And now a word from our sponsor... us! Despite our dedication to the truth, justice, and electronic computers, just like you we have to pay the bills, buy the groceries, take the cat to the vet, and otherwise make a living. We've never been shy about trying to make a buck with this newsletter while keeping it a free publication. And making a dollar on the Internet is a tough trick these days. Just look at the way high-flying "new economy" business sites are crashing and burning.
That's why we carry the ads you see in every issue. That's why we use Amazon and Beyond links, because the revenue generated by these links helps defray the not inconsiderable cost of sending 60,000 or so emails out to our friends (that's you) every other week. A great many of our readers already know this and help support TNPC by making their Amazon purchases via our links even when picking up something we haven't recommended (like a DVD copy of the "Nightmare Before Christmas"). And we APPRECIATE it too!
In fact, now that I think about it, that's a pretty good movie: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?amazon1
To that end, we had been kicking the idea around here at the Underground Labs about having a TNPC "store." There we could sell official TNPC coffee mugs or mouse pads or other such drek. It seemed like a fun thing to do but we couldn't decide on what to do with the idea. Lee balked at the idea of putting a T-shirt silk-screening machine in his garage and while the idea of a coffee mug with a cartoon naked guy sitting at a computer sounded funny, would you really like to have one sitting on your desk? Us neither. So the idea just lay on the shelf gathering dust.
Cut to TNPC issue #3.16, wherein Dan wrote an in-depth review of a gizmo the size of a twenty-five cent piece called a Photon Micro-Light as the Featured Product. He badgered me into getting one for my wife, who is taking night classes, so she could have a personal flashlight on her key ring when going to her car in the parking lot after dark. So I got one. Then I got several. I took our Cub Scout Pack on a night hike with the local Boy Scout Troop and let the kids "field test" a set of these lights. The results of this outing you can find on the Micro-Light FAQ page of the Store but suffice it to say that I felt we'd found something that we could put in our newsletter "store" that was a darn sight better than a coffee mug with a cartoon on it.
And that brings me to the official TNPC Store. When you buy stuff there, you help support TNPC. Right now all we have for sale are Micro-Lights. (Available in seven amazingly bright colors; honestly, these things are too cool to be believed.) If we come across anything else useful, fun, or destined to tickle the gizmo lover in us all, we will put that (whatever it may be) in the store as well. Know that whatever you purchase at the TNPC Store helps support the newsletter and helps keep it free.
Oh, if you've already bought a Micro-Light be sure to stop by the Store and get a Super Value Micro-Light Accessory Kit. Anyone who purchases something from the TNPC Store between now to Thanksgiving will receive a free copy of the "Official TNPC Screen Saver." http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?store
