You are being analyzed - Nook Touch General

I heard a radio piece recently about a guy who requested his collected data from Amazon.
He got a ton back and was surprised at it.
This is a different link on that subject: https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/31/...-e-reader-privacy-policy-security-whispersync
You wouldn't expect B&N to be far behind would you?
A cursory look at the 5.0 B&N Reader app shows:
Adobe Analytics
Google Analytics
Localytics
Omniture Analytics
I can't be bothered to plow through all this stuff to figure out exactly what is going on.
I personally:
Don't use the B&N Reader app
Don't use WiFi on my Nooks
In any case, they get enough data out of me when I borrow books from my library with Overdrive.
They really don't need to know when I put my Nook down and go to sleep.

Related

B&N Reader application stinks!

I've gotten totally disgusted with the B&N Reader program.
When I first got the phone and loaded the reader it immediately downloaded a .cab to the root and performed an upgrade. Great, I think, this is an app that's currently being supported and I had high hopes.
Upon running it though I found out what a piece of %^&* it really is. It forces a sync to B&N every time you load it! To make matters worse it takes longer and longer each time you add a book, because it has to transfer more and more data! It only supports .epub even though several of the books I owned came down in .pdb format (although that has stopped, I am able to read those few in .pdb format using the eReader.com reader, it seemed perfectly fine with them including the encryption coding using the credit card.
Anyway, what I have found about the B&N Reader is that if you try to do ANYTHING while it is busy it will corrupt your SYSTEM and never run again. So, say you open the reader and are a bit forgetful, and forget for the original Syncing library to finish, open a book, you get "Open failed" and it will then NEVER EVER open a book, old or new. The only way around this is a hard reset back to factory settings, or as I have Sprite Backup, a restore to a prior backup.
Also, if you are reading a book and change some of the text settings, font, spacing, or margins, forgetaboutit, you are toast and must do a restore.
If you download a book and try to do anything, open another book, exit, or whatever, while it is downloading, you get to do a restore.
This thing looks like it was written by a third grader (apologies if you are in Elementary School), and I am so disappointed in it you would not believe. We need to put BIG pressure on B&N to fix this piece of junk.
My guess is that they were in development with it and when M$ announced WP7 would replace WM6.5 they stopped and released it where it was. There may have been a few more upgrades that they slipped in to that .cab it upgraded with (which happens to be the same one that's on their web site), so for now we are stuck at 1.0.0.27.
Anyone got any ideas?
Marc
Dear Customer,
Thank you for your e-mail.
We are always eager to provide information on our services and the
selections we offer online. However, the questions you have posed are
beyond the scope of the information that we provide to the general
public. The information you are seeking may be proprietary. Therefore,
we are unable to answer your questions.
We regret any disappointment this may cause, and wish you well in your
endeavors.
Sincerely,
Nolan
Customer Service Representative
Barnes and Noble
http://www.bn.com/
Original Message Follows:
------------------------
I have a T-Mobile HD2 which comes with the B&N eReader software. This
was one of the reasons I bought the HD2 as I have had Windows Mobile for
12+ years and used your eReader.com company's eReader for many, many
years. I have over 150 books on it.
So when I got my HD2 upon starting your reader it immediately downloaded
an update and installed it. Great, I think, this is a supported
platform and they are keeping it up to date! I bought several books and
sync'd my library. The books came down and I was able to read them.
Then I bought a few more books and during one of the downloads I
accidentally hit the X button and closed the application and all heck
broke loose. When I restarted the application it would no longer sync
with B&N and also would not open any of the existing books on my system.
The message in light grey text in the middle of the screen is something
like "Open failed". At that point I tried logging out of the
application, it told me this would reset the application to "Factory
Settings" and I accepted, thinking I could just re-download my books.
Wrong. Upon logging on again I had the same problem Syncing my library
and no books would download.
So I'm a Sysadmin and know to back up my systems. Fortunately I had
done a Sprite backup a few weeks back and used it to get the system
fully restored and the reader working again. I found several other
scenarios that cause my reader to corrupt the library to the point that
it is unusable. Some are:
1. Trying to read a book while downloading another.
2. Closing the reader while downloading a book.
3. Changing ANY of the font or line spacing settings.
4. Locking the screen on my phone (Red hangup button locks the screen)
while the reader application is open.
Essentially this application is junk. It appears to have been written
by a third grader and your Quality Assurance group should be ashamed.
When I first had these problems the first few books I purchased I found
that if I got on the web page I was able to download the books directly,
and that they came down in .pdb format, which worked perfectly on my
eReader.com (a B&N company!) reader. I was a happy camper, I'd been
using this reader for years and love it, even helped Beta Test new
versions for several years when it was under development. Unfortunately
you seem to have plugged that backdoor and all the books I have now
download in .epub format and I am stuck using your horrible HD2 reader.
Please help me out here. I am thinking in terms of (1) Helping you Beta
Test new versions for free, (2) If you have stopped development of the
Windows Mobile version, possibly a LARGE discount (say 100%) off of a
Nook or other reader, or (3) Give us the specs for your .epub format
extensions UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE so we can write a decent reader for you.
I am thinking in terms of a public domain program.
I'd bee more than happy to discuss all this with someone in a position
to make a decision. I spent 2 hours on the phone with one of your call
center drones and all he could recommend was that I take the phone to
T-Mobile and ask them to reload the softare
BTW, I am a 54 year old Software Engineer at NASA with 35 years of
Software Development, System Engineering and Software Quality Assurance
experience.
Thanks for your consideration,
Marc Newman
mknewman said:
(3) Give us the specs for your .epub format
extensions UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE so we can write a decent reader for you.
I am thinking in terms of a public domain program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, I could adapt Freda (see http://www.turnipsoft.co.uk/freda , and discussion threads elsewhere on these forums) to read B&N Epubs in about ten minutes work, because the EPUB DRM mechanism is not especially complicated.
But unless the DRM-decoder software is written with the permission of the book publisher (B&N in this case), it consititutes infringement of the DMCA and similar pieces of toxic legislation around the world.
The software could be free (indeed, Freda is free). But it couldn't be public domain (in the sense of open source) because if you publish B&N's DRM-decoding algorithm, you are effectively publishing the recipe for how to rip off B&N books - so the code has to be developed under NDA.
If you do get a useful answer out of B&N, please let me know because I'd be keen to work on the project.
Letter writing campaign
I highly suggest anyone interested write B&N Customer Support and request support for their Windows Mobile reader.
Marc
Anyone else notice this new video of what appears to be a new B&N eReader on the T-Mo site: http://htchd2.t-mobile.com/touch-screen-phones-ereader
Have you tried the Kobo Books Reader app? It appears only in the Navigation Tabs, not the Start Screen.
kobobooks.com
That won't help me read books I've bought from B&N.
mknewman said:
Anyone else notice this new video of what appears to be a new B&N eReader on the T-Mo site: http://htchd2.t-mobile.com/touch-screen-phones-ereader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I load up my BN reader and go to Settings --> About, I have version 1.0.0.27. There is also a Check for New Version link there that tells me there are no new updates.
The website vid likely just gussied up the splash screen. Nothing else looked different to me.
If you look carefully at the video the settings page is quite diffeerent, there are many new options, and new settings. Oh, and yes I am running the latest version, 1.0.0.27 that gets downloaded the first time you run it from a new ROM.
if there is a new version they need to release it. the version out there royally sucks.
My kids and I spend a small fortune at the local brick and mortar store, so much that everyone there knows us by name and the store manager will let my teen daughter run a tab if needed ( not a good thing for dad). They will lose all of my business over this junky reader. I bought the HD2 expressly for Ereader.
Wonder how long we have to wait for a kindle app ?
B&N Support No Help - I Installed eReader
Like Mark, I saw that the B&N reader was crippled and would show only ePub formatted books I had bought from the B&N website. My e-mails to the B&N staff basically told me to go to the phone company (T-Mobile). B&N clearly has no plans to support this product. There is no B&N reader for Windows Mobile on the B&N ebook website (althought there may be when WinPhone7 comes out).
Interestingly, the latest B&N/Nook reader on my desktop will recognize my HD2. It will let me supposedly sync and copy books from my desktop to the HD2. In fact, the books do get copied, but the reader will not recognize them. I assume this functionality is intended more for Android phones and the iPhone, which do have working B&N readers.
I still had an old version of the eReaderPro program (3.0.3fp Oct. 2007). I was able to install it. It works fine. I do have to unlock the books again after copying them to the HD2. Of course, this version will not run the newer ePub books, so I have to have two programs to access all my eReader and B&N books. I can live with that. But when Barnes & Noble sent me an e-mail offering me a free book because I had not bought one in a while, I didn't even bother.
There is a newer version of the B&N eReader that is far better, not perfect but definately usable. It should download the next time you run it or you can go to the About page and get it there. It's still not listed on the B&N site but I posted the link for it in another post.
Edit: Found it http://images.barnesandnoble.com/PResources/download/WinMo/BNeReader_1.1.0.22.CAB
Marc
I have spoken with BN support and they state that they do not support this app, but HTC should.
I spoke with HTC and they told be BN rep was crazy.
The only way I can sideload books is to translate them into the appropriate format (I use Callibre and choose the .epub format specific to the "nook")
Then I download one of the free books (dracula).
Then go into the root directory under program files/BN eReader and you will see a bunch of numbers. If you rename one of these with an added character, put your book in this directory, change the name of your book to the number corresponding to the downloaded book...you will find your book in the list of books you can read, but it will be named "Dracula" with the cover for Dracula.
If you want to change the cover you can drop a JPEG of the cover into the directory Temp/BNImages and do the same thing with the naming convention.
It is a decent little reader, but very unfriendly and a lot of work.
I have not used it for downloaded books from BN, but I would hope that is easier.
Try the new version, it's far better.
I thought I had the latest version.
what is the latest build number?
1.10.22...that is what I have.

Adding your own books to Play Books

Please bear with me, as I am new to the Android scene and just recently unlocked my bootloader and rooted my Nexus 7.
I am currently looking for a way to add my own .epub books to the Play Books app, as want to keep my books all in one place and keep it simple on me.
I thought there'd be a directory where it stores its books, but have not been able to locate it or find a successful way to have my books displayed in the Play Books app.
Any ideas or am I missing something?
After a bit of research, it seems the Google Play Books app only looks for books purchase in the Play Store?
There must be a way around it
Yung Lovah said:
After a bit of research, it seems the Google Play Books app only looks for books purchase in the Play Store?
There must be a way around it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting to know.
So, presumably you need to install a different epub reader and run it in parallel. Anyone here can recommend a good free one that works with the N7?
taltamir said:
Interesting to know.
So, presumably you need to install a different epub reader and run it in parallel. Anyone here can recommend a good free one that works with the N7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Aldiko, a pretty decent ereader app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aldiko.android&hl=en
There is a free and paid version.
As far as I know there is no way to import your own books to play books. I use the nook app for my epubs, I don't read enough ebooks to give you a better app than that though
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I started using Moon Reader.
I just wish I could have all my books in one spot.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
+1 moon reader. I made a folder called books, put all my books in there and pointed moon reader to it
+1 for Aldiko
Using Cool Reader right now. Its full featured and free without ads or nag screen. There's also an option to donate to support the developer, but its optional and no featured is taken out in the free version either ( unlike some of the other readers ).
i like the nook app, i can add my own books and i like the animations
Thanks for the suggestions. I am trying both alkido and moon+ reader.
taltamir said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I am trying both alkido and moon+ reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know which one you like better.
I use Caliber to convert files into .mobi , and then run them in the Kindle app.
You just plant them in sdcard/Android/Data/com.amazon.kindle/files and it will pick them up.
So now i'm settled with two library types.
Only downside is you don't get that cool page flip animation. lol
+1 Aldiko
+1 for cool reader. I also like FBReader. I actually use a combination of the two along with the B&N Nook app and the Kindle App... depends on where the book is... At one point I was using Calibre to remove the DRM, but I kind of like the bookshelf display of the the B&N app, etc...
i think this is a huge blunder on Google's part. This device is geared towards content, but yet I can't add ePub books I've purchased from other sites and use it with the included book app. I have to add a third party app that takes up storage and diminishes the Google experience. If I have to use a third party app to read ebooks, why bother purchasing them from the Play Store? Google seems to be severely deficient in their marketing dept.
Google Play books
ynnek63 said:
i think this is a huge blunder on Google's part. This device is geared towards content, but yet I can't add ePub books I've purchased from other sites and use it with the included book app. I have to add a third party app that takes up storage and diminishes the Google experience. If I have to use a third party app to read ebooks, why bother purchasing them from the Play Store? Google seems to be severely deficient in their marketing dept.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought two books from Google Play yesterday, and one of them didn't offer the option of downloading the epub to a computer. This led me to check quite a few other books, especially those on sale, and I found that the majority also didn't allow downloading to a computer. Of course, this means the books can't be read anywhere but through the Google Books app, and it isn't possible to remove DRM to allow for backup of the books on customers' own hard drives or cloud storage choices.
I have only bought a few books from Google in the past, and hadn't encountered this problem before. I'm not sure if their policies have changed, or if I happened to be lucky in my previous choice of books. I won't be buying any more books from Google if I can't make deDRMed backup copies. Even if I didn't want to deDRM the books, this change means that they can no longer be read with Nook or Sony ereaders or tablets unless they allow the addition of the Google Books app. I feel this is unreasonably restrictive, and I am not aware of a way to circumvent their controls (unlike with Amazon's or even iTunes' DRM schemes).
I have not yet contacted Google to ask if the non-downloadable books are a temporary glitch, or if they have done this on purpose.
Has anyone else noticed this? Does it bother you?
TLDR: Anyway, my point is that you should check books you plan to buy from Google Play, if you don't want to have those books be unusable anywhere but in the Google Books app.
redb33s said:
I bought two books from Google Play yesterday, and one of them didn't offer the option of downloading the epub to a computer. This led me to check quite a few other books, especially those on sale, and I found that the majority also didn't allow downloading to a computer. Of course, this means the books can't be read anywhere but through the Google Books app, and it isn't possible to remove DRM to allow for backup of the books on customers' own hard drives or cloud storage choices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DRMed music went the way of the dodo, thankfully. But the moment books are very much DRMed.
The vast majority of books can only be purchased with heavy DRM restrictions, stores that only allow DRM free books simply don't have them. You either pirate them or you are stuck with DRM.
Google play store, amazon kindle, and B&N nook store all allow heavy handed DRM so they all have a full selection of books (those heavy DRM books can be found in all 3).
Cdoan34 said:
i like the nook app, i can add my own books and i like the animations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The nook app is cool.. If you download the kindle app you can place all your books in SD/kindle and it'll play most file types I think (PDF, epub, mobile, etc.)
+1 for Moon Reader Pro.

Monitoring reading activity on the Nook Touch?

Dear XDA community,
First I apologize for the long post, if you want to see only my actual question, just skip the next 2 paragraphs.The stuff before is for context on why your help will be so crucial to us!
Friends and I have started a non-profit organization with the aim of bringing Nooks Touch loaded with literature and DIY books to Kenya (the website is readandprosper.org) The idea is to provide children in their last two years of secondary education with choice and easy access to both Kenyan, pan-African, and US/European literature, as well as replace their textbooks with electronic versions. Currently, up to 5 children share a single textbook (generally in bad shape as well). We also would like to include lots of Do It Yourself books to encourage children to learn useful trades (carpentry, irrigation, mechanical repair, etc).
We have made significant progress in our work, identified the school where we will pilot the project, identified the books we'd like to use (though publishers are giving us a hard time; shocker!) etc. Right now, we are working on the monitoring and evaluation plan and are looking into collecting data about the use of the devices by children and professors. This is where the XDA community's help would be crucial!
Our hope is that there is a way to record what books are being read and also basic information about basic reading patterns, like how many pages are being read in sequence vs. just browsing through the book. Do you guys and gals know any way this can be done via a script/app?
I have a pretty good understanding of Android, having rooted and tested lots of roms on my G2x and having done some basic customization work in the guts so I'm OK with a not super simple and easy solution. It would be really helpful for us to understand use patterns and what books have the most value so we can better tailor our approach!
Thank you so much for any suggestions/help!
Depending on how in-depth you wanted the info, this could get complicated.
You'd need to modify the reader.
You'd have to safeguard against logging as read when somebody holds down a side button continuously.
You can look in the Nook and check the content provider content://media/external/docs and see if a book was ever opened.
If you took occasional snapshots of this you might make some sense of reading.
There's also content://com.bn.nook.reader.providers.lastreadingpointprovider/
It's not what you want, but the easiest data that you can get is if people are using Adobe Digital Editions to borrow from libraries.
You can look in C:\Users\Whoever\My Documents\My Digital Editions and see all the books ever borrowed.
Renate NST said:
Depending on how in-depth you wanted the info, this could get complicated.
You'd need to modify the reader.
You'd have to safeguard against logging as read when somebody holds down a side button continuously.
You can look in the Nook and check the content provider content://media/external/docs and see if a book was ever opened.
If you took occasional snapshots of this you might make some sense of reading.
There's also content://com.bn.nook.reader.providers.lastreadingpointprovider/
It's not what you want, but the easiest data that you can get is if people are using Adobe Digital Editions to borrow from libraries.
You can look in C:\Users\Whoever\My Documents\My Digital Editions and see all the books ever borrowed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the info Renate!
I think our first interest is in finding out which books are read most often. Number of pages read would be interesting, but as you said, it will be difficult to collect the data without getting a lot of "noise" or some kind of access to the reader's innards.
We are also open to installing a different reader than the Nook standard, like Moon+ or Aldiko (after root of course). Do any of these third party readers provide an API-type access that would enable more extensive data collection? Otherwise we might try to talk to the app makers and see if they might be able to cook up something for us.
The ADE aspect doesn't really work for us, there is no WiFi where the e-readers are going and we will be sideloading all the books.
We'll continue to think about all this. I got one of our refurbished Nook yesterday to play with, and so far I haven't really gone the rooting route just yet, but I think it will be happening pretty soon.
I just wanted to revive this thread on logging how students use their e-readers.
Since my last post, I haven't really been able to find much more information, which is incredible frustrating.
School libraries, public libraries, and so forth are all using or at least beginning to use e-readers and I can't believe that there exist no app or reading software that tracks reading habits or use. I understand there are some privacy issues, but anonymized data would carry incredibly useful information. In our case, we will have multiple kids using each reader, and no log-in so the privacy issues is essentially void. Plus the data will inform what books we should load up on our readers in the future.
Does anybody on XDA have any clue about an app that can collect reading data? I know Moon+ Pro has some reading statistics for example, but do you guys/gals know what data is available?

[Q] Rooted Nook ST w/touchnooter & noogie.img no wifi

I have a Nook Simple Touch. I purchased it approximately a month ago. That would be September 2012.
I want to check out Library books.
I use Linux. Zenwalk 7.0
Overdrive seems to only work with Adobe Digital Edition. (cough) Windows or MAC.
ADE has DRMs.
B&N don't allow the installation of Overdrive App. Sideloading don't work etc.
So I wanted to root my nook.
I rooted my nook with noogie.img and tried it with touchnooter which I liked better.
Everything was working great. I accessed my Email. Just started checking it out. Started to install Opera Mini, when the public wifi where I was at shut down for the night.
Next morning I start up my nook again on public wifi; apparently from what I understand from other forums and threads is that nook automatically updates. B&N have decided Nook ST doesn't need or deserve Overdrive. Despite there terms of usage which say you can surf the net with Nook they lie. So their latest update blocked all my wifi.
I have restored to factory stock. Lost all my books and my ability to use my Nook at all because I can't access the internet because B&N reroute me to a page that tells my all my wifi is blocked.
I have formatted the noogie. img sd card and added bravo_update.dat. Followed all the directions here. Restoring WiFi Config @ nookDevs.com/tips and tricks]
Would appreciate any help I could get.
Thank you in advance.
I cant help with restoring your Nook, but when you do -
I download with Overdrive, then remove the DRMS using ePub DRM Removal or Epubor DRM Removal.
there are also other DRM removal programs out there.
DRM removal
Dear Ladykayaker,
I'm not looking to remove the DRMs. Though eventually I may be, LOL. I respect my library. I respect the copyrights of the authors.
My problem is I don't want left out of the party. Just because I use Linux. I shouldn't be left out of Overdrive. Just because I bought the cheapest Nook because of the long battery life, ease of reading the pages, cost effectiveness etc.; doesn't mean that I don't want to use the library.
However this thread is about getting my Nook working.
Perhaps I'll start another thread about Overdrive and Linux but I'm not sure that this website is the proper place to do that.
I really appreciate your feedback though Ladykayaker.
Still working on getting my NOOK working.
Today I'm going to try SalsichaNooter.
Thanks,
dandielionous
dandielionous said:
B&N have decided Nook ST doesn't need or deserve Overdrive. Despite there terms of usage which say you can surf the net with Nook they lie.
...I can't access the internet because B&N reroute me to a page that tells my all my wifi is blocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK, B&N never said that you could browse with the NST.
This sounds like a problem with whichever WiFi you are using, not B&N.
The OverDrive through Adobe Digital Editions uses different DRM than the OverDrive app on the Nook.
I use both, but you are limited to the respective readers unless you strip DRM.
Overdrive, Linux, Nook ST and Me
Wow, lots of good stuff here.
First:
ladykyaker maybe I should have listened to you better. Okay I'm going to do work on stripping DRMs
Second: Renate NST I appreciate your information that Nook and Adobe Digital Edition use two different DRM.
Next: Renate NST I have no idea what AFAIK stands for. If you're trying to say some version of FYI that I would understand. SO... FYI for you Renate.
NOOK™ TERMS OF SERVICE
These Terms of Service (this "Agreement") is a legally binding agreement made by and between Barnes & Noble, Inc. ("we," "us," or "our") and you regarding your use of your NOOK™ eReader ("NOOK").
THIS AGREEMENT SETS FORTH THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS APPLICABLE TO THE USE OF YOUR NOOK, SO PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING YOUR NOOK. BY USING YOUR NOOK, YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE SO BOUND, YOU MUST RETURN YOUR NOOK AND RELATED SOFTWARE AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 1(b) BELOW.
1. Using Your NOOK.
(a) Your NOOK, the Service and Digital Content. Your NOOK is an electronic device that is designed to allow you to read digitized electronic content such as eBooks and digital periodicals ("Digital Content"). Your NOOK is also designed to connect wirelessly to the Internet to enable you to browse, preview, search for, purchase and download Digital Content; access the Barnes & Noble.com Web Site (the "Web Site") and other web sites; interface with social networking sites; and access, use, and participate in other services, features, functions and promotions (all features described in this sentence, collectively, the "Service"). Your NOOK also allows you to load and access your own content onto the device for your personal use ("Sideloaded Content").
Now I don't know what that means to you Renate but to me that means I can use my Nook to connect wirelessly to the internet. That I can browse, preview, search for, puchase and download Digital Content, interface with social networking sites and access, use and participate in other services features, functions and promotions.
Now this is a 144 page document so I'm sure they have a legal way out of it. B & N does offer Overdrive for the tablet and the Nook Color but not for the simple touch. Oh BTW at the end of that 144 page document are special conditions for AT&T customers.
However, I don't want to argue over this.
I was hoping for intelligent feedback about my Nook. As far as I am concerned this thread is over. I will start a new thread about Overdrive and another thread about Rooting my Nook then perhaps there won't be so much confusion.
Thanks for the help.
dandielionous
P.S.
Ya'll can do what you want with this thread. I'm not responding here anymore.
Oh 1 more thing. It says clearly on the web page I am being blocked by B&N.
Also I am using public wifi. So no matter where I go I can't access the wifi with the Nook or I couldn't. I have solved that problem.
I hope you have put a little more thought and research Renate into those other 855 posts you've responded to.
Sorry, AFAIK means "as far as I know".
You get credit for reading the whole legalese, I didn't.
I would really appreciate a screenshot of this screen saying that B&N is blocking you.
AFAIK, nobody has ever reported this.

[Q] Will I be able to buy from B&N if I disable their apps?

I just got a Nook UK in the last sale and it's my first one, so I'm a total noob to the e-book world.
However, I'm an android user and rom flashing addicted for long, so since I got my reader I've only been tweaking it and haven't actually read a word... haha.
So, already updated to 1.2.1, rooted, kernel tweaks and the whole lot. I haven't installed gapps on it to keep it minimal as possible, I'm dowloading the apks on my phone and installing via ADB.
So, on to the question:
by removing all these B&N apps does it mean I won't be able to sync/buy from their store?
I'm already getting to know Calibre and checking other places to buy books, but it looks like that if I remove the apps and one day would like to buy from B&N again the only option would be to re-install the apps in order to get the ebook or am I missing something?
Some of you disable all of the B&N apps, like:
Originally Posted by Mnurlan from the thread
Guide/HowTo/Tips'nTricks - The perfect Nook Simple Touch Setup w/ battery optimizations
AFfileDownloadService.apk (Hint: disables book covers, skip it if you like book covers)
AccountAndSyncSettings.apk
AirRuntime.apk
BnAuthenticationService.apk
BnCloudRequestSvc.apk
Browser.apk
CloudService.apk
DemoMode.apk
DeviceManager.apk
DeviceRegistrator.apk
Gallery.apk
GoogleSearch.apk
Music.apk
NookCommunity.apk
Phone.apk
PicoTts.apk
QuickStartActivity.apk
Shop.apk
Social.apk
TelephonyProvider.apk
TtsService.apk
WaveformDownloader.apk
tl;dr
Want to keep my NST minimal and remove all clutter, but:
how do you guys manage your ebooks and where do you buy them from without the B&N apps and what to do If I ever want to buy from them again?
Probably wouldn't be able to buy on device without having the B&N apps installed/enabled or maybe the standalone Nook Android app. Not sure if with that setup it'd be able to read DRM'd Nook books (probably wouldn't auto load them, but might be able to when sideloaded) but if it can't it's very easy to strip the DRM, and you can buy and download the book from your browser on your computer. Or if it's available DRM free in another store that might also be an option
neoman4426 said:
Probably wouldn't be able to buy on device without having the B&N apps installed/enabled or maybe the standalone Nook Android app. Not sure if with that setup it'd be able to read DRM'd Nook books (probably wouldn't auto load them, but might be able to when sideloaded) but if it can't it's very easy to strip the DRM, and you can buy and download the book from your browser on your computer. Or if it's available DRM free in another store that might also be an option
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer
I wouldn't mind having to download to my computer and then transfer to the reader, but at least the B&N store doesn't give me the option to download.
Anyways, when I dig more into the reading world I'll find out the best set up soon enough.
I'm not guaranteeing it'll still be able to read the DRM'd books as I haven't tried the guide in question, it's always been either a full root or stock for me. That said, the Nook desktop application allows you to download the encrypted file, and all my purchased books show a download option in many places, such as on the overview page and from the "My Nook" landing. Even if the Nook itself can no longer read them, again not saying it will or won't, stripping of the DRM is trivial, Python script (also a Calibre plugin available that incorporates it and will auto strip any Nook books you import, and you can set it to auto import from a certain directory so you could point that to, say, the place where the Nook desktop app downloads them) that computes the key needed to decrypt (requires you to enter the credit card linked to your B&N account since that's part of the hash used, but the CC# is never written to disk or sent anywhere) and you can use it on any device that will read epubs, including the Nook if it no longer decrypts on device as it'll be treated like any other sideloaded DRM free book.
miguelitu said:
Thank you for your answer
I wouldn't mind having to download to my computer and then transfer to the reader, but at least the B&N store doesn't give me the option to download.
Anyways, when I dig more into the reading world I'll find out the best set up soon enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure you can download your books to your computer. Logon to your B&N Account. Click on My Account at the top of the page. In the Digital Content section click on Manage Your Nook Library to get a list of your books with links to download them.
neoman4426 said:
I'm not guaranteeing it'll still be able to read the DRM'd books as I haven't tried the guide in question, it's always been either a full root or stock for me. That said, the Nook desktop application allows you to download the encrypted file, and all my purchased books show a download option in many places, such as on the overview page and from the "My Nook" landing. Even if the Nook itself can no longer read them, again not saying it will or won't, stripping of the DRM is trivial, Python script (also a Calibre plugin available that incorporates it and will auto strip any Nook books you import, and you can set it to auto import from a certain directory so you could point that to, say, the place where the Nook desktop app downloads them) that computes the key needed to decrypt (requires you to enter the credit card linked to your B&N account since that's part of the hash used, but the CC# is never written to disk or sent anywhere) and you can use it on any device that will read epubs, including the Nook if it no longer decrypts on device as it'll be treated like any other sideloaded DRM free book.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great advice again, thank you
straygecko said:
Sure you can download your books to your computer. Logon to your B&N Account. Click on My Account at the top of the page. In the Digital Content section click on Manage Your Nook Library to get a list of your books with links to download them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got an UK Nook and for some reason it works differently. I got a book I bought from the e-reader, it shows on my account library at nook.com without option to download it and using the same login at the barnesandnobles.com it shows my nook connected to my account but the book does not show at the library...it looks like they made some weird distinctions on how to handle books bought outside US or something like that.
For testing, I added a free book to my library via nook.com, and it shows on my library at the barnesandnoble.com, so it seems that the books purchased in pounds won't behave the same way and don't have a straightforward way of downloading it.
I mean, I already took the file from the device and removed the DRM, but annoying that I'm not just able to download it.

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