Kindle pros and cons, tips?

[jigwashere]

It's just Calibre. I used vanilla as a modifier because, allegedly, the DRM'd versions can be converted by calibre + questionable plugins.

I googled Questionable Plugins and didn't find anything useful.

[internetpilot]

I've used Calibre with separate Python scripts to convert DRM'ed eReader PDB books to ePub (what B&N uses).

The absolutely stupid part of my problem was that B&N bought Fictionwise (who had bought out eReader). I have a rather extensive eReader library. The Nook app (for Android, iOS, Windows, etc.) can read eReader PDB books without an issue. The B&N Nook devices that my wife uses, however, cannot! After several tech support calls about the original Nook reader and then most recently the Nook Tablet not being able to read eReader books, the end result was that they do not support it and do not know when (or if) they ever will. Yet, again, the Android/iOS/Windows Nook app does...? That's just plain dumb. Their advice? "These are mostly older books which are only a few dollars now from the Nook store..." Really? The solution is I'm just supposed to buy them again? I might as well have bought a Kindle.

My wife definitely wanted some of her old eReader library converted, but I converted all of them just out of spite for B&N's lacking and stupid software development strategy. Once you remove the DRM (which is not done with Calibre), Calibre does a wonderful job of converting/repackaging the book into whatever format you want. Since my eReader library was designed for older, low res Palm devices, I was able to update the images, covers, etc., to higher resolution. It's like a new book! I'm sure you can do the same thing for the Amazon Kindle. Heck, the Kindle can probably read eReader PDB files...haha.

[Mi An]

The original Nook did support the ereader pdbs from what I heard (making people think B&N wouldn't abandon us) -- which makes sense, because at that time, most of B&N's own library was made up of pdbs. They still use the same DRM, just wrapped around a epub format. I did some yelling at them myself when I briefly had a Nook Tablet. They've got B&N branding plastered all over ereader.com, but I get no benefits from that? It's ridiculous. TBH, I don't really expect them to support pdbs forever, but how about they import my ereader.com library into a B&N account. They purchased ereader and fictionwise for the tech and for the ebook contracts (jumpstarting their long neglected ebook efforts), so it isn't like that's just too legally complicated, they just don't care to convert us to B&N customers, after all, it isn't like they're in a pitched battle for marketshare and need every advantage they can get. What it signals to me is that this is not a company I want to be tied to, because inevitably, I would become inconvenient to them again and they'd burn me again. Everything else I saw about B&N from long time customers tells me this was not an isolated incident, B&N sucks consistently.

Fortunately, those who are technologically adept don't have to remain tied to any store, but I wonder how many poor souls got talked into rebuying their books, and will again down the road. They probably thought they already "owned" them, but it was really a deceptively advertised rental agreement.

[raspabalsa]

I googled Questionable Plugins and didn't find anything useful.

Try Plug-ins instead

The absolutely stupid part of my problem was that B&N bought Fictionwise (who had bought out eReader). I have a rather extensive eReader library. The Nook app (for Android, iOS, Windows, etc.) can read eReader PDB books without an issue. The B&N Nook devices that my wife uses, however, cannot! After several tech support calls about the original Nook reader and then most recently the Nook Tablet not being able to read eReader books, the end result was that they do not support it and do not know when (or if) they ever will. Yet, again, the Android/iOS/Windows Nook app does...? That's just plain dumb. Their advice? "These are mostly older books which are only a few dollars now from the Nook store..." Really? The solution is I'm just supposed to buy them again? I might as well have bought a Kindle.

What it signals to me is that this is not a company I want to be tied to, because inevitably, I would become inconvenient to them again and they'd burn me again. Everything else I saw about B&N from long time customers tells me this was not an isolated incident, B&N sucks consistently.

This is exactly the bleak scenario I have in mind. But I guess the risk of something like this happening with the Kindle format is lower than on other, even other major, fomats. Or is it still foolhardy? I plan to invest around $50 to $100 yearly on ebooks (a book a month). However, knowing I can somehow convert some of my titles with vanilla or questionable tools is a really good news, and makes it easier to commit to one format.

I'm amazed that a company such as B&N would resort to such policies... seems they didn't even make a token effort to help their users through the transition. I'll definitely stay away from them. Thanks for the advice.

[internetpilot]

The original Nook did support the ereader pdbs from what I heard (making people think B&N wouldn't abandon us) -- which makes sense, because at that time, most of B&N's own library was made up of pdbs. They still use the same DRM, just wrapped around a epub format.

You're correct -- I was remembering my story wrong. The Nook hardware DID/DOES support the PDB format (not well documented), but my issue was that the Nook app for Android did NOT support eReader PDB files, and they said they had no plans for coming out with a Nook app for Palm or an eReader app for Android (even now the Android eReader app is considered Beta). So, as a Palm user with an extensive eReader PDB library who just recently purchased an Android phone, I was stuck in limbo in the middle. I mean, really, they didn't foresee that happening to their customers? The Nook hardware is nothing but an Android tablet -- yet B&N claimed that Android wasn't a viable DRM OS because of its open source nature. Netflix was claiming the same thing for ages for being able to watch movies on Android. It was such a cluster....uh....bomb. Thankfully, Android support in the industry has come a LONG way since the original "dark" days of being labeled a hacker OS.

Even for my wife's original Nook, tech support did not help me get the PDBs on there -- I had to find out through a 3rd-party forum that you had to manually copy them to the MyDocuments folder of the device (or something similar), and then they were opened as an imported document, which doesn't allow for some of the eBook-ish features of the genuine B&N books.

I just think that B&N could've handled the transition a lot better. For quite a while after B&N acquired eReader/Fictionwise they were still producing new eBooks in PDB format. Why? It was a dead end. They should've just put out a Nook app out for all current eReader supported devices, and made the Nook app capable of reading PDBs. I don't think it could've gotten more simple than that.

I don't see Amazon and the Kindle ever having this type of problem. I only went with B&N because they bought eReader and my wife bought a Nook. Except for the PDB library debacle, I really like the Nook app, and my wife really likes the Nook devices (original Nook and now the Nook Tablet). But if I wasn't the techie that I am, I could've seen me as a customer getting so angry and frustrated that I went for a Kindle/Kindle app solution instead. I mean, if I had to buy my entire PDB library all over again, why show loyalty to B&N, right? I'm sure there were plenty of loyal eReader/B&N customers who did just that, and it really, really didn't have to be that way if B&N just used some common sense.

[internetpilot]

This is exactly the bleak scenario I have in mind. But I guess the risk of something like this happening with the Kindle format is lower than on other, even other major, fomats. Or is it still foolhardy? I plan to invest around $50 to $100 yearly on ebooks (a book a month). However, knowing I can somehow convert some of my titles with vanilla or questionable tools is a really good news, and makes it easier to commit to one format.

I really don't see Amazon/Kindle ever having this problem. They're too dominant in the industry. The only way I could see this happening is if someone bought Amazon, and I just don't ever see that happening.

I'm amazed that a company such as B&N would resort to such policies... seems they didn't even make a token effort to help their users through the transition. I'll definitely stay away from them. Thanks for the advice.

The problem is that it wasn't B&N customers -- it was eReader customers, and I'm actually more angry at eReader than I am at B&N. Of course B&N just expected eReader customers to recognize the writing on the wall and move over to B&N, and I don't think that it was any coincidence that the only easy solution to continue reading your PDB library is to (shock and surprise) buy B&N hardware. It was just a bad buyout/takeover, but I was an eReader customer and they should've arranged for a better transition to B&N on the way out. B&N didn't seem to realize that eReader customers might not just automatically buy a Nook and would instead have a choice to make -- buy a Nook or take it all as a sign to cut their losses and switch to Amazon/Kindle?

My current situation is that most of my library is in the Nook app, but I also have a few exclusive books in the Kindle app. It doesn't really matter to me at this point -- I'll even buy a book on the Google Play store if that's the only source. Eventually that could become a pain for re-reading (trying to remember what library that book came from), but it's doable and it allows me the best of all worlds and doesn't narrow me down to one source (like eReader) so hopefully I won't get so severely bitten again.

[questionfear]

I agree that Amazon probably wouldn't face the same issues. Setting aside the fact that Amazon is unlikely to have the same sort of awkward integration issues B&N had with eReader, Amazon has a history of excellent customer service. If they had to flip a switch from their current platform to a different one, they would likely find a way to do it easily and without interruption because they do that now when books have typos and other issues; you get an email explaining the book has been updated with fixes, and you get the choice to update or not.

B&N should probably just put poor eReader out of its misery...they treat the whole system badly and selling a format they barely support is going to bite them hard in the ass soon...

[raspabalsa]

... because they do that now when books have typos and other issues; you get an email explaining the book has been updated with fixes, and you get the choice to update or not.

Just today I was wondering about this. I finished reading one of my new Kindle books (Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising), and I was surprised and annoyed to find quite a few errors. Common typos such as replacing "c" for "e", or "l" for "i", but also a few format errors, such as ommiting italics. And I know for sure because this is maybe the 20th time I've read this great novel! All in all I'd say there were about 20 errors total. Maybe not too bad for a 600+ page novel, but those errors distracted and annoyed me. Does Amazon pay any attention if a user reports these errors? Is it worth the trouble to make a list detailing these errors? Or should I simply wait for a future release to correct them?

I'm thinking that proofreading seems to be not standard across all Kindle titles: Clancy's The Hunt for Red October did not have any error, or at least I didn't notice any, and this is another book I've read many, many times, so I guess I would notice a few if there were any.

[Hook]

Just today I was wondering about this. I finished reading one of my new Kindle books (Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising), and I was surprised and annoyed to find quite a few errors. Common typos such as replacing "c" for "e", or "l" for "i", but also a few format errors, such as ommiting italics. And I know for sure because this is maybe the 20th time I've read this great novel! All in all I'd say there were about 20 errors total. Maybe not too bad for a 600+ page novel, but those errors distracted and annoyed me. Does Amazon pay any attention if a user reports these errors? Is it worth the trouble to make a list detailing these errors? Or should I simply wait for a future release to correct them?

I'm thinking that proofreading seems to be not standard across all Kindle titles: Clancy's The Hunt for Red October did not have any error, or at least I didn't notice any, and this is another book I've read many, many times, so I guess I would notice a few if there were any.

I suspect that Amazon doesn't do the proofing. It's up to the publisher as is making sure the book is properly formatted. One of the areas of major cuts in publishing today is production staff. You will find typos in print books these days as well. Amazon can pass along typo discovered to the publishers, but ultimately, they have to choose to do something about it.

[internetpilot]

B&N should probably just put poor eReader out of its misery...they treat the whole system badly and selling a format they barely support is going to bite them hard in the ass soon...

While replying to this thread I checked the eReader website to see if they were still in business and couldn't believe they are. Shortly after B&N bought them I had to start buying new books from B&N because my favorite authors simply weren't releasing books on eReader anymore. Time to stick a fork in it. Keep the domain since "eReader" has become such a buzzword, but have it auto-forward to the Nook store.