"The term cloud computing is nothing particularly new or complicated; it simply means that instead of having software on your home, office or notebook computer, you run applications over the Internet," explains Gregg Early.

In Personal Finance says, "It's the way of the future as computing becomes increasingly mobile." Here, he looks at a trio of plays on this trend: Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), and Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX).

"I would point out that I'm writing this article on Google Docs. This document is stored on a Google server farm, not on my office computer.

With President Obama highlighting the national importance of cyber security, we turn to technology specialist Gregg Early to find the best investment ideas in the sector.

Noting that "cyber security is one of the biggest new sectors in the information technology industry," the editor of Personal Finance offers a trio of buys in the field -- McAfee (NYSE: MFE), Versar (AMEX: VSR), and Unisys (NYSE: UIS).

The advisor explains, "In exchange for an annual fee, McAfee allows users to download the basic security software and regular updates. These frequent updates are essential because virus and malware threats are constantly evolving.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

Gregg Early focuses on finding long-term growth opportunities among companies that specialize in niche, advanced technologies.

In his The New Tech Investor, he looks to AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) -- which is involved in innovative ventures in both wind power and unmanned vehicles -- as his favorite investment idea for the coming year.

"Two things make AeroVironment a unique company: its story and its stock price during the past year.

"The company has four divisions that by themselves seem very incongruous for moving the whole forward. It has a division that makes some of the most highly lauded and in-demand micro-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in service today.

"It also has a clean energy systems division that's best known for its 'architectural wind' turbines for urban settings, that are installed on manufacturing plants as well as office and apartment buildings.

"Its latter two division are the congruent in direction: one builds electric vehicle (EV) supply systems and the other supplies EV test systems.

"Well, it's finally happened; under mounting internal and external pressure, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) has spun off its handset business," says technology stock expert Gregg Early.

This move, he notes, developed after Carl Icahn came in, picked up about 6% of the company, and wanted to shake things up. Here's Gregg's update from his industry-leading The Real Nanontech Investor.

"Motorola's handset division has been lost in the desert since the successful launch of the Razr a couple years ago. Since then, it's lost market share and has been less than imaginative in developing new mobile handsets. This kind of product pipeline strangulation isn't unusual at Moto.

"In the 1990s, the company almost went under because it couldn't quite figure out how to exploit all the great work it was doing in its labs. Getting products to market seems to escape this company.

"It looked like mobile phones were a sector where Moto could make big inroads, and the 'lab to fab' pipeline was working very well-for a few years. Now the No. 2 mobile phone maker is No. 3, having lost its spot to relative newcomer Samsung. And even No. 3 isn't secure if something doesn't happen quickly.

"This has been one of activist investor Carl Icahn's claims regarding the company. Moto is sitting on piles of cash; it has a world-class R&D program, and apparently no one who wanted to do anything bold or even businesslike with either.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"My favorite speculation for 2008 is Australia-based Starpharma (OTC: SPHRY), a 'home run' pick," says Gregg Early in The Real Nanotech Investor.

"The drug delivery sector has been revolutionized by the application of nanotechnologies. And one of the fastest up-and-coming countries in this sector is Australia.

"Starpharma has landed a few significant co-development and assessment deals with some major firms in recent months as it awaits FDA approval for its VivaGel, dendrimer-based topical cream that can prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, specifically Herpes and HIV.

"VivaGel also has spermicidal qualities that are so compelling, one of Starpharma's recent co-development deals was with Durex, one of the world's top condom manufacturers. Durex is considering replacing the near-ubiquitous Non-oxynol 9 spermicidal coating with VivaGel, which is proving to be safe and more effective than N-9.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"Nanotech has an incredibly broad application spectrum and the sector offers enormous opportunities," explains Gregg Early in The Real Nanotech Investor.

"My conservative favorite for 2008 is Bayer (OTC: BAYRY). Although the stock is up 50% since we first added it to our portfolio less than a year ago, its return isn't surprising given current market conditions.

"Bayer has a number of things going for it beyond its significant incorporation of nanotech into various product lines; it even sells Baytubes, proprietary ready-to-use, multi-walled carbon nanotubes. It's also a big, safe stock.

"But it's still undervalued relative to its pharma competitors. And it's a German company that has the spending power of a euro-based firm with significant exposure in every major developed and developing market in the world.

A trio of emerging growth advisors see large potential gains from the "smallest" of ideas – nanotechnology. This broad field involves the study and manipulation of matter at an atomic level.

In The Forbes/Wolfe Emerging Tech Report, Josh Wolfe says, "One way for individual investors to gain exposure to nanotech is to invest in publicly traded investment firms making private VC-like investments such as Harris & Harris (NASDAQ: TINY) and Arrowhead Research (NASDAQ: ARWR)."

Wolfe explains, "Arrowhead and Harris & Harris have both grown about 46% annually since 2002 and both market caps are around $250 million. Arrowhead tends to invest in really early stage companies and TINY tends to invest in syndicates of other top venture capital funds."

The advisor continues, "TINY offers a neat way to slip into its private industry deals. I know these guys first hand and the kinds of bets they're making are heavily skewed to the upside. They might lose 100% of any investment on the downside - but they're swinging for 500% or more on the upside."

"Defense companies are in a growth market of the highest order," says Gregg Early in Personal Finance. But rather than buy industry giants, he suggest looking at lower-tier companies that are "either primed for the big leagues or will be acquired by a first- or second-tier company for a big premium in coming years."

One such play is Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS), which Early notes represents the globalization of the defense industry. According to the advisor, "Special forces in Afghanistan, army units in Iraq and astronauts rely on Harris equipment."

Now, he says, Harris is making a move into Eastern Europe. He explains, "Because these nations are small and need to be unified on a communications level, the company will have myriad contracts with new nations for years to come. Harris Corp is a buy below 56."

Also a global play, the advisor looks to Israel-based Elbit Systems (NASDAQ: ESLT). He notes, "It's difficult to overstate the breadth of the company's client list. From India to the US to Saudi Arabia, everyone has a contract with this diversified defense conglomerate."

We've all seen the infomercials selling those ridiculous vacuums that roll around the floor on their own. And if limited to that role, I'd find little intriguing about the company behind these products -- iRobots (NASDAQ:IRBT). But to my surprise, the company has much more sophisticated units, with a range of potential roles in areas such as lawnmowers to military ordinance detection.

Gregg Early, the editor of The Real Nanotech Investor explains, "iRobot was quite the sensation, and when it issued its initial public offering in late 2005, it took off like a rocket. Then people started to sober up and wonder how a little company that makes cool robotic vacuums could survive as a publicly traded company."

"I mean, how many do you need?" he asks. Many other investors apparently felt the same as the stock plummeted. Then, notes Early, the company recently released depressing earnings news, and the stock is sold off further, nearing 52-week lows.

I've just returned from the World Money Show in Orlando where more than 10,000 investors gathered to learn about global investing. I had a chance to meet with many of the U.S. and foreign financial experts featured at the show, and I will share some of their top investment ideas. To view all of the stocks featured in this special global report, click here.

Gregg Early, editor of The Real Nanotech Investor, is finding many of his best investment opportunities among global stocks. He notes, "My two Japanese holdings have been doing well in recent weeks.

"German juggernauts BASF (NYSE:BF) and Siemens (NYSE:SI) are doing very well. BASF stock is teasing 52-week highs with orders rolling in. Its books look good. It also seems oddly shareholder friendly, which is quite a shock for most large-cap European stocks.

"But it's going to need to consolidate here before it starts looking like Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) in 1999. BASF is only a buy below 95.

"Siemens is having less of a good time of it -- the recent bribery charges, the BenQ mobile phone debacle, earnings disappointments. But that's not to say the company hasn't weathered these storms well.

"This is a true company built for the 21st century, along with its chemical counterpart above. It's simply a little expensive now with all this muck flying in the air. Siemens is a buy only up to 104.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

The BASF Group (NYSE: BF) is the top conservative idea for 2007 from Gregg Early, editor of The Real Nanotech Investor: A Small World of Big Profits. He notes, "BASF is one of the premier chemicals companies in the world and it's well positioned to be the most dominant and influential chemical company of the 21st century.

"Nanotech is to this century what chemistry was to the 20th century -- one of the most pervasive advancements in every aspect of our lives.

"Like penicillin or the transistor, it will take society decades to fully realize the implications. BASF is already well on its way to applying the lessons it has long been learning on this front.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXWL) is the top speculative pick for 2007 from Gregg Early. The editor of The Real Nanotech Investor: A Small World of Big Profits explains, "Maxwell specializes in a very arcane field, even in nanotechnology companies.

"Most of the press goes to bio-nano, batteries, or cosmetics when the press gets a hold of a nanotech story. Sure they're sexy -- curing cancer, electric vehicles, rub-on facelifts -- but they don't always have the substance that a business needs to make a real breakthrough.

"Maxwell is one of the few companies that specializes in capacitors and increasingly, ultracapacitors. This new generation of capacitor has the potential to revolutionize motive and stationary power storage and distribution as we know it. The company has just inked a deal for a 3 million unit order from one of Europe's largest wind turbine makers, which doubled the initial order the wind company previously placed. A very good sign.

"Maxwell is also working with a German OEM (original equipment manufacturer) regarding ignition systems that could make car batteries obsolete. There's certainly risk here but there's also plenty of potential reward. Buy Maxwell up to 14.35 as a 'home run' play."

To see Gregg's favorite conservative stock for 2007, click here.