Not even Newbie questions

[AlexBell]

I'm not a Nook user since so far as I know they are not available in Australia. I'm doing this post on behalf of a friend in the UK who has just bought a Nook, and needs some help.

She would like to know whether she is tied to Barnes & Noble as an ebook retailer.

Can she use other retailers?

Can she download ebooks from the MobileRead library? If so, how does she side load them to her new Nook?

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by AlexBell

She would like to know whether she is tied to Barnes & Noble as an ebook retailer.

No, she can sideload epubss

Can she use other retailers?

Yes. Again epubs, but calibre is you friend

Can she download ebooks from the MobileRead library? If so, how does she side load them to her new Nook?

Yes. Again calibre is your friend. Connect with USB cable, start calibre and transfer epubs.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

No, she can sideload epubss

Yes. Again epubs, but calibre is you friend

Yes. Again calibre is your friend. Connect with USB cable, start calibre and transfer epubs.

Thanks for your response. But I'm afraid that the main reason she asked me is that she is not particularly computer literate, and I doubt very much whether she'd be interested in using calibre. I can sideload ebooks to my Kindle and Kobo without calibre; could she use a similar process?

What I do with the Kindle is to attach it to the computer via a mini USB cable, open up the documents folder, and drag and drop the ebook.

[eschwartz]

Yes -- all calibre does is provide a user interface that does the copy-paste for you. Any device that does not show up as a freely-usable external drive for dropping books into -- well, calibre cannot put books in there either.

Except for Calibre Companion and other wireless devices I guess.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by AlexBell

I'm not a Nook user since so far as I know they are not available in Australia. I'm doing this post on behalf of a friend in the UK who has just bought a Nook, and needs some help.

She would like to know whether she is tied to Barnes & Noble as an ebook retailer.

Can she use other retailers?

Can she download ebooks from the MobileRead library? If so, how does she side load them to her new Nook?

Side loading epub files on the NOOK is simple! (Ha! See what I did there!)

Plug the NOOK into the computer with the cable provided. (This is also how to charge the NOOK, by the way.)

From the Desktop, open 'My Computer' or 'This PC' or whatever its called.

The NOOK will appear as a disc drive. It's drive E: on my machine. Open that drive.

Find a directory called 'My Files.' Open that.

Find a directory called 'Books.' Open that.

Paste any epub files into that folder. Then close the directories and eject the NOOK safely.

Those new epub files should then show in the NOOK's library.

My NOOK Simple Touch reader is sometimes slow to recognize new files. If the new book doesn't show up immediately, doing a sync or powering the reader off and then back on usually updates everything.

I hope your friend enjoys her NOOK. It's a very sturdy machine.

[robko]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Then close the directories and eject the NOOK safely.

It's worth emphasizing this point with her since most USB devices don't require you to do this anymore. Not sure if the Nook is as sensitive, but with a Kobo you will likely mess the database on it up if you unplug it enough times without ejecting (won't happen every time, but the odds will eventually catch up).

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by robko

It's worth emphasizing this point with her since most USB devices don't require you to do this anymore. Not sure if the Nook is as sensitive, but with a Kobo you will likely mess the database on it up if you unplug it enough times without ejecting (won't happen every time, but the odds will eventually catch up).

Very true. I learned this about my Kobo Mini today. Had to reset it by the pinhole on the back. I will be very careful in the future!

[AlexBell]

Thanks for the responses. It seems that side loading on a Nook is very similar to side loading on a Kindle - just different names for the folders.

[AlexBell]

One more question if I may: I understand that B&N use their own DRM. Can a Nook download an ADE DRM'd ebook from other retailers? If so, how?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by AlexBell

One more question if I may: I understand that B&N use their own DRM. Can a Nook download an ADE DRM'd ebook from other retailers? If so, how?

Nooks can read "standard" Adobe Adept DRM'd books. The Nook itself can't download them directly from other retailers though. Just like using Adobe encrypted books with a Kobo you download the book using Adobe Digital Editions and transfer it to the device over USB. B&N's DRM is a variation of Adobe's DRM using a different key method.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Nooks can read "standard" Adobe Adept DRM'd books. The Nook itself can't download them directly from other retailers though. Just like using Adobe encrypted books with a Kobo you download the book using Adobe Digital Editions and transfer it to the device over USB. B&N's DRM is a variation of Adobe's DRM using a different key method.

Thanks, that's most helpful