Barnes & Noble has announced that it’s pulling the plug on some key features for the NOOK Simple Touch, NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, and NOOK GlowLight eReaders. By the middle of next year you’ll no longer be able to buy eBooks on those devices, register a device with a bn.com account, or sign in using a NOOK account.
Those eReaders are more than ten years old at this point, so it’s not a huge surprise to see support ending. But it’s probably going to be a bit disappointing for anyone who’s still using one… and eReaders to tend to last a long time, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a fair number that were still in active use.
The good news is that B&N says users will still be able to sideload third-party EPUB, PDF, or PDB files onto those devices, and any content you’ve already downloaded will still be available to read. But since the NOOK will stay registered to the bn.com account that was logged in before the service shutdown date, the resale value of old NOOK devices will likely drop from nearly zero to zero.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
Support Discontinuation for End-of-Life Devices [B&N]
Next year B&N will end online services for some older NOOK devices released between 2011 and 2013, meaning you won’t be able to buy books, register with a bn account, or sign in with a NOOK account. You can still sideload eBooks or read anything already downloaded though.
Windows 10 Release Preview with Copilot [Windows Blogs]
Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant is coming soon to Windows 10, with a preview set to roll out to Windows 10 22H2 soon.
Previewing changes in Windows to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the European Economic Area [Windows Blogs]
Microsoft introduces some of the changes coming to Windows 11 to comply with the European Digital Markets Act, such as support for uninstalling some system apps, more interoperability points for developers. Only coming to Europe though.
Windows is now an app for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and PCs [The Verge]
Microsoft’s new “Windows App” lets you stream a Windows environment from the cloud to iOS, macOS, Windows, or a web browser. Available in preview, it’s not yet available for Android. And it’s made for business users (so far).
HandBrake 1.7.0 [HandBrake Forum]
HandBrake 1.7.0 is now available, with the latest version of the popular media transcoding tool bringing support for AMD and NVIDIA AV1 encoders, better performance on Apple Silicon, and other improvements.
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well.
guess i’m getting rid of windows the moment copilot is inflicted upon me without my consent.
The moment copilot is inflicted upon you without your consent is not exactly when Microsoft installs it.
It’s when you can’t keep up with the social norms of everyone else who is using it without it.
Man, look at the size of those bezels…
That kind of makes me miss those original Nook HD Android tablets from back in the day. Man those things had great displays for the price.
I still use my Nook HD+. It weighs a ton (for a tablet), the battery is shot, and it’s incredibly slow to do anything. But the screen still looks fantastic.
So a word for anyone that uses Handbrake. The Windows version will NOT encode DVD’s, even though you own them. Only the linux version will, but with libdvdcss. If you use Windows, I recommend MakeMKV. I had to make a personal backup of a bluray (for my own personal use) and that was the only way.
Handbrake is awesome, but only in linux…
Screw Windows copilot, aka OpenAI… if you want to block windows updates in Windows 11, use the TinyWall firewall, it works. I refuse to update my Windows 11 to 23H. I don’t want their A.I.
I’ve always done a two step process for DVDs and Blu Rays–MakeMKV or DVDFab to do a clean rip to the computer’s storage, then Handbrake to encode from the stored rip instead of from the disc. It’s an extra step but I’ve never had it make a bad video file.