Warning! Barnes and Noble SUCKS!

[Optimistic Paranoid]

So I have an Android Tablet and a Laptop.  I have both the Nook and Kindle apps on both.  Most of my books are Kindle format, but I wanted to thank B&N for all of the hours I've spent in their stores reading for free, so I made the decision to buy my military history books from B&N as Nook format.

Well I went to read a book on my Laptop yesterday, and instead of loading, I got an error message saying my account was locked or disabled or something, and to call the B&N help line.

When I called them, we went back and forth for a bit with questions and answers, then the guy on the help line told me that B&N had done some recent upgrades, AND THEY NO LONGER SUPPORTED WINDOWS 7.  He suggested I put their app on my smartphone.

I politely thanked him and hung up.

F*!#ING PITA!!!!

I could see no longer supporting OBSOLETE systems, but Microsoft is still supporting Windows 7 and will be for years yet!  And why shouldn't an old version of the reader keep working even if it is "no longer supported"?

Well my Android Tablet app still works fine, but when poking around on B&Ns web site, found that the Android App is only supported for version 4.1 and up, so I guess my Android app will stop working someday, too, even if the tablet is still running fine.

Not sure yet what I'm going to do, but I am DAMN sure done buying ebooks from B&N.

Regards
John

 

[Patrick46]

so...my Windows 3.1 won't work, I gather??? :s

 

[WriterMs]

And yet B&N will wonder why they are so behind Amazon in the book marketplace.

Even tho Amazon might be hard on sellers in some ways (mentioned on another thread about a customer being able to return products by simply saying they do not work), Amazon is ALL about the customer.

For authors, I'm with Bob, the upside for having your ebooks exclusively on Amazon far outweighs sales from other sources like B&N. (In my opinion and experience.)

 

[Canine]

I've had both the Nook Book and the Kindle Paperwhite. When I got the Kindle, it smoked the Nook in almost every aspect from the e-readers themselves to the online stores.

I had the apps for both as well when I had the smartphone. Kindle was better there, too. Especially the free dictionaries that are available. The Nook uses one that is like a pocket dictionary. Many times I had to look up a word in my full size, real American Heritage. With the Kindle, any word that is not in the electronic dictionary is also not in my American Heritage. That is saying A LOT.

I cannot think of one reason how Barnes and Noble is more advantageous than Amazon. I'm sure there are reasons, but I can't think of one off of the top of my head. I understand that Amazon has free books, too, right?

 

[highdesertranger]

actually I think Barnes and Noble days are numbered. highdesertranger

 

[WriterMs]

I cannot think of one reason how Barnes and Noble is more advantageous than Amazon. I'm sure there are reasons, but I can't think of one off of the top of my head. I understand that Amazon has free books, too, right?

Yep, Canine,
Amazon has tons of free ebooks. Cyndi keeps us posted when she finds an ebook that is free for a limited time and is related to travel, camping, or anything we discuss here. You'll find her thread titled "free ebooks."

You can find free in any genre on Amazon by setting the search box to Books and then typing in something like: Free Kindle mystery

In the last year since they began the Unlimited Kindle PAID service, sometimes those books show up, too. So always check that the regular Kindle version price is $0.00. You download them like you are buying them, but the receipt says zero instead of a cost.

Also be aware that many authors post mini-books free to try to get you hooked. But, in the end, you get to sample their writing for free. I think Amazon also has copyright-free classics for free download, too.