B&N discontinues Nook for PC

[Ripplinger]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/11/b...ok-for-pc-mac/

Barnes and Noble has been quietly erasing all mentions of its Nook for PC and Mac, but now we have the first official confirmation that both are no more. An official statement, reported by The Digital Reader, says that the company is no longer supporting software for Windows 2000/XP/Vista or Mac OS X, and is directing users to switch to Nook for Web in its place. That, or you could always help prop up the company's brick-and-mortar operations by purchasing some of these.

This means since I don't own a Nook, I'll most likely never be able to purchase another book from B&N. I don't see this as a good move at all. Yes, I could read on my PCs or netbook at their site, but when I'm away and without internet access, there's no option at all. Except to avoid purchasing from B&N.

I don't see this as a very wise move for the already struggling B&N.

[DiapDealer]

I don't have a Nook OR use Nook for PC/Mac/iOS/Android. Still doesn't stop me from buying ebooks pretty regularly from them.

[jersysman]

Why could you just download to your PC. I do that. I have not used the Nook for PC program in quite a while. You download the book to your PC and then you can move it from the Download directory to Calibre or directly to your ereader through USB. No need for the Nook for PC or Nook for Mac program.

I see Diap beat me to it.

[Ripplinger]

I had assumed they would do away with the download button soon after this change. But it sounds like maybe Nook Study won't be discontinued, so they pretty much have to allow downloads still.

But I couldn't find a link from the B&N site to Nook Study, I finally found it by Googling for it. So I assumed they would be discontinuing Nook Study also. I'm still not 100% certain they won't eventually do away with Nook Study since there's no mention of it as one of their apps anymore.

[DiapDealer]

I'd be very surprised if they got rid of the 'Download' button anytime soon. Still plenty of Nook devices out there for people to download and transfer to.

[tubemonkey]

While Nook for PC is going away, Nook for Web is still available.

[bgalbrecht]

I have thousands of books in my Nook library at B&N, and downloading from the website is an order of magnitude harder and less reliable than downloading from the Nook for PC app. I'll have to check to see how easy it is to download from the Nook android app and transfer it to my PC.

[Ken Irving]

Maybe they discontinued Nook for PC because nobody uses it and killing it for Nook for Web is economical from the standpoint of development and maintenance. I buy mostly from B&N, but use Nook for PC maybe once a year at best. Kinda sucks and don't like the current version of Nook for Web either, but have used Nook Study since they introduced it. And, by the way, you can find that on their site simply by typing Nook Study in the search box. My two copies seem to be working fine at present.

[Ken Irving]

PS - Just checked in with Nook for Web and noticed some improvements. The main of these is a smooth transition between one-column and two-column formats. Still no way to read offline that I can see.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

I have thousands of books in my Nook library at B&N, and downloading from the website is an order of magnitude harder and less reliable than downloading from the Nook for PC app. I'll have to check to see how easy it is to download from the Nook android app and transfer it to my PC.

How many times do you have to download the ebook? I download from "my Nook" library just once per book and have had no problems. I don't know or care how many books may be left behind on their server, I maintain my own disinfected copies. My Nook purchase is on my computer and processed within five minutes of purchase.

The B&N DRM scam is not dependent upon their servers, just the data that you provide to make the purchase, something you should continue to have with or without "Nook 4 PC". If they were to go under they would close down their servers, not otherwise.

Luck;
Ken

[Fbone]

You could download and read with Adobe Digital Editions.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Fbone

You could download and read with Adobe Digital Editions.

Now there, both your purchase and your ereader are tied to Adobe's server.

Luck;
Ken

[geertm]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Now there, both your purchase and your ereader are tied to Adobe's server.

Luck;
Ken

The current version of ADE (finally) supports the B&N DRM. So you can use ADE just as a reader for your B&N books. This does not mean that your B&N books are suddenly tied to Adobe's server.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

How many times do you have to download the ebook? I download from "my Nook" library just once per book and have had no problems. I don't know or care how many books may be left behind on their server, I maintain my own disinfected copies. My Nook purchase is on my computer and processed within five minutes of purchase.

The B&N DRM scam is not dependent upon their servers, just the data that you provide to make the purchase, something you should continue to have with or without "Nook 4 PC". If they were to go under they would close down their servers, not otherwise.

Luck;
Ken

I downloaded my purchases again after my credit card was stolen because at some point in the future I won't still have the data that I provided to make the purchase. I can't keep track of different credit cards used to make purchases. I do disinfect when I get my books, but if at some point in the future something happens to my Calibre library and I have to disinfect again it's easier to have all my books with the same credit card.

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I downloaded my purchases again after my credit card was stolen because at some point in the future I won't still have the data that I provided to make the purchase. I can't keep track of different credit cards used to make purchases. I do disinfect when I get my books, but if at some point in the future something happens to my Calibre library and I have to disinfect again it's easier to have all my books with the same credit card.

You could always backup your Calibre library on a flash drive, external drive, or even dropbox.