This is the final day you can sign up for the Byte-Sized Pre-Thanksgiving Giveaway for the Atomic9 GrungeBuds, so send in those final emails to bytesized@captivate.com!

Now, on to the headlines of the day!

--Captivate.com has branched into the realm of creating our own featured content, written by yours truly. Head over to our Original Features homepage for more info and to read the latest guide to ensure Holiday Happiness!

--Looking for where to be in the pre-dawn hours after Thanksgiving? Here is a list of some of the best Black Friday deals!

--Barnes and Nobles' nook is aligning with e-publication standards.

--Who are you morons out there who still text while you're driving? Please cut it out -- haven't you heard that it's not safe *or* cool?

-- If you have a grievance with a retailer or company, why not write them an open letter like this CNet blogger did for Sony Ericsson?

--Here is a superb interview with Nintendo exec Cammie Dunaway on the state of the Wii and the industry overall.

See you all on Friday, where we announce the winners of the Atomic9 GrungeBuds giveaway! Thank you to Atomic9, and thank you to all those who've entered!

Labels: Atomic9, Grunge Buds Giveaway, Pre-Thanksgiving Giveaway

Now that I've been able to share with you all the great news about the GrundeBuds giveaway, it's time to get back to normal here at Byte-Sized --

Let's take a look at the week's headline in the realm of technology, science and just plain cool stuff ...

-- It's that time of year again ... when people who shouldn't be shopping for gadgets take to the retail stores to utterly confuse themselves as they shop for their tech-loving friends. Here is a guide to navigating retail stores help them out. Email it around and share well.

-- Much to my own delight, it looks like ebooks/ereaders have finally gone mainstream! Once just a niche technology for the technophiles like me, Barnes and Nobles' new nook has broken that fourth wall! And, it looks like publishers are embracing the ereaders ... on the surface. Underneath, they-re probably pissed, but what can you do?

-- Eek. Video game sales dropped 19% in October. Not that they'll stay low for much longer, what with Dragonage Origins and Modern Warfare 2 blasting into the market and, as my brother says, 'changing the face of gaming forever.' Especially this close to the holidays. Don't worry, I expect an upswing.

-- On the video game vein, XBox is getting a Facebook upgrade! Next Tuesday, Nov. 17, XBox users will download a new firmware upgrade to their dashboards that will bring with it Facebook, Last.fm and Twitter upgrades. Be sure to log in and get this set up! Also, for more video game news, check out Captivate's Gamer's Edge blog.

--And, finally, here is the strangest story of the day. Coming soon to a smartphone near you: An app that analyzes the quality of your cough to determine what virus you may or may not be harboring. That's lab diagnostics at your fingertips -- for real. Just don't share your phone after you get your germs inside of it, thanks.

See you all next week, when we'll announce the winner of the Pre-Thanksgiving Giveaway of the Atomic9 Grungebuds! Thank you so much for all of the entries thus far, and if you want to enter yourself, shoot me an email at bytesized@captivate.com! See you Monday!

Labels: Grunge Buds Giveaway, Pre-Thanksgiving Giveaway

Here at Byte-Sized, we give thanks for all you wonderful viewers every day. Corny, I know, but it's true! So, as a token of our grattitude -- and courtesy of the *amazing* folks at Atomic9 --we're announcing the Byte-Sized Pre-Thanksgiving Giveaway!

What are we giving away this time? Only the COOLEST tech accessories I've seen in a long time: Atomic9 GrungeBuds! I'll post a full review of them in a few days, but trust me that these little buds are amazing. They are superbly styled and boast a big celebrity clientele! Each set retails for $39.99 and are studded with Swarovski crystals -- the perfect mid-ranged holiday gift!

Here's how it works: Anytime from right NOW until next Wednesday, Nov. 18 at midnight, send us your name and contact infor to bytesized@captivate.com and we'll enter your name into the pool of contenders. On Friday, Nov. 20, we'll pick four lucky winners of one sah-weet pair of GrungeBuds Noise Isolation Earbuds each from Atomic9.

Should you want to include a brief note about which tech gadget you give thanks for this holiday season (Kindle, can you hear me??), that won't help your chances but it will amuse me! I'll post the winners and their annecdotes right here on Byte-Sized!

On the other hand, if you want to by-pass the whole giveaway and buy a set of GrungeBuds for everyone on your list -- and who could blame you, really? -- visit http://www.grungebuds.com/ for ordering information!

Thanks again to our friends at Atomic9 for helping us thank you for being such great readers!

Labels: Atomic9, Pre-Thanksgiving Giveaway