Finding Option Chains in Google Finance

Sorry that it's been so long in between postings - I've been playing the part of Shiftman and Bizman more than Refman lately.

Now, if you're like me, finding the option chain information for "Mr. Bigcharts" can be a bit difficult at times.  And even once you find it, it's not always presented in an easy-to-read format, especially when the customer is looking for future option expiration dates.

However, I may have stumbled upon a better, well, option.

While exploring Google Finance the other day, the term "option chain" in the left sidebar caught my eye.  Sure enough, you can now find option chains while in Google.

First, go to Google Finance.  If you can remember the URL, you can type in finance.google.com and go directly there.  Or from the main Google search page, click on the "more" dropdown  menu from the toolbar:

Once the menu drops down, select "finance."

From the Google Finance main page, type in the stock symbol - in this case AAPL for Apple - and press enter or click "get quotes:"

The main stock screen for aapl will then be displayed, featuring current pricing, charts and news items.  From the left sidebar, click "option chain:"

You will then see the option chain for your selected stock.  To my eyes, it's a bit easier to find and to read than in Bigcharts.  Right above the option chain is another dropdown menu for changing the view by expiration date:

Give it a try the next time "Mr. Bigcharts" calls.

Finally! - The Nook is Operable

I was recently fortunate enough to come into possession of a Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader device, and for that I'm grateful.  However - as those of you who frequently use our website are well aware - figuring out how to get Overdrive books onto it to read was a struggle.

Though a book bought from B&N could be read on the device, books that I downloaded from Overdrive could be read on my computer and transferred to the Nook, but not read from there.  I kept getting the error message "user not activated."  Well, I had a B&N account, an Overdrive account and an Adobe ID (more on that later), so it didn't make any sense.

So, as best I can tell, you should do the following:

1. Download Adobe Digital Editions (this is the software that allows one to download DRM-protected materials and transfer the files to e-readers)
2. Get an Adobe ID
3. Authorize Adobe Digital Editions
4. Plug Nook into computer to activate the device in Adobe Digital Editions
5. Use Overdrive to download books to e-reader

Now, I understand that these are not the clearest instructions, but I'm still not totally confident in knowing how the thing works anyway.  That's why we have the Internet.

Thankfully, there are some competent people out there who have figured things out and are willing to share their tips and tricks.  I found the blog Pigs, Gourds, and Wikis, which had nice instructions on how to actually download a book from Overdrive to a Nook (I found these to be better than the FAQs on our Overdrive site).  Her blog post helped, but I was still having some issues, so another google search led me to Nookboards.com's forums, where I found that someone else had the exact same problem that I was experiencing, along with a suggested solution (it worked!).

So bottom line - if you come into an e-reader this Christmas and you run into problems, I may be able to assist, though I wouldn't hesitate to tap into the wealth of (possibly) helpful information that can be found online too - it can't hurt to get a second opinion (or more).