Thanks everyone. The more I learn the more uncertain I am. The Asus' sound good - and I know Raven loves hers - but when I look at the negative reviews (on varous sites), there seems to be significant quality control issues. Lots of lemons - and defects - and terrible cusotmer service. There's enough of that type of review that I hesitate to buy an Asus tablet. I saw a google nexus 10. I prefer it to have a microsd card slot - not have fixed storage like an ipad. It also just did not feel or look good to me. Genes - you may be right about not finding that kind of battery life for video play. I thought that ipads were (at least older generations) got 9-10 hours of video play. On the one hand, i would expect video to be one of the biggest battery drains. But perhaps surfing the web - downloading content, etc also consumes battery life. Urlee - I interpreted that quote about really killing the tablet - and what battery life it gets - to suggest that even using it to the max - he gets 6 hours - and thinks "regular?" use could get 10 hours. Of course, we don't know what "regular is". That kind of leaves the Samsung tablets - either galaxy tab 10.1 - or Note. The actual pen aspect of the note doesn't do anything for me (maybe I'd wind up loving it - but it's not on my list of desireable features). I just saw a refurbished note at Best Buy for about $330 (something like that - I had a small credit - and there was tax). 500-600. They're often closer to $So I decided to order it and give it a try. It's supposed to be fast - 2GB ram - with ICS. I have not seen one in person. This has just 16GB on board storage - but with a micro sd slot, that doesn't matter since I can add 64GB more. For some reason, this Note doesn't excite me in theory the way the Asus tablets did. But the relatively large number of complaints (and consistent complaints) on Asus have made me pause. Mike - I am aware that many international flights have power ports. But we have not been that lucky in our last international flights. These flights have been booked through an educational tour group - and therefore the airline has been very reluctant to give us any information. I know we're in a Boeing 777. But from Seat Guru it looks like there are 5 different versions. And the one that looks closest to the seating chart on Delta's website - does not have power ports in economy. One seating chart looked like it might. Another suggested just ipod/iphone charging in economy - no tablets or laptops. But none of the charts on seat guru quite match what's on Delta. If there were power ports, that would make this easy. But my experience is, don't count on power ports. First - they may not be in economy. And if they are, they may not be at every seat. And even if they're there, doesn't mean they're working. (Heck - 2 of the last 4 domestic flights I took - the readling light for my seat was not working - and the flights were full - no reading for me (this was before i had the Nook). If I could really count on power ports that work - I'd just bring my nook tablet for now. But it's been acting up in terms of battery drain lately - and I don't want to risk this as my only entertainment. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks. Lynn.

I did find out that the digital images that my camera takes are low, low quality - not that I was surprised, LOL! Anyway, it was explained to me that a good quality digital camera will take low quality video and a good quality video that has still-shot capabilities will take low quality stills. You can't have both features in high quality. I am much more into still photography and not really interested in a camcorder with lots of features. I don't even do any editing :( I think I can narrow down my choice to a camera with no still capabilities. I don't need that. The main reason I wanted to get one tonite is that in-laws were babysitting and I would be able to shop alone. No big deal and I should have posted earlier. I'll do some online price and quality comparisons like you suggested. Thanks!

Just standard size screw. Here’s a picture. I’m concerned about matching the texture (and the paint color).

I have a Nest thermostat and Nest doorbell. TLDR: I like them. They work and were easy to install and integrate. If you can, connect them to your 5ghz wifi (more stable and stronger connection). Thermostat: I was initially worried about if I would actually get use out of the thermostat because I am someone who really dislikes the idea of a thermostat automatically changing its temperature based on activity or other "smart" functions -- I like my temperature to be steady and comfortable. So, I do not use the Nest's automatic schedule and just made a custom daily schedule like any normal thermostat can do. So obviously I am not utilizing the main feature most people get a Nest thermostat for. However, I have found it useful for being able to see a daily history of use (ie: how much the system uses heat or ac), plus I now have humidity control (steam humidifier), can change the temp when I'm away from the house if needed, and I love that from a distance I can look over at the thermostat and it actually lights up and I can see what temp it is at. There are a ton of other useful features that I know are saving on heating and cooling costs and I did notice a difference in comfort in my home. Doorbell: I really like being able to see when deliveries happen, I can watch wildlife from time-to-time, and avoid those door-to-door salespeople. I also get an announcement of who is at my door when they ring the doorbell, ie: "Mom is at the front door". It was very helpful to have when a service company arrived to my house early (before I got home) and I could talk to them to tell them I was 5 min away.