On the downside, cracking the nook's cover voids both the product warranty and the user agreement. Moreover, the modification to the device's internal circuits goes well beyond what the vast majority of consumers may feel comfortable with.

Still, the modification for the nook might become simpler over time. Much the same thing developed with the jailbreaks created to let iPhone users untether their handsets from specific wireless carriers.

'Rooting the Nook'

With a Samsung S3C6410 processor , a Synaptics touchscreen controller, a 2GB Sandisk microSD card for internal storage , and a Sierra wireless data modem, the nook has the minimum hardware for web-tablet functions. Moreover, software developers should find the modification that nookDevs call "rooting the nook" relatively straightforward.

The first step is to crack the machine's cover and remove the internal microSD card on which the device's Android operating system is stored. Next, the card must be mounted in a microSD card adapter that is connected to a PC running Linux or Unix.

After opening the init.rc file stored on the card, the technically inclined user will need to search for the first occurrence of the word "disabled" and replace it with the word "enabled." Then place the modified chip back in the nook, close the case, and power up the device.

The final steps involve downloading and using the Android software development toolkit to make one more software change. According to nookDevs, the modification will prevent Barnes & Noble from sending updates to the machine that could disable the modification or preclude other changes.

However, keep in mind that "rooting the nook" is only the opening phase of the transformation required to turn the machine into a fully functional web tablet. Users of the modified device must also find a way to download web-surfing and security software onto the machine, as well as make these applications accessible on the device's existing user interface. (continued...)

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