In 2009, GT readers voted the Amazon Kindle Reader the best travel gadget of the year. Coincidentally, I received my very own Kindle for Christmas. The device also happened to be one of the best sellers for the 2009 holiday season. I’d say Amazon is pretty happy with its product, which has spawned numerous other similar products. Barnes & Nobles’ Nook was released right before the holidays, and Sony has The Reader, the most expensive of the bunch.

I am completely happy with my decision to go electronic. I’m a huge reader, so I was a little skeptical at first, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the Kindle. My book habit was getting expensive; in an attempt to save money, I tried going to the local library, but then my late fees were costing me an arm and a leg. It’s hard to put a time restraint on a book. Plus, books were bulky on my travels, and it always seemed like I was just about to finish a book just as I was leaving for a trip, so I ended up lugging two books around. And I hated the lull in between books. I would finish reading one and not have another to start until I had the time to go buy one.

The Kindle was the solution to all my problems. All the books, magazines and newspapers are cheaper on Amazon then buying them in the store. So even though I’m still shelling out money, I’m saving too. I just bought a book that is a bestseller for $4.98. The device is super lightweight and can store up to 1,500 books. I can lug hundreds of books around at once without any back pain. My Kindle works wirelessly around the world, and books download in seconds. I can finish a book and be started on a new one in minutes. And the best part is, I can read a free sample of any book before I buy it. If you are a voracious reader, you should definitely consider purchasing a Kindle.

And I didn’t have to give up on printed books. My grad school professor made sure I had to purchase plenty of them!

Travel tip — Kindles are treated like laptops, so be sure you take them out and put them in a separate bin before going through security.

– Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

We’ve been in our new house now for almost nine months; and with the holidays over and the days gradually getting longer, we’re ready to tackle more projects to personalize the place to our liking. Outside work consumed most of the summer, and then there was getting everything unpacked and sorted out. Having time to live in the space for a while, we now want to get some color on the walls and add a few features here and there.

Top of the list is to upgrade our entertainment system and install some speakers, both inside and out on our patio/deck area. Except for a newer turntable and CD player/changer, everything we have is about 30 years old, from Harry’s single days. It’s all quality equipment, but he’s been itching to replace the big old cabinet speakers (I won’t miss them, either) with surround sound and adopt 21st-century technology. Let me state right up front that I don’t have a clue about any of this. I can turn it on and make it play what I want; but aside from knowing there are such things as subwoofers, amps and tweeters, all the details are lost on me. But checking out all the options and dreaming dreams of shiny new equipment has put Harry in hog heaven. 

Call me sexist, but I think the whole fascination with all that media technology is primarily a guy thing. I’m not saying women don’t appreciate great sound or video in their entertainment, but most don’t seem to get really wrapped up in the minutia like a lot of the men I know. I am more than happy to turn over to my husband the decisions on what we should have and how and where it should be installed. I get a vote on what the exterior of the console will look like in which the various components will sit, and that is about it. Oh, and I of course will have an opinion on the bids we receive for those components and the labor to install them.

Which brings me to that “keeping up with the Gateses” bit. Dave, who works for a highly respected media company here, came by the house this week and spent more than an hour-and-a-half discussing options and equipment with Harry. He mentioned that he used to work for the company in Seattle which installed the media systems in Bill Gates‘ and Paul Allen’s houses. Oh, my. When we lived up north, we traveled at least once a week across the 520 bridge that spans Lake Washington and allows decent views of the Gateses’ enormous compound. Construction took two or three years, and there were nearly constant news stories on the amazing technology being incorporated into the place. Among them: Each person in the home wears a pin which contains the wearer’s preferences as to lighting, temperature and music. As one moves from room to room (or building to building, in the case of the Gates compound), this little transmitter “talks to” receivers in the space, and the elements in the room adjust accordingly (with precedence assigned to whomever one chooses; I presume Bill is No. 1 in his house!).

Now, we’re not looking to install anything remotely like that in our humble little abode, but you might imagine that Dave doesn’t mess around with cheap equipment, either. Let’s just say that when I spotted the price for the “remote control processor” with the “emitter connecting block and five emitters,” I let out an audible gasp. Yep, I think I’m going to have an opinion about that little item.

I imagine there are those who would love to be able to boast that the guy who installed Bill Gates’ media system also installed theirs — and that probably does draw in clients for Dave and his crew. I’m not one to begrudge my sweet, hard-working man an excellent sound system, either, and we certainly do want someone who knows how to do quality work with fine components. I think we’ll just look at dropping back a step or two from the atmospherically high-end parts, though. After all, we’re not quite on a par with Bill and Melinda, just yet.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I believe working from home is the way of the day, age and future. With the world so well connected through wireless, laptops, phones, iPhones, BlackBerrys, BlackBerry Messenger, Instant Messaging, GChat, video chat, Skype and Internet cafes, connecting with a colleague or client has never been more convenient.

Additionally, with the closing of larger corporations, we are now entering an era of the niche service. People are slowly starting to realize how to customize their services to a specific niche. It is less costly, the relationships are stronger and there is less red tape and digging through large company directories to try to find the right human to speak with.

Of course, there are some downsides to not working in an office. Passing Joe by the coffee machines might remind you to follow up with that client you both met with last week. Seeing Amy at reception might remind you to put up an auto-reply on your email while you are in meetings all afternoon.

Here are some useful home office tips I have found very helpful in keeping myself organized in Brooklyn:

• Have a landline in addition to your cell phone. BlackBerrys and iPhones make life pretty easy, but a call through a landline will never drop on you or create static. I am used to using a BlackBerry for work and personal, but I also like having a landline, with a light that blinks for voicemails and a speakerphone. A landline can even change your presence over the phone.
• Have a large calendar over your desk. In addition to keeping track of things on your computer’s calendar and your phone’s calendar and, maybe even, a small planner you carry with you, have something large and visible over your desk as well. It’s an extra thing to write on, but writing something down three times will also keep you from forgetting.
• Keep a dry erase board for weekly and monthly goals. Dry erase boards save paper and they are a great way to keep your goals organized and color-coordinated.
• Purchase cabinets and shelves with closing doors. In a home office, it’s easy to get trapped between being home and being in the office. Having closing cabinets will help you close down on nights and weekends.
• Pick a spot in your home with good natural light. Plants and sunlight will also keep your mood chipper and your oxygen flow higher.

These tips can also apply to your workspace in your away-from-home office as well. I wonder how many global travelers work from home offices?

– Courtney Centeno, account executive

It seems to be something one can count on at this time of year: a news story of individuals getting lost and/or stuck in a remote area after relying on their GPS system to navigate their way in unfamiliar territory. I’m guessing part of that may be due to a whole bunch of folks getting a Christmas gift of one of those nifty gadgets, and before they fully understand its shortcomings as well as its benefits, they head out to visit the relatives and then go astray.

Within just a few days of each other around December 25, two local incidents became national news stories, and both centered around GPS navigation systems. In the first, a couple traveling from Portland to Reno became stuck in snow on a remote Forest Service road in the mountains here in Southern Oregon. Their system had directed them onto the unmaintained road from a state highway, and by the time they got stuck, weather had closed in and made calling for help impossible. They were stuck for at least two days before the weather lifted and the same instrument that led them astray was able to send a weak signal containing its coordinates to 911. Luckily, the pair had proper clothing and extra food and water with them and were no worse for the experience.

The second story involved a young couple who had, indeed, just received a GPS system for Christmas. They left the Willamette Valley and headed over the Cascade Range on Christmas Eve to visit family in Eastern Oregon. Jeramie Griffin decided to follow the “shortest route” option the device offered him, which would supposedly cut 40 miles off the route he usually took. After spending a cold and frightening night stuck on a remote, snow-covered road with his girlfriend and their baby daughter, running low on formula and with no survival gear, they filmed a farewell video, thinking they would die before they were found. Luckily, a family member used a similar GPS device that duplicated the route Jeramie used, which led rescuers right to the stranded family less than a day after they were stuck.

Reading of such incidents, one has to wonder: What happened to common sense? Sheriff Tim Evinger, involved in the search for the first couple, said it quite plainly: “If there’s any lesson, it’s to understand what the GPS is telling you and not to follow it blindly.” It reminds me of an episode of The Office, where Michael returns to the office soaking wet after unquestioningly obeying the directions of his GPS system and driving right into a lake. Why take an unknown route in the dead of winter in the mountains, especially when it appears to be unmaintained or off the beaten track?

Law enforcement and travel experts offer sound and logical advice: use a paper map in addition to GPS, keep your gas tank full, check the weather forecast and your cell phone charge, keep a survival kit in the car in winter, configure your system for “highways only” or a similar setting. I note on my good old (free) AAA maps that they include notations for roads that are closed in winter, and one can readily see the entire area and detect which routes are “scenic” (meaning narrow and winding) and which are more heavily traveled. Unfortunately, GPS technology doesn’t contain information about seasonal roads or weather conditions. 

Happily, the two stories I mentioned here ended on a positive note, and the technology that got those folks lost also helped them be found. It doesn’t change the fact that a little common sense (and, maybe, a plain old paper map) would likely have kept both parties and their loved ones from enduring a very scary, uncomfortable experience.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

With all the hype over James Cameron’s new sci-fi flick, Avatar, there is a renewed buzz over 3D and its plans to take over television in 2010. 3D never really tickled my fancy. The first movie I saw in 3D was Spy Kids and only because I took the kids I was babysitting to see the movie. The glasses were made of cardboard, and I recall the quality being so poor that I fell asleep in the theater.

3D has changed a lot since then. With all the money, time and manpower that went into producing Avatar, the experience is simply phenomenal. It feels as though you are poking your head into a shadow box of another world, where the textures and layers really pop. However, it is subtle enough to look and feel normal. Even the glasses have changed, from the red and blue cardboard to larger, more comfortable, tinted plastic shades.

The next step this year is 3D TV. With the wonders that HD has done to the world of television through specials such as Planet Earth and channels like ESPN, 3D may soon become the new way to watch the World Cup or Top Chef. In a recent New York Times article, ESPN led the 3D storm, claiming it would show at least 85 live events on a 3D channel beginning in June.

I support 3D television. Although I do think Superbowl parties and sports bars full of people in 3D glasses will take a little getting used to.

– Courtney Centeno, account executive