Computer advice needed.

[cgsmom]

Last night when I shut down my computer, I heard a pop. Apparently the hinge on my HP Envy laptop broke and when I tried to close the laptop it cracked the screen. I suspect it will be easier to buy a new one than to fix the old one. It’s about 2-1/2 years old.

I have been thinking about switching from PC to Mac for a while but haven’t really been sure what to do. How does ebook management differ between the two? Right now I use Adobe digital editions 2.0 and Calibre. I actually do read on my laptop occasionally. I know Barnes & Noble has discontinued the Nook app for windows. Will any ebook apps (Nook, Kindle or Kobo) run on a Mac?

Can I just copy my Calibre database to a Mac or do I have to re-upload all my books?

Just looking for others experiences. Thanks in advance.

[Sirtel]

For transferring your calibre library and settings between different operating systems it's best to use the export/import feature in Calibre. That's meant for just such cases.

[theducks]

Use an external Monitor (or HDTV) if portability is not needed.

If you need a Laptop, go for a business class (like Lenovo T series), more rugged (and users still break them .)

[RWTS]

Originally Posted by cgsmom

Last night when I shut down my computer, I heard a pop. Apparently the hinge on my HP Envy laptop broke and when I tried to close the laptop it cracked the screen. I suspect it will be easier to buy a new one than to fix the old one. It’s about 2-1/2 years old.

Ouch! I feel your pain. Do you mind if I ask what screen size it is?

I've used HP computers at home and work for more than 25 years. Always found them a good deal in terms of price and reliability. That is until my first 17" HP laptop. The screen began flickering just past the warranty period and got progressively worse to where I had to hook up an external monitor. I replaced the display cable twice thanks to a poorly designed hinge where the cable ran up S-shaped.

Thinking it was just a fluke, I replaced it with another 17" HP. 18 months later (and out of warranty) the case began cracking where the hinge detached from the base. It's not worth the cost to fix it.

And if that wasn't bad enough, I just found out my mom's 17" HP has bad hinges. The case began separating, probably while still under warranty, but she didn't think anything of it. I didn't see it until it was too late to send in.

Now we both keep the lids open to prevent further damage. Oddly, never had a problem with 15" laptops.

Sorry, long way to say that I hope you will keep us updated on your decision. I'm often tempted to make the jump to Apple, but I can't afford it. Every company has duds, but they just seem higher quality.

[Dsharma]

Both PC and Mac have their own options. On a Mac, you can use apps like Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, so you won't miss out on your favorite reads.
As for your Calibre library, you can definitely transfer it to a Mac. Just copy your Calibre database over, and you should be good to go.

[cgsmom]

Thanks for the replies. In the end I decided to stick with Windows because that is all I have ever used. The old computer was a 15" HP. I replaced it with just about the same thing. Costco had a sale going on. The one I bought has an Intel i7 processor, 32 Gb RAM, and 1.0 Tb SSD drive. The Macbook Air had 8Gb RAM and 512 Gb SSD and was $400 more than the HP. I have been using HP for many years and this is the first hinge I ever had go bad on me. Hopefully I made the right decision.

I did find that Windows 11 talks to my new Nook GL4+ a lot better than Windows 10 did. However, Calibre cannot access it any better. I can still copy books to it using Windows file explorer, so I am OK with that. My biggest complaint is that B&N discontinued the Nook for Windows app, so I can no longer liberate my Nook books. That's about what I expect from them. So I will go back to buying from Kobo and/or Amazon.

All in all, I am back up and running with a new computer and everything seems to be working fine. I even got ADE 2.0 running in Windows 11, so I am happy.

[CAFlanny]

Originally Posted by cgsmom

My biggest complaint is that B&N discontinued the Nook for Windows app, so I can no longer liberate my Nook books.

If you have a rooted Android device, you can get your books from the Nook Android app. It might even work with Bluestacks. However, I have not tried it.