This came in the electron stream today: Book retailer Barnes & Noble said today that it has begun selling NuvoMedia's hand-held electronic book in 31 of its stores. The 22-ounce eBook sells for $329 and holds 4,000 pages of text and graphics, the equivalent of 10 or so paperback novels. The device measures six inches by seven inches. The rollout in it's brick & mortar stores follows a successful sales test on the barnesandnoble.com website. Several other e-books are available, including reading devices from Everybook Inc., Glassbook, and Softbook Press Inc. All of these products let readers download literature from the web and read it in a portable device. I've been following the development of these devices and I think NuvoMedia's Rocket eBook is the coolest of the bunch. The Rocket eBook gives readers access to electronic magazines and newspapers, and allows them to jot down notes, underline passages, and look up word definitions. Barnes & Noble said there are more than 1,400 fiction and nonfiction titles available for the eBook, including many of the most recent bestsellers. Titles may be downloaded from the barnesandnoble.com site, and are priced from a buck to $25. More than a thousand free titles are available from NuvoMedia's online bookstore. I know it is a bit off the topic but close enough to make you wonder. Byrnes ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]