to you by MommyNiri.com

Happy reading!

Oh and you can win a Nook too!

We are listing the steps below but you certainly will want to check out the video!

1. Hold the power switch on nook for 20-30 seconds until it shuts off completely. This should resolve the freezing issue when you turn the power back on.

2. If nook still freezes, you may need to remove the battery. Face nook towards you and turn it upside down. At the very top of nook, you will see the USB port with an indention next to it. Place your middle finger on the indention and use the palm of your hand to pry the back cover off.

3. Now you should see the battery exposed. Remove the battery using a small screwdriver, similar to one associated with repairing eyeglasses, to remove the screw.

4. Connect nook to the AC wall adapter without the battery installed.

5. At this time, you should see “Device is starting” on the screen of your nook.

6. Replace the battery and screw while nook is connected to the AC adapter.

7. Verify that the yellow light next to the USB port is on. This indicates that it is charging.

8. Allow nook to charge using to the wall adapter for a minimum of 1 hour to ensure proper charge.

If these steps do not help, please call the Barnes & Noble help desk at 1-800-THE-BOOK (1-800-843-2665) and request Digital Support.

The Nook: It Came, I Downloaded, I Read! (Win A Nook Too)!

Mommy Niri — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:28:40 +0000

I read books. Children books count, don’t they? The thing is I was addicted to reading. Hiding books everywhere, thirsty for reading always. I am the type of person who will read labels to calm down – but I guess that is more than you need to know. These days I find snippets of moments to read but then realize that I don’t have my book with me. Then I am loathe to buy a book and make a deep pile that I may not get to. Yes, I watch in jealousy, as all those book readers devour the latest best sellers while I drown my kids in hot chocolate at book stores.

Sometime last year when Barnes and Noble approached us to check out their eReader we were happy to check it out. Barnes and Noble as a brand ranks as our favorite (right up there with with Ikea, Starbucks and Whole Foods) so were thrilled to be a part of sharing a way for everyone to read eBooks, not just people owning eReaders. Then a few months later we also were part of the team that got to hear about the release of the Nook. In fact I remember shopping in Barnes And Noble and seeing them sold out well before Christmas.

Up until now I have been ogling the Nook so when I was offered a chance to review it, I though “heck yeah!”. Of course when I learned that I would be able to give one away to my readers I could barely contain myself. One of the reasons I love contests is making someone happy – simple, and maybe corny, but true.

Since I have had the nook for a short time I will share with you my impression. These are just a few of the many amazing Nook features.

It is sexy! Seriously it is. I know what you are thinking, Mommy Niri buys a car by a color (I kind of) and I just got my DSLR camera in blood red but come on – looks matter! You know it does so stop pretending. I can’t imagine anyone not being impressed by the sleek design.
It is very lightweight. Popped into my handbag – with any of their stylish designer covers from the collection I can slip it out quite nonchalantly, knowing everyone’s eyes will be on my cool eReader, and make any “waiting” time whizz by – and you know as a mom how much of “waiting” we do.
It is like a library. Well except for the bland surroundings and out of date books. You have a ton of books at your disposal. Now you never have to worry about bringing the wrong book. Or even if you feel like you are in the mood for something different to read today. You may run out time but with the large storage capacity you may never run out space.
Share, share, share! Well you say this to your kid countless times but now you can too. You can “lend” an eBook to your friend for up to 2 weeks (that is just enough time to cater for the slowest reader out there).
Did someone say free? I can never understand what it is about that word that makes my heart go racing. Well in case you are on a tight budget (who isn’t) and the normally lower price of eBooks compared to regular books is not enough, then there are several free eBooks to choose from.
But I still want to sit in those swanky seats at a BN store and sip chai! Well take your eReader along because there is something special that happens to the Nook inside a Barnes and Noble store (think of it like a coming home party). Once inside the Nook detects the special Wi-Fi and selecting the More In Store image will list all the content available for download to nook. This is something the Kindle can’t give you – unless they build an Amazon store (check out the comparison).
Where’s that bookmark again? Now you don’t have to remember where you stopped reading, and for a mama that is forgetful and anything this is a biggie. Even if you move to another book, it “remembers” where you were for each book.
Green is my color! Seriously the biggest reason to use an eReader is the fact that it reduces our carbon footprint. Enough said!
My look, my way! There are so many customizable features but my favorite has to be the screensaver. In fact I put the new Alice In Wonderland screensaver in less than 5 minutes.

There are loads more reasons to try a Nook today (and I know you can read them so I won’t insult your intelligence by repeating them here) and if you are thinking of waiting for the iPad (why on earth any woman would want to own something with the word “pad” on it is beyond me – blech) which costs almost double the price (starts at $499) of the Nook (($269) – I say, unless it comes with a genie to fold laundry and make my tea, why on earth would I pay so much for an eReader?

I know you what you are thinking, “But Mommy Niri what about those Nook freezing issues!” Well, truth of the matter is I come from a Software Engineering background and I can tell you, hand-on-heart, there is NO product that is perfect. So while there are steps clearly defined to troubleshoot this should it ever happen to you, The Papa Post (an ex Software Engineer in another life himself) took the responsibility of taking those steps and adding images to further assist (check out How To Unfreeze The Nook). See, we love our readers and are committed to making MommyNiri.com a resource you can truly use.

I love the Barnes And Noble eReader! The Nook has deserved the Award by Tech Crunch for “One of The best gadgets for 2009!” Get one and you will understand just why!

March already is an amazing month (what with Mommy Niri celebrating her blogging anniversary) but I get to give one of my wonderful readers the Barnes and Noble eReader the Nook!

Want to win a Nook?

To win post a comment on this blog post,after visiting the eBooks store at BN.com answering “Which eBook you are dying to read and why?” Let’s try and be original and not just copy the previous entry, ok? Winners will be chosen by random.org and please reply ASAP!

Contest closes 22nd March, 2010. To earn extra entries, after you have left a comment, do one of the following, but make sure you leave a separate comment entry for each extra thing you do. This gives you additional ways to win the contest.

Join Mommy Niri Facebook Fan Page. Already a fan (thank you)? Just list your name below and state you are.
On Facebook? Follow Mommy Niri’s blog on facebook and leave a comment here (even if you already are)
Subscribe to Mommy Niri (and verify the subscription to be valid) and leave a separate comment that you did. Already a subscriber (thank you) then leave a comment stating you are
Follow @ThisIsRamesh (and leave a comment here)
Follow @MommyNiri on twitter and retweet (use the green retweet button, on top of the post, for easy access)
Post this contest to your facebook status (use the easy Facebook button on top of the post for easy access)
Have a Blog? Follow Mommy Niri and leave a comment that you are a follower.
Have a Blog? Grab my button from the side bar and leave your URL in the comment.
Have a Blog? Blog about the contest and leave the url of your post.

Don’t forget to visit out other fabulous giveaways on MommyNiri.com

*Disclosure: I received the Nook to review!

Feeding Penny Pig – A Book On Teaching Kids About Money!

Mommy Niri — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:39:45 +0000

Recently I put out a post about trying to get the value of money across to my preschooler (read Flowers and Financials) but coming from a poor background the concept of saving is one close to my heart so I place emphasis on it with my girls. I normally skip book reviews as they take too long (in fact the only reading I do is reading to the kids) but when I was pitched to review “Feeding Penny Pig” by Jeannine Fox, I jumped at the chance. This way I could read and review at the same time. Plus the storyline was perfect. This past Christmas we had decided not to give the kids gifts, for 2 reasons – we were coming out of a job layoff a few months before and since I review toys I felt they really had enough.

Then we were invited to a party where we had to wrap a gift for the kids for the big Santa gifting moment. We decided on token gifts – something simple (and cheap) and we were lucky as we spied a Piggy bank. Speaking of piggy banks one of my favorite companies, Sprig Toys, came up with an idea for Spriggy (dino-like) banks – which are too cute and I can’t wait to see them up close. Since my daughter carries coins all over we thought it would be ideal. So you can see why I thought this book would have been perfect. Written by a Certified Financial Planner (so she knows her numbers), Feeding Penny Pig is about a grandma (Mimi) who buys her granddaughter Laney a piggy bank – called Penny Pig for her birthday. Laney is taught to feed the pig with money she earns from doing chores etc.

Although very simplistic, the book does not go into too much detail, I liked it for that very same reason. The attention span to read a long book or a book sounding too preachy,tis one not down my my PreK kid’s alley. All we need to do is introduce the concept of saving early in our kid’s lives, and hopefully that seed will grow into being responsible financially )one can hope) as they grow themselves. In fact my daughter loved the book and still carries her piggy around, except her’s is called “Pinkie”!

Disclosure: I was provided the book for review purposes.