No More NOOK Tablets for Me

I own a NOOK Tablet and a NOOK Color. Nice devices, but both were a tad bit pricey. I decided they were not things I wanted to haul around in my backpack on a daily basis.

 

So about a year ago, I bought a Kindle Paperwhite. I can’t check my email or update my Facebook status on this device. I can use it only to download and read eBooks from Amazon. Yes, my options are limited; however, I really like the small, easy-to-navigate Paperwhite. Until the beginning of May, I had been using it exclusively for six months, mostly to download and read freebies I found advertised on BookBub.

 

But then, I began feeling guilty about “abandoning” my NOOKS. After all, I had spent money on them, but I wasn’t getting any use from them. I decided it was time to buy another eBook from Barnes & Noble.

 

When I attempted to access the B&N website using the NOOK Tablet, I couldn’t connect to the Internet. Instead, a message popped up informing me that the failure to connect was due to a Wi-Fi error.

 

Okay. But what kind of an error. I hadn’t a clue, but I really needed to find out.

 

I had chatted online with a B&N tech two years ago when I had a different problem with the NOOK Color. That cyber conversation didn’t go well, and I wasn’t going to do it again. So I stuffed the NOOK Tablet into my backpack and took it to the nearest B&N store.

 

An associate in the music and DVD section spent 20 minutes attempting to restore the Wi-Fi connection without success. And then he made a phone call. After he hung up, he handed the Tablet to me. “I can’t help you,” he said with a smirk on his face. “It’s out of warranty.”

 

Well, duh, I could have told him that. When I bought the  Tablet, I also bought an extended warranty. All warranties on that device had expired about six months ago.

 

I've owned the Tablet for two and a half years. I think the Wi-Fi capability should have lasted longer than that. I was willing to pay a reasonable amount to have it fixed. However, the associate told me that was not an option. The Wi-Fi connection couldn’t be fixed.

 

Well, at least I still can read the eBooks I previously downloaded to the Tablet; I just can’t download new ones. And the Wi-Fi connection on the NOOK Color seems to be in good working order, at least for now. When both NOOKs conk out permanently, I'll have to buy another NOOK product in order to access my online library.

 

When that happens, I won't buy another pricey NOOK. I'll buy a dedicated eReader, the B&N version of the Kindle Paperwhite.

 

 

A Couple of Things That Annoy Me

Although I can’t imagine life without it, I’m trying to limit my time on the Internet because, well, it's addictive. I need to get other things done, things such as writing, editing, running errands, or maybe actually doing some housework.

And I will not “share” any posts that appear on my newsfeed if the sole purpose for posting or sharing that information seems to be an opportunity to spew nasty, even cruel, remarks about someone or something and/or to deliberately (yes, I split an infinitive) encourage people to snark at each other over some controversial or pseudo-controversial issue.

Likewise, I am beyond tired of logging into Facebook only to find ads from companies or nonprofit organizations popping up all over my newsfeed. The people posting these ads are directly invading my cyberspace. Their posts are not something that FB friends have shared.

These maverick ads are obnoxious intrusions that clutter my newsfeed. They include pitches for mobile pet grooming, online classes, pork chops (yes, really) and many other products or services that I’m not even remotely interested in. I didn’t “like” these pages. I have never heard of most of these businesses, and I don’t want to see their ads on my newsfeed. And, yes, I know how to get rid of them, and I do.

But they are sooooo annoying.

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