“I’m still clinging to my BlackBerry,” he told CNBC. “They’re going to pry it out of my hands.” He does not want to succumb to the isolation of the presidential bubble. I applaud that. And so I’m on his side in the Battle of the BlackBerry.

Presidents can stay in touch with their pre-presidential friends, but they have to work at it. In the pre-BlackBerry age, presidents gave their friends their special, secret ZIP code, listed their names with the White House operator, with instructions to put the calls through, even gave out the cell phone numbers of close aides.

The president-elect said his staff has cited both security and legal concerns, and I’m sure they’re real. But one of the many strengths Barack Obama brings to the White House is that up till now he’s led a pretty normal life.

As president he’ll need to hear from the folks who made it normal: the point guard on his state championship basketball team or a gifted student from his days as a law professor, or better yet one of the scores of folks he helped through tough times when he was a community organizer.

As a senior White House official, it was part of my job to resist the temptation to become a Praetorian Guard, but rather to keep the president in touch with what he called “walkin’ around people.”

President-elect Obama is wise to want to keep in touch with them as well, even as he’s riding around in that presidential limo.

While you may have already scratched the laptop computer’s cover or possibly stuffed it into your briefcase or backpack you still might want to review these “dos and don’ts” for the care of your laptop.

Let’s first review what you should NOT do with your laptop computer:

1. Never ever have any liquid around the laptop, especially soda or any other sugary mix;

2. Don’t squeeze the computer between books or other objects inside of your briefcase
or backpack;

3. Don’t stack heavy items on the laptop;

4. Never hold your laptop by the screen;

5. If you are in an especially hot (over 95 degrees) or especially cold (below 45 degrees) don’t leave the computer in your car;

6. Be careful not to place objects such as pencils or highlighters inside of the machine when you close it;

7. Keep your laptop more than six inches away from electrical appliances such as televisions. These type of appliances have strong magnetic fields which might cause the computer to malfunction.

Now that we have reviewed the Don’ts lets talk about what you should DO to keep your laptop computer in good working order.

1. Clean it with a clean, soft cotton cloth. Use an electronic cleaning solution that you can pick up at almost any retail store;

2. Don’t spray any of the solution directly on the monitor;

3. Invest in a good carrying case that will properly protect your laptop;

4. Don’t skip the registration process when you set up your computer. Always register it;

5. Keep office supplies such as staples and paper clips away from the laptop. These item can easily become lodged in the keyboard or scratch the screen;

6. When holding the computer on your lap, make sure that you don’t put it on a pillow or other surface which will block the vents on the bottom of the computer. This will prevent ventilation and cause the laptop to overheat.

The Nano has many preloaded games and the third generation of iPods has also allowed for the installation of games from the iTunes Shoppe’. Most of these games are supplied by Apple itself, and the users can purchase them. Since the iPod uses flash memory, it becomes insulated from the chances of memory failure due to the movement of hard-disk parts, but this also renders the memory capacity of the iPod Nano practically unchangeable. The battery is also difficult to replace as compared to the iPod classic, since the battery in the Nano is soldered to the main circuit board. The Nano has been rolled out in four generations:

Gen 1:

Released in 2 and 4 GB versions with the 1 GB version coming later on, the New Nano was a replacement of the iPod Mini, and featured a color screen for picture viewing.

Gen 2:

Memory capacity was increased up to 8 GB. Anodized aluminum frames were introduced in 6 vibrant colors.

Gen 3:

The third generation of iPod Nano introduced the 2 inch QVGA display, having the capabilities of video output as well- it was a huge hit.

Gen 4:

This generation of iPods is currently being used in the market. With better video output and larger than life colors coupled with an extended 16GB memory, the Nano is here to stay.

Also, remember that your computer is not built to self medicate, especially when it comes to the integrity of the memory. Defragmenting your hard disk every 2 - 3 weeks is a really good idea as it ensures that Windows does not have to defragment and recompile data everytime it loads or needs to execute a program. Understand that the computer is just like a car, you need to send it for maintenance. Check your heat levels, especially when you are running a high end system with large power needs, big graphics cards and multi core cpu’s. Performance can be seriously affected by heat problems and you will need to install fans or if you have the money; a liquid cooling system for your computer.

Purchase some memory, when it comes to computers, there is never enough and make sure you use your memory slots to the maximum. Also, try and scan your computer with anti virus and anti adware software. This ensures that harmful malware and viruses do not invade and slowdown the system in any way. Also, do not underestimate the importance of the Windows registry - it is the single most important thing in your Windows system. Without it, your system cannot load and you will have a white elephant in your workspace. Get a registry cleaner from the internet, and there are a great number of reliable and exceedingly good ones available online. Download and do a scan, there are guaranteed problems within anyone’s registry.

This month, Hyundai is launching a system that warns motorists when they drift out of the lane they’re traveling in. Another manufacturer has developed pedestrian-detection software that works with heat-seeking cameras to alert drivers when someone is in their path.

In March, Ford will release a fully functional, dashboard computer — complete with keyboard — geared to contractors and other business folks who want to access the Web, review documents and log inventory while on the go. In the spring, AT&T will launch an in-car entertainment service with 22 satellite TV channels.

Industry executives hope the new technological bells and whistles will put some sizzle back into stagnant vehicle sales.

“Consumers want a vehicle that’s always on and always connected,” said Kieran O’Sullivan, vice president at Continental Automotive Systems, which supplies parts and technology to automakers. In the near future, he said, “consumers and carmakers will be able to customize the [dashboard] instrument panel to their individual tastes the same way that people customize their mobile phones.”

O’Sullivan spoke Thursday at a panel discussion at the International Consumer Electronics Show subtitled, “The Automobile’s Convergence with Consumer Electronics.” Panelists, including executives from Microsoft, Nokia and GM’s OnStar service, agreed the industry is just beginning to tap the potential of in-car computing.

“We’ll someday use this information technology in ways we can’t even predict today,” said Tom Phillips, general manager of Microsoft’s automotive unit. “To me, we’re in the infancy in terms of the amount of evolution that’s going to occur.”

As consumers are growing accustomed to having mobile Internet through their smart phones, more car buyers are seeking connectivity in their vehicles that will allow them to move seamlessly between their digital lives at work and home, panelists said.

She invested every penny with accused Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff. Penney thought she had weathered the bear market just fine, since Madoff put her money in super-safe Treasuries. Then, on December 11, she received a call from her best friend.

“She said, ‘I hope this is a rumor, but I’ve just heard Bernie Madoff’s been arrested,’ ” Penney recalls. “My other phone rang; it was my son. And he said, ‘Mom, sit down.’ He said, ‘Bernie Madoff’s been arrested.’ And I said, ‘For what?’ And he said, ‘He’s a crook.’ ”

Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme disrupted a fragile financial system, affecting hedge funds and well-heeled investors on Wall Street, Florida and Europe. In a Ponzi scheme, money from new investors is used to pay off early investors to create the appearance of legitimate returns.

Conservative with her money, Penney says she has been working and saving since she was a teenager. She admits that her biggest fear was losing everything and “becoming a bag lady.” About a decade ago, when Penney was in her late 40s, she shared her fears with a good friend, who steered her to Madoff, where she thought her money would always be safe.

Best known for the 1982 best-seller “How to Make Love to a Man” and as a former editor of Self magazine, Penney and her friend Evelyn Lauder were the first to use pink ribbons as a symbol for breast cancer awareness. Every success along the way meant more money, which was eventually invested with Madoff. She earned so much money that she was no longer writing and editing but living her dream as an artist.

Sitting in her artist’s studio in the SoHo area of New York, she recently said she will start writing again to pay the bills. And she has a few choice words about Madoff, who remains under house arrest in his Manhattan penthouse apartment, where he lives with his wife while the case proceeds.

“Repulsive is mild. Loathsome. It’s a visceral feeling. This is not humanity; this is not a human being. This is, again, it’s a sociopath,” Penney says. “I’m sincerely, and this is the understatement of the year, appalled that this man is not in prison.”

On “24’s” long-awaited Day 7, Jack has returned to the States to face a congressional committee on charges of torture. Quixotic old Jack — he now says he has no regrets about his previous actions.

Such heroic flip-flopping comes in handy when dishy FBI agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) yanks him out of his hearing to help pursue villains with ties to “Redemption’s” African terroristic regime. These include Carlos Bernard’s Tony Almeida, long thought dead by perhaps only one “24″ fan in the universe. (That would be Jack.)

Everyone, good and bad guys, is racing around trying either to protect or take control of a “CIP firewall,” some dealio that protects a lotta government info.

Er, OK. Whatever. Just as long as the action kicks into gear with a minimum of ridiculous plot-twisting — unlike most of Day 6.

Fresh characters like Agent Walker and the new president, Allison Taylor (a brisk Cherry Jones), mingle nicely with familiar faces like … oh, if I told you, the whining spoiler-phobes would howl. Let’s just say that after the two-night, four-hour season premiere, Jack will have threatened to jab a Bic pen into a bad guy’s eardrum, and you’ll feel the warm glow of sadistic glee that signals a jolly good start for vintage “24″ mayhem.

In his weekly radio and YouTube address, the President-elect gave details on a report released by his transition team. The report details the types of jobs that would be created or saved by Obama’s stimulus proposals, officially known as the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.”

“The report confirms that our plan will likely save or create three to four million jobs. Ninety percent of these jobs will be created in the private sector - the remaining 10 percent are mainly public sector jobs we save, like the teachers, police officers, firefighters and others who provide vital services in our communities,” says the President-elect.

The report, however, acknowledges that all of the estimates “are subject to significant margins of error” since it is unclear what the final economic package will look like once it emerges from Congress.

In his address, the president-elect once again warned that the road to economic recovery will be long and hard. “Given the magnitude of the challenges we face, none of this will come easy,” he said. “Recovery won’t happen overnight, and it’s likely that things will get worse before they get better. But we have come through moments like this before.”

Obama’s economic team is negotiating with congressional leaders over the details of the plan. Senate Democrats will meet tomorrow with Obama’s advisors in a rare Sunday event on Capitol Hill.

You set out to lose weight with the best of intentions. You’re sticking to your diet – a few slips here and there, but nothing major that would result in the pounds not coming off. But, still nothing seems to be happening. You follow the weight loss program and still it’s been weeks since you’ve seen any significant weight loss. Is this a weight loss plateau? Many people who try to lose weight get hit with a weight loss plateau. Dieting can be difficult enough – getting stuck at the same weight for weeks is extremely frustrating. Here are some tips and suggestions to help break through the dreaded weight loss plateau.

1. Many weight loss programs use a similar approach to what types of food groups you eat. For example, a common combination is 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat. For a short time – to get over the weight loss plateau – make an adjustment to these percentages. Lower the amount of carbohydrates and bump up the amount of protein.

2. Keep moving - increase the exercise. If you’re struggling to get the pounds moving in the right direction again – either add exercise to your weekly calendar or increase the amount of exercise you do. Cardio exercises are excellent for burning fat. If you are already exercising – try adding five to ten minutes to your routine. If you aren’t currently exercising – adding even a small amount of exercise to your plan can have a huge impact on the amount of weight you lose. Give it a try!

3. Check your calories. When you stared the weight loss program – whether you’re using a formal program or you’re doing it on your own – you took into consideration your weight and the number of calories needed to lose weight. if you’ve lost a good bit of weight already – you may need to reduce the number of calories you are eating now to continue to lose weight. for example, if you weighed 200 pounds when you began your diet and you want to weigh 120 pounds – you should eat 1600 calories per day. But, let’s say now you weigh 150 pounds and you still want to get down to 120 - now you should only eat 1400 calories per day.