Barnes and Noble Nook HD+ is a Big Screen, Good Value Tablet

Barnes and Noble Nook-HD+

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[More from Mashable: 7 Stylish iPad Cases With Notepads]

The other night I handed the new Barnes and Noble HD+ to my son to see his reaction to one of the latest 9-inch tablets. He held it, played with the screen and said, “Which one is this?” I told him and he answered, “I can’t tell the difference anymore.” It’s true, with the sudden explosion of 7-, near-8-, 9- and 10-inch-plus tablets, it’s getting a little hard to tell which one is which — especially when many larger tablets look like their tinier siblings.

Barnes and Noble’s large-format (9-inch) HD-screen entry, the HD+, is a quite similar to the 7-inch Nook HD. However, with its somewhat sharper corners and far-reduced black-screen border, it’s also more similar in appearance to larger tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9. What sets the Nook apart visually is the trademark nook hole in the lower left-hand corner. It appears to serve no visible purpose, though you could hold the roughly 18-ounce tablet by that corner without too much stress on your hand. It is one of the lightest tablets on the market, although it’s thicker than the Google Nexus 10, Kindle Fire 8.9 and fourth-generation Apple iPad.

[More from Mashable: The 7 Best Tablets for Kids]

Nook HD+’s other distinctive feature is the physical “N” home button on the face of the device. It’s an attribute the Nook HD+ (and 7-inch Nook HD) share with the iPad. As I’ve said before, having that obvious “take me home” button on the front of the device is something I wish every tablet manufacturer would replicate.

Interface

Speaking of replicate, much of what is important and what you need to know about Barnes and Noble’s biggest tablet can be found in my review of the 7-inch Nook HD. The interfaces are exactly the same, so I won’t waste too much space recounting every bit of the Nook HD+ interface, which obscures any trace of Android 4.0, and is exquisitely usable.

The biggest difference between the Nook HD and the HD+ is screen resolution. The HD gets you 1440×900 pixels, while the HD+ offers 1920×1280, which is slightly more than the Kindle Fire HD 8.9’s 1920×1200. The latter two devices are almost the exact same size. By contrast, the competitors’ 7-inch devices are quite different because Amazon includes a front-facing camera, while Barnes and Noble does not include cameras on any of its tablets (if you plan on taking photos or video with your tablet, you can stop reading now). In the case of the Nook HD+, Barnes and Noble uses the space it saves on a camera for, it appears, 80 extra pixels of space. For the record, neither device beats the iPad’s 2048×1536 resolution.

Connectvity

Barnes and Noble also chose to leave out a cellular option from all of its tablets. Amazon, on the other hand, adds it in for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 LTE. This is not as big of a deal as it seems since the world is filled with high-speed Wi-Fi. Still, if you plan to surf the web on your tablet while sitting on a train without another device to which to tether your HD+, look for products with the mobile broadband option, instead.

When it comes to connectivity, Amazon adds dual-band Wi-Fi to its HD Kindle Fires, while Barnes and Noble’s tablet remains single band. I’ve tested both devices in the most stressful situation -– streaming HD video -– and the difference is negligible.

Using It

Barnes and Noble Nook HD+’s profile-centric interface remains one of the best on the market. There is no learning curve; you simply drag your profile image to the unlock icon, and you have access to the large and uncluttered interface that features a carousel (which like the Kindle is a hodge-podge of disparate icons), your library and some recently used apps. Persistent menu items include the Library, Apps, Web, email and Shop. The screen also includes “your Nook Today,” which, along with the weather, is a place for Barnes and Noble to push shopping options based on your interests.

As you would expect, reading books and magazines is a pleasurable experience, especially on this larger screen. Magazines such as Esquire look great and, yes, Barnes and Noble still employs the animated page turn (though I don’t know for how much longer). Email and Web browsing are solid, and I prefer Barnes and Noble’s web solution to Amazon’s home-grown Silk browser, which crashed too often for my taste.

Social integration is fairly good on the Nook HD+. When I installed the Twitter client, it became one of my options for social sharing. That said, the app looks like it would be more at home on a small-screen smartphone than on the HD+’s 9-inch display. For Facebook, I opted for the web interface, which looks too tiny in portrait mode, but just right in landscape.

Movies and Music

I had no trouble buying, renting and streaming HD-quality movies such Arthur Christmas, and Netflix worked smoothly. Barnes and Noble, however, lacks its own streaming option. If you pay $ 75 a year for Amazon Prime, you get access to a vast library of streaming content. Both devices will let you play HD content on your big-screen TV, though they do it in slightly different ways.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9 comes complete with a mini-HDI-out port, and can accommodate a mini-to-standard HDMI cable (not included), so I could watch the HD content on my big-screen TV. The Nook HD+ lacks an HDMI port, but you can buy a $ 39 adapter (with an HDMI cable), which plugs into the tablet’s 30-pin port, to do the same thing.

I still prefer the Kindle HD platform for music since Amazon’s music services are more deeply integrated into the device and its cloud-based storage offering. On the Nook HD+ you have to start by finding the music service under Apps. If Barnes and Noble is serious about music, it should be on the main menu. Worse yet, if you open the Music app, it offers no instruction on how to fill your music library. You have to add tunes via your computer, by connecting to your PC with the proprietary cable or through the Micro SD slot where you can add more storage or place, say, an entire library of songs.

If you have a Rhapsody Account, you can use it to manage your music needs on the Nook HD+.

I almost never use my large tablet for music (that’s a job for my iPhone or iPod), so I don’t miss the rich music capabilities as much as some others likely would.

Apps and Performance

Like Amazon, Barnes and Noble curates its app library, which generally makes it safe and usable. The key apps, such as Netflix, Twitter, Dropbox, MobiSystems’ OfficeSuite, FlipBoard and Evernote, are all there.

I found some games on there, too, such as the Angry Birds Series and Cut the Rope. On the other hand, Barnes and Noble has very few action games. This may be because, while it’s running the same Texas Instruments Dual core 4470 CPU as the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, it doesn’t offer the same quadcore graphics processing power as Apple’s fourth-generation iPad.

Amazon actually includes the GPU-hungry Asphalt 7 in its app library, but the game does not look particularly good on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9. Obviously, Barnes and Noble chose not to take that risk.

Price

At $ 269 for the 16 GB model (I tested the $ 299 32 GB option), Barnes and Noble’s Nook HD+ is one of the most affordable large-screen tablets on the market — that price even includes the AC adapter. Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9 costs $ 299, but does not include the charger, and adds subsidizing sleep-screen ads. A 16 GB Wi-Fi-only fourth-generation iPad starts at $ 499.

Obviously, the iPad is more powerful, has a higher resolution and two cameras, while the Kindle, which also includes a camera, offers powerful Dolby stereo speakers (Nook HD+ has ones with decent volume) and unlimited cloud-based storage for your Amazon content. But if those features don’t matter to you, and you’re looking for an attractive, large-screen, light-weight, fun, effective and very affordable tablet from a company that knows a thing or two about good content, you can’t do better than the Nook HD+.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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How They Pulled Off 'The Impossible'

The true story of the devastating 2004 tsunami that consumed the coast of Phuket, Thailand -- and how one family survived it -- is reenacted by Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor in The Impossible. Watch the video to go behind the scenes...

Video: Tsunami Survivor Petra Nemcova Reacts to Latest Disaster in Japan

In theaters December 21, The Impossible finds Naomi as Maria and Ewan as her husband Henry, who are enjoying their winter vacation in Thailand with their three sons. On the day after Christmas, their relaxing holiday in paradise becomes an exercise in terror and survival when their beachside hotel is pummeled by an extraordinary, unexpected tsunami.

Video: Watch the Trailer for 'The Impossible'

The Impossible tracks just what happens when this close family and tens of thousands of strangers must come together to grapple with the mayhem and aftermath of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time.

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US drone kills senior al Qaeda leader in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A US drone strike has killed a senior al Qaeda leader in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said, in the latest blow to the Islamic militant network.

Sheik Khalid bin Abdel Rehman al-Hussainan, who was also known as Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti, was killed when missiles slammed into a house Thursday near Mir Ali, one of the main towns in the North Waziristan tribal area, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Al-Kuwaiti appeared in many videos released by al Qaeda's media wing, Al-Sahab, and was presented as a religious scholar for the group.

Earlier this year, he replaced Abu Yahya al-Libi, al Qaeda's second in command, who was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan in June, the intelligence officials said. Al-Libi was a key religious figure within al Qaeda and also a prominent militant commander.

Al-Kuwaiti appeared to be a less prominent figure and was not part of the US State Department's list of most wanted terrorist suspects, as al-Libi had been.

Covert CIA drone strikes have killed a series of senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in Pakistan's tribal region over the past few years. But the attacks are controversial because the secret nature of the program makes it difficult to determine how many civilians are being killed.

Pakistani officials often criticize the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, which has helped make them extremely unpopular in the country. But senior Pakistani officials are known to have cooperated with strikes in the past, and many people believe they still do.

Al-Kuwaiti's wife and daughter were wounded in Thursday's drone attack, according to the intelligence officials. His wife died a day later at a hospital in Miran Shah, another main town in North Waziristan.

Al-Kuwaiti was buried in Tappi village near Mir Ali on Friday, the officials said.

A Pakistani Taliban commander who frequently visits North Waziristan told the Associated Press by telephone that he met some Arab fighters on Saturday who were "very aggrieved." The Arabs told him they lost a "big leader" in a drone strike, but would not reveal his name or his exact position in al Qaeda.

The Taliban commander spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of revealing his identity to the Pakistani government.

al Qaeda's central leadership in Pakistan has been dealt a series of sharp blows in the past few years, including the US commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad last year. A significant number of senior al Qaeda leaders have also been killed in US drone attacks in the country.

Many analysts believe the biggest threat now comes from al Qaeda franchises in places like Yemen and Somalia.

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the tournament-style program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.

One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”

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Preservation board to decide on Herald building

The city of Miami’s historic preservation office has compiled a lengthy, detailed report that substantially bolsters the case for designation of The Miami Herald’s “monumental’’ bayfront building as a protected landmark based on both its architectural merits and its historic significance.

Somewhat unusually, the 40-page report by city preservation officer Megan McLaughlin, which is supplemented by 30 pages of bibliography, plans and photographs, carries no explicit recommendation to the city’s preservation board, which is scheduled to decide the matter on Monday.

But her analysis gathers extensive evidence that the building’s history, the influential executives and editors associated with it, and its fusion of Mid-Century Modern and tropical Miami Modern (MiMo) design meet several of the legal criteria for designation set out in the city’s preservation ordinance and federal guidelines. A building has to meet just one of eight criteria to merit designation.

A spokeswoman for the city’s historic preservation office said there is no obligation to make a recommendation and the city’s preservation board didn’t ask for one.

Supporters of designation, including officials at Dade Heritage Trust, the preservation group that has received sometimes withering criticism from business and civic leaders for requesting designation, said they felt vindicated by the report, even as they concede that persuading a board majority to support it remains an uphill battle.

“It’s important that an objective expert is saying basically the same thing we’ve been saying, particularly in an environment where there is so much pressure,’’ said DHT chief executive Becky Roper Matkov. “It’s very hard to refute. When you look at the building’s architecture and history, it’s so blatantly historic, what else can you say?’’

The report also rebuts key pieces of criticism of the designation effort leveled by opponents of designation, including architects and a prominent local preservation historian hired by Genting, the Malaysian casino operator that purchased the Herald property last year for $236 million with plans to build a massive destination resort on its 10 acres. The newspaper remains in the building rent-free until April, when it will move to suburban Doral.

Citing federal rules, McLaughlin concluded that the building dates to its construction in 1960 and 1961, and not to its formal dedication in 1963. That’s significant because it makes the building legally older than 50 years. Buildings newer than that must be “exceptionally significant’’ to merit designation under city regulations. Opponents of designation have claimed the building does not qualify because it’s several months short of 50 years if dated from its ’63 opening.

The property also has a “minimal’’ baywalk at the rear but there is room to expand it, the report indicates. The building is considerably set back from the edge of Biscayne Bay, between 68 feet at the widest point and 23 feet at its narrowest, the report says. That’s comparable to what many new buildings provide, thanks in part to variances granted by the city, and could blunt criticism that the Herald building “blocks’’ public access to the bay.

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Buzzmakers: A Royal Pregnancy & Demi's Wild Night

What had ET readers buzzing this week?

1. Prince William & Kate Middleton Expecting a Baby

After much speculation and anticipation over the past year, the royal palace has confirmed that Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting their first child.

An official statement issued Monday announcing the news reads: "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."

The statement added that Kate was admitted to a London hospital on Monday to be treated for hyperemesis gravidarum, a more severe form of the nausea and vomiting that normally accompanies the early stages of pregnancy. The Palace said that William traveled with Kate to the hospital in a private car, not by ambulance, and he was spending time at his wife's side.

The statement adds: "Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter."

The couple's first child will be third in line to the British throne.

2. Gisele Bunchen, Tom Brady Welcome Baby

Gisele Bundchen and husband Tom Brady received a special gift this holiday season, a baby daughter!

The Brazilian supermodel, 32, confirmed on her Facebook page that she and the New England Patriots player, 35, welcomed their second child together, Vivian Lake, on Wednesday night.

"We feel so lucky to have been able to experience the miracle of birth once again and are forever grateful for the opportunity to be the parents of another little angel," she said of her newborn daughter.

Included in the post was an adorable photo of Gisele tenderly holding little Vivian's hand in her own. This is the third child for Brady, who has a 2-year-old son, Benjamin, with Gisele, and a 5-year-old son, John, with actress Bridget Moynahan. Ben turns three on Saturday.

3. Demi Moore's Bizarre, Star-Studded Night Out

Demi Moore may have been enjoying herself too much on Wednesday night as some peculiar party pics have surfaced of the 50-year-old actress.

Joined by Lenny Kravitz and George Clooney's gal Stacy Keibler in a VIP section, Moore showed up to the Chanel Beachside Barbecue held at Soho Beach House in Miami, FL wearing a little gray jumper and looking to have a good time.

Photos of her cuddling up to Kravitz, 48, while using her hair to cover up her face (or is she eating her hair?) are making the rounds as well as shots of her dancing recklessly. Though the pics are sure to have many questioning her state of mind at the party, the actress was only seen with the energy drink Red Bull.

4. 2013 Grammy Nominations: fun. Scores Big

The countdown to music's biggest night has begun!

Live from Nashville, Tennessee LL Cool J and Taylor Swift emceed the Grammy Nominations concert featuring performances by fun., Hunter Hayes, Maroon 5, Luke Bryan, Ne-Yo and LL Cool J, Janelle Monae, and Dierks Bentley.

Click here for the list of announced nominees!

5. Angelina Jolie to Quit Acting

Does this mean the end of the Tomb Raider franchise? Angelina Jolie revealed on Monday that she plans to bid adieu to acting.

"I have enjoyed being an actress," Jolie, 37, told Britain's Channel 4 News. "I am so grateful to the job and I have had great experiences and I have even be able to tell stories and be a part of stories that mattered and I have done things for fun, but..."

The mother-of-six gave her reasons for quitting her trade, adding, "I will do some films and I am so fortunate to have the job, it's a really lucky profession to be a part of and I enjoy it. But if it went away tomorrow I would be very happy to be home with the children. I wake up in the morning as a mum and I turn on the news like everybody else and I see what's happening and I want to be part of the world in a positive way."

Jolie is currently an ambassador for the U.N. and has been visiting and working with refugees for years now.

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Two teens who fell into East River saved by cops

Cops courageously rescued two teens yesterday after they fell into the East River in East Harlem, authorities said.

The 17-year-old pals were hanging out with friends who may have been drinking at the edge of the river near East 111th Street about 12:45 p.m., cops said.

The boys were horsing around and hanging onto the outside of the railing on the promenade along the river's edge when one boy lost his grip and fell into the freezing water, cops said.

His buddy tried to help, but wound up falling in after him, cops said.

The other kids called 911 for help.

Sgt. Joseph Hartnett

Officer Helder Santos

Sgt. Joseph Hartnett and Officer Helder Santos arrived to find Christopher Arriago and his friend Diego Perez clinging to wooden pylons, which were sticking out of the icy waters, police said.

They grabbed Arriaga from the river but had a harder time reaching Perez, who didn’t want to let go of the pylon at first and was suffering from hypothermia, police said.

So two other officers, Siddiqua Withers and Leonardo Munoz, held on to Hartnett and Santos by their belts and legs as they dangled over the river to reach Perez.

The daring move gave the two cops the extra reach they needed to pluck Perez from the fast-moving river waters, police said.

Both kids were taken to Harlem Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the tournament-style program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.

One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”

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Police search for man who exposed himself to young girls in Southwest Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade Police are looking for a man wanted for lewd and lascivious exposure, investigators said Thursday.

“We’re working a couple of cases in the area where a gentleman seen in the sketch is exposing himself to children,” one detective told a concerned parent.

Yanitza Delgado was driving in the area of Southwest 80th St. and 154th Ave. Thursday when police approached her car.

“I think it’s very disgusting,” Delgado said. “I have a 12-year-old daughter. and then I have a 7-year-old. And I really think this is disgusting.”

Cops handed out a sketch and description of the man they said has been exposing himself to young girls in the vicinity of Southwest 72nd and 80th Streets from Southwest 142nd to 154th Avenues.

A 16-year-old girl walking in the neighborhood where cops were handing out flyers said she was a victim.

“I was walking, with my friend over here, and then he passes by, and he’s like ‘Oh, come here.’ And we’re like, ‘what?’ And he’s like, ‘you know where 152nd is?’ We’re like, ‘no.’ But we’re very distant. And when I look down, I see he has his pants down,” the girl said. She did not wish to be identified. “He just drove away laughing. We were very scared.”

Police provided two different sketched to the media, but only one sketch was used on the flyer.

Because they’re dealing with multiple victims, descriptions of the man vary, police said.

Police believe they’re looking for a Hispanic male between 20 and 30 years old.

They said he has short, black hair, brown eyes, and may or may not have a goatee.

It’s a vague description, but they’re hoping handing out fliers will generate some leads.

“I’m so worried,” parent Ana Escobar said. “You know, because, my two daughters they train in that tennis courts right there.”

Investigators said they started receiving reports of lewd and lascivious exposure back in March.

The victim who spoke to CBS 4 News said she saw the man last year but never reported it to cops.

Thursday, she told them her story. She said she hopes it leads to an arrest.

“I’m very glad ’cause at least we can get justice with this man,” the girl said.

Police said the man may be driving a Silver Toyota Corolla sedan or a similar vehicle.

If you think you recognize the suspect, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477) or visit  www.crimestoppers.com and select “Give a Tip.” You can also send a text message to 274637. Enter CSMD followed by the tip information and press send.

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Oscars Flashback: Amy Adams 2006

It's a benchmark in every actress' career to receive her first award nomination. Whether she loves or loathes awards show and what they represent, it's always a reassuring boost to know that the industry appreciates one's work. In 2006, Amy Adams reached that benchmark as she fittingly stood in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard.

In 2005, Adams appeared in the comedy-drama Junebug, which pulled in a modest $3 million at the box office and was generally unknown to the masses; however it was known to the critics, and well liked by them as well.

VIDEO: SAGs Flashback '98: Jolie Experiences the Reward

Adams was the recipient of most of the film's nominations for her supporting role as a woman who gives birth to a stillborn, whom she had planned to name "Junebug." On the red carpet for her first Oscars, Adams says she's stunned.

"I don't dream this big," she says, awed. "This is Technicolor, folks. This is crazy."

Her applauded performance would only receive a nomination that year and no tears of joy were patted with the tissues in Adams' clutch.

VIDEO: Oscars Flashback '94: Spielberg Wins His First

While her fate at the Oscars that year has proven replicated on each of her three succeeding nominations, the most recent of which was for The Fighter, an Oscar may be in line for her this year.

The 38-year-old actress had three movies premiere this year (Trouble with the Curve, On the Road, The Master) and recently received a Hollywood Film Festival Award for her work.

Those tissues may get some use this year.

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