August 27, 2010 Cindy O'Neal
Read while you charge (or walk and chew gum at the same time):
I love the little Amazon branded plug that came with the Kindle 2. It plugs into a wall outlet and lets you plug the USB charging/transferring cable (came with your Kindle also) into it and the other end into the Kindle and you can read all you want to while it charges away. Your only limitation is the length of the cable connected to the Kindle and the wall. If your Kindle is connected directly to a power source, you can use it normally.
If you connect the USB cable from the Kindle straight to a USB port on your computer, something different happens. You will certainly notice something different on your computer screen (Mac or PC) to indicate your Kindle is connected (or "docked"). You will also see a special message on the main Kindle screen indicating it is connected to your computer. It also lets you know if you want to continue using your Kindle while it is connected to the USB port, you need to "undock" it, "eject" it or otherwise release it from your computer. Once you do that, the message on the front of the Kindle will disappear and you will see the familiar Home screen. It will continue to charge as long as you keep it connected to the computer with the USB cable, and you can use it normally.
Mac: To "eject" the Kindle from your computer, click and drag the Kindle disk icon to the trash. Once it is gone, you will see the Home screen appear on your Kindle and you can either disconnect it, or keep it connected via USB and let it continue to charge while you use it.
PC: To "safely remove" the Kindle from your computer, click the Start button (bottom left of the main screen), then move the mouse pointer up and to the right, and click Computer (or My Computer). Look for an icon labled Kindle. Right click on it and choose "safely remove" or "eject." Left click on your choice, it doesn't matter which. You will then see the Home screen appear on your Kindle and you can either disconnect it, or keep it connected via USB and let it continue to charge while you read.
