eReaders shortage benefits Amazon

Barnes & Noble says the supplies of the Nook available for delivery before Christmas have been depleted and as of last Friday, anyone who orders will get a certificate to put under the tree that says the Nook will be delivered in January, says Daily Tech.

Reuters reports that Sony has also announced it has run out of supplies of its new reader. The big winner here will be Amazon and its popular Kindle line of e-readers.

Amazon had supply issues last year, but this year the e-commerce giant reportedly has plenty of stock of its readers. The unavailability of the Nook and Sony readers will have many consumers buying the Kindle since it will be available.

The green revolution has left no area untouched, and now a new breed of gadget is using the humble power cable to save energy and money, states the London Evening Standard.

Across the capital, electricity cables in homes have begun sprouting odd plastic bulges, and flashing lights are appearing in power cupboards. The tiny power meter gadget clips over the main power cable going into a home, and monitors how much electricity is being used.

It then transmits this information to an Internet server or to a small display in the kitchen or living room. Turn a light on, and it is reflected in the data, showing a spike.

Younger drivers are being driven to distraction by the latest gizmos, reports Carrental.co.uk. There are many insurance and police reports out there where a simple thing like turning the air-conditioning off has led to an accident.

The radio and mobile phone have also been major forces diverting attention from the road, but in recent years new toys have come on the market. Radios can now be mini DVD players, mobile phones give access to the Internet and this is just the start of things to come.

Latest research by the RAC has shown that 17 to 24 year-olds were by far the worst offenders when it came to being distracted by gadgets.