B&N to release NOOK GlowLight 3

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So why is it that no other Reader that uses also uses RMSDK doesn't need to be partitioned? It's not about stability. It's about not having enough space for eBooks from someplace other than B&N so when that's filled, your only choice is to buy from B&N.

Last I checked, Kobo ereaders have three partitions. I'd doubt there is an ereader that doesn't have the storage partitioned in some way..

But, my guess here is that the books downloaded from B&N are using Adobe DRM and that having those in a place that ADE can see them is what caused the problems.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by woemcats

All I can say is that having a shared partition for both Nook and sideloaded content on the GLP made ADE not work. What they initially tried with the 3 ("sparse bundle disk imaging") was unstable. So they went back to what worked on earlier devices.

So what you are saying is that B&N's changes to RMDSK botched things. Well that means why bother knowing that the reading software is a botch job?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Last I checked, Kobo ereaders have three partitions. I'd doubt there is an ereader that doesn't have the storage partitioned in some way..

But, my guess here is that the books downloaded from B&N are using Adobe DRM and that having those in a place that ADE can see them is what caused the problems.

Or it could be that B&N is hiding the partition for B&N eBooks so they cannot be removed because B&N is paranoid that we will strip the DRM and then distributed on the net.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Partitioned memory is not a choice. It's an abomination.

That's your opinion. It's one I agree with, but in the larger world most people don't even know about it.

If the Glowlight 3 sells like hotcakes, clearly the partitioned memory wasn't an issue for the bulk of the public.

For all my whining about the memory, I'll likely still buy my better half one for Christmas.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

That's your opinion. It's one I agree with, but in the larger world most people don't even know about it.

If the Glowlight 3 sells like hotcakes, clearly the partitioned memory wasn't an issue for the bulk of the public.

For all my whining about the memory, I'll likely still buy my better half one for Christmas.

There's no way I'd buy one. I would never give money to fund B&N's stupid decision to partition the memory.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Or it could be that B&N is hiding the partition for B&N eBooks so they cannot be removed because B&N is paranoid that we will strip the DRM and then distributed on the net.

Except that if problems were reported with ADE and a Nook that didn't have partitioned memory, it suggests that there is something else going on. And reverting back to a known working system is a reasonable response to problems. Maybe they will fix it in the future.

But, I think that the big problem is that what you think B&N are selling is not what B&N think they are selling. If you read the page for the device and the press release. There is virtually no mention of sideloading or getting books from elsewhere. The only mention in the press release of non-B&N sourced books is about library books.

What all this means is that B&N are not selling a general purpose ereader, they are selling a B&N ereader. And if that is the purpose of the device, then hiding the books from view makes a lot of sense. It means that the users won't fiddle with the files and mess up the device. And if you think users won't mess it up, just remember how many people have complained their PC's no longer worked after they cleaned up some files they didn't need - files in the "Windows" directory.

Is this partitioning good? To you and me, no. From my point of view, it just means that if I was in the market for a new ereader, the NOOK Glowlight 3 would not make a shortlist of possibilities. But, it is a valid design choice and I think that most people considering buying one, would be wondering what the fuss was all about.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Actually I do. The more B&N sells, the more they'll keep that partitioned memory in future Readers. And that means less choice. Partitioned memory is not a choice. It's an abomination.

While I don't like the partitioned memory it wouldn't really have much effect on me. I rarely have more than 20 to 40 books on board. When I get much above that I start removing some.

Personally I think this thing, overall, looks pretty good and I suspect it's a smart move on B&N's part. Especially important to me is that B&N stay in the business because even though they're not much competition to Amazon they're at least there. My guess is when Amazon truly has no more competition we'll see the Kindles get either more expensive or poorer quality or something. Every company does better with competition.

I watched Nathan's video review a couple of times today and I was kind of disappointed to see the dictionary greyed out again. What an incredibly dumb design decision! New Coke was smarter. Still, I may want to get one. I'll have to think about it a while.

Barry

[barryem]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what you are saying is that B&N's changes to RMDSK botched things. Well that means why bother knowing that the reading software is a botch job?

In 35 years of writing software I doubt if I wrote a single program that didn't have any bugs. Once, however, I wrote a data conversion program that processed between 5 and 20 million records a night 5 nights a week, which is a pretty good test. After 7 years of this it finally found that combination of data I hadn't considered and crashed. Best damn bug I ever wrote!

Barry

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There's no way I'd buy one.

No! I'm shocked! Really?

And there's no way I'll buy another Kobo ... I guess everything evens out.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by barryem

I watched Nathan's video review a couple of times today and I was kind of disappointed to see the dictionary greyed out again. What an incredibly dumb design decision! New Coke was smarter. Still, I may want to get one. I'll have to think about it a while.

I totally agree about the grayed out dictionary – even the chapter titles are grayed out. Don't get it. But I'm also considering buying one because the screen is really nice. Then I find Walmart is listing "refurbished" (new, open box) Nook GlowLight Pluses (same seller who is selling them on eBay for $60). I guess they're clearing them out for the 3s.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by barryem

In 35 years of writing software I doubt if I wrote a single program that didn't have any bugs. Once, however, I wrote a data conversion program that processed between 5 and 20 million records a night 5 nights a week, which is a pretty good test. After 7 years of this it finally found that combination of data I hadn't considered and crashed. Best damn bug I ever wrote!

I think it's pretty obvious that B&N has pushed these GlowLight 3s out a bit before they were really ready so they would be available for Christmas. If I remember right, the NST also had early bugs that were fixed fairly quickly. As a matter of fact a lot of eReaders (including Kobos) often have early bugs. This is one of the reasons (besides being really cheap) that I don't rush out to buy the newest gadget.

Oh, and congratulations on your "buggy" software.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There's no way I'd buy one. I would never give money to fund B&N's stupid decision to partition the memory.

Yes. We know.

So, here's a wild idea! Why not go comment on a thread about something you like?

[lkmiller]

Excited to see over on xda that rooting the device requires only a simple edit to the script that worked for the Glowlight Plus. Being able to tinker around with them was always something I liked about my previous Nooks.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Actually I do. The more B&N sells, the more they'll keep that partitioned memory in future Readers. And that means less choice. Partitioned memory is not a choice. It's an abomination.

Uh, the more ereaders that B&N sells, the more likely they are to remain in the ereader business, which means more choice. Call me crazy, but that's how I see it. Especially here in the US, where we've only got two options if we want to walk into a store to buy one rather than order from elsewhere.

For $120, the Glowlight has a lot of functionality not found in the similarly priced Paperwhite, which will cost you $20 more if you don't want to be advertised to every time you pick it up. But that's an option, too, and options are good. There is no "perfect" reader, only one that meets more of your preferences than the others.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by issybird

Uh, the more ereaders that B&N sells, the more likely they are to remain in the ereader business, which means more choice. Call me crazy, but that's how I see it. Especially here in the US, where we've only got two options if we want to walk into a store to buy one rather than order from elsewhere.

For $120, the Glowlight has a lot of functionality not found in the similarly priced Paperwhite, which will cost you $20 more if you don't want to be advertised to every time you pick it up. But that's an option, too, and options are good. There is no "perfect" reader, only one that meets more of your preferences than the others.

Exactly. I'm surprised, and grateful, that we got this new NOOK at all.

Being irritated at a company for trying to sell more of its product is irrational.