Your appearance is a classy and effective way to show others that you are effective and classy

Earlier this month, Microsoft settled a patent infringement suit against Barnes & Noble regarding their Nook reader’s Android underpinnings. Microsoft has taken legal action against many companies that use Android in their products, but the deal that was struck in this particular lawsuit makes it especially interesting. As part of the deal, Barnes & Noble is spinning off their Nook e-reader and college textbook business into a subsidiary company in which Microsoft will invest $300 million. This new subsidiary will also release a Nook app for Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 platform. This gives Microsoft stake in the digital text book market along with Apple and Amazon (Google sells ebooks and tablets, but not textbooks) and gives Windows 8 tablets day-one access to an established ebook ecosystem. At its least, this let’s Microsoft, without relying on Amazon, remove a strong barrier to would-be Windows 8 tablet buyers who want access to ebooks but don’t want to risk investi