B&N removed download option on all books in "My Nook" library

Originally Posted by odamizu

To those of you no longer buying ebooks at BN, who's getting your business instead?

I've switched most of my ebook-buying to Amazon, which is a major shift as I used to avoid them like the plague.

I've gone exclusively to Amazon. I used to prefer B&N, but used Amazon for ebooks that were cheaper there/not available on B&N.

As far as I'm concerned, Amazon is superior in almost all ways to B&N. The Nook software might have an edge here or there, but in aggregate, Amazon kills it.

B&N did this to themselves. When they removed the SD card slot in the newest models, I was unhappy. When they removed the download link, I disabled auto renew for my membership. When they changed DRM keys, I jumped ship. I'm not renewing my membership. I'm not going back.

[lkmiller]

I was just chatting with someone who found a different key in the PC version of Nookstudy then the one they get from the URL method. So it's not just the Mac version where you might have this situation. Perhaps it's a case of when an account got switched to the new key generation. Those of us who switched earlier, because of a change to our account info, having one key. And those who switched more recently, as B&N rolled the change out to other accounts, having a different key in Nookstudy. Possibly a deliberate attempt to put a wrench in the works?

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

I was just chatting with someone who found a different key in the PC version of Nookstudy then the one they get from the URL method. So it's not just the Mac version where you might have this situation. Perhaps it's a case of when an account got switched to the new key generation. Those of us who switched earlier, because of a change to our account info, having one key. And those who switched more recently, as B&N rolled the change out to other accounts, having a different key in Nookstudy. Possibly a deliberate attempt to put a wrench in the works?

That doesn't sound good. Not good at all.

Also saw a post on Alf that someone's having intermittent trouble with Kindlebooks -- some books work, some don't: https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/...#comment-51166. Hope that's a false alarm and not a sign that Amazon is tightening up ship as well.

[FizzyWater]

I already have Nook for PC installed. Is there any reason to install Nookstudy? If it is necessary, would I need to remove Nook for PC first?

Nevermind: some reading on Alf's blog pretty much said it had to be Nookstudy.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I already have Nook for PC installed. Is there any reason to install Nookstudy? If it is necessary, would I need to remove Nook for PC first?

Nevermind: some reading on Alf's blog pretty much said it had to be Nookstudy.

If Nook for PC is working for you, you don't need NookStudy. And if Nook for PC stops working, try the URL trick. You only need NookStudy if all that fails.

That said, the NookStudy download page seems to be gone. Not sure if it's a temporary glitch or if BN is doing more stomping on its customers. If so, I'm guessing everything's going to stop working soon.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by odamizu

That doesn't sound good. Not good at all.

Also saw a post on Alf that someone's having intermittent trouble with Kindlebooks -- some books work, some don't: https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/...#comment-51166. Hope that's a false alarm and not a sign that Amazon is tightening up ship as well.

I'm not sure what that person's problem is, but it looks to me like that book is DRM Free.

Product Details

File Size: 198 KB
Print Length: 37 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00U01XJR0
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
Not Enabled
Word Wise: Not Enabled
Lending: Enabled

Shari

[Jane12]

Originally Posted by shalym

I'm not sure what that person's problem is, but it looks to me like that book is DRM Free.

I didn't realize you could tell if a book is DRM free on Amazon. What do you look for?

(I thought it might be "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited," but I spot-checked a bunch of Tor and Baen books, and they don't say that. For example, I have Ender's Game from B&N and it downloads DRM free. It also says "DRM-free" on Kobo. However Ender's Game doesn't say "unlimited" or anything else that suggests DRM free on Amazon. Then again, I've never bought ebooks from Amazon, so maybe Tor and Baen books aren't DRM free if you buy from Amazon?)

Originally Posted by odamizu

To those of you no longer buying ebooks at BN, who's getting your business instead?

I'm feeling really burned by B&N and have stopped buying DRMed books from anyone. I'm no longer interested in "leasing" books from bookstores and publishers. If I can't own it, I'm borrowing it from the library.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Colerson

I've gone exclusively to Amazon. I used to prefer B&N, but used Amazon for ebooks that were cheaper there/not available on B&N.

As far as I'm concerned, Amazon is superior in almost all ways to B&N. The Nook software might have an edge here or there, but in aggregate, Amazon kills it.

B&N did this to themselves. When they removed the SD card slot in the newest models, I was unhappy. When they removed the download link, I disabled auto renew for my membership. When they changed DRM keys, I jumped ship. I'm not renewing my membership. I'm not going back.

Amazon removed the SD card slot. Amazon doesn't have a download link unless you have a hardware Kindle and in that case, you do need to use a program to download. So overall, Amazon is not that different from B&N.

[murg]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Amazon removed the SD card slot. Amazon doesn't have a download link unless you have a hardware Kindle and in that case, you do need to use a program to download. So overall, Amazon is not that different from B&N.

Except that I expect Amazon to survive until next year, and no one would be surprised if B&N didn't.

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by odamizu

That said, the NookStudy download page seems to be gone. Not sure if it's a temporary glitch or if BN is doing more stomping on its customers. If so, I'm guessing everything's going to stop working soon.

This link for NOOK Study still works. If they are removing the links, I'm not really sure what B&N's end game is. I wonder if B&N knows.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by shalym

... I'm not sure what that person's problem is, but it looks to me like that book is DRM Free.

Yes, the DIY book he mentions appears DRM Free, but the book in the error log ("Hard Bite") does not.

Originally Posted by Difflugia

... If they are removing the links, I'm not really sure what B&N's end game is. I wonder if B&N knows.

Yeah, it's looking pretty grim again.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Jane12

I didn't realize you could tell if a book is DRM free on Amazon. What do you look for?

(I thought it might be "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited," but I spot-checked a bunch of Tor and Baen books, and they don't say that. For example, I have Ender's Game from B&N and it downloads DRM free. It also says "DRM-free" on Kobo. However Ender's Game doesn't say "unlimited" or anything else that suggests DRM free on Amazon. Then again, I've never bought ebooks from Amazon, so maybe Tor and Baen books aren't DRM free if you buy from Amazon?)

On KDP published books "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" will let you know a book is DRM free. For books from publishing houses that submit another way some like Tor and Baen mention it in the books description ("At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management)") and for others like Carina Press and O'Reilly the books are DRM-free, but there is no way of knowing that other than knowing the publisher is DRM-free. Then you have some publishers that are DRM-free at their own sites like Samhain (DRM-free at their site and B&N) but not elsewhere which makes it worse. Unfortunately Amazon doesn't have something as simple and direct as mentioning the DRM status in the product details.


EDIT: I see a lot of Tor books no longer have the "At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management)" tag line in the description. Perhaps whoever does their book submissions isn't adding that text anymore?

[Solo1959]

So, in other words, if you own a Nook, and you buy a book from Barnes and Noble, you are required to have WiFi. There is no way to get the book you bought via your computer onto the Nook unless you can connect to a WiFi someplace. Doesn't make sense.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by Solo1959

So, in other words, if you own a Nook, and you buy a book from Barnes and Noble, you are required to have WiFi. There is no way to get the book you bought via your computer onto the Nook unless you can connect to a WiFi someplace. Doesn't make sense.

When I complained to B&N on their Facebook page they confirmed that they were no longer supporting sideloading of their content onto Nooks. They did also say that I could still sideload content from other sources.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by cromag

When I complained to B&N on their Facebook page they confirmed that they were no longer supporting sideloading of their content onto Nooks. They did also say that I could still sideload content from other sources.

Wow, so they are encouraging people to buy books elsewhere.


Here's another link to Nookstudy for PC:

https://customer-care.s3.amazonaws.c...tudy_Setup.exe

And here is Nookstudy for Mac:

https://customer-care.s3.amazonaws.c...OK%20Study.dmg

These are the links from the yuzu.com/nsdownload page which disappeared a couple days ago. I pulled it up from the web archive wayback machine. Amusingly they're stored on Amazon Web Services.