[Discuss] (OT) Barnes & Noble wants DOJ probe into Microsoft patent tactics

[omegahalo at gmail.com (Chris O'Connell)]

I have a kindle.  I also made the mistake of buying the original Nook
(which is why I have such disdain and hatred for BN).  The original Nook
crashed repeatedly, couldn't read purchased books, etc.  I called support
probably 10 times and they never, ever did anything for me.  Their poor
customer service and uncaring attitude has been the subject of many of my
blog entries like this one
http://outlookoutbox.blogspot.com/2011/02/barnes-and-nobles-last-chance.html
 or
http://outlookoutbox.blogspot.com/2011/01/barnes-and-noble-doesn-care-about-their.html
.

In contrast Kindle has been amazing.  The Kindle is so easy to use I even
bought one for my mom, who is completely, totally, 100% anti technology.
 While finding the phone number to call Amazon can be challenging, each
time I've called I've been completely delighted by my experience.  I've
never called for any Kindle issues, but just basic shipping issues.

IMO, BN rushes their products to market without thoroughly testing and
without training their staff.  I'm really interested to see if Amazon's
release of the Kindle Fire will be a thoroughly tested device.  I can
almost be sure that the new Nook that's coming out will be a total mess.

Chris

On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 10:12 AM, Brendan Kidwell <brendan at glump.net> wrote:

> (Excuse the complete quoting of Jerry's message. I'm using Gmail for
> Blackberry with no quoting control.)
>
> I bought a Nook last year intending to use it only with content I
> prepare and control -- mostly free stuff. Anything good out of the
> Nook Store would be bonus. I wasn't the least bit surprised or
> disappointed when I tried out a subscription to the Christian Science
> Monitor weekly from B&N and found every third or fourth issue crashed
> my up-to-date reader app on the Nook. When I complained to B&N
> customer service they didn't seem to care.
>
> Anyone have a similar Kindle problem ever? If so how did Amazon react
> to your inquiry?
>
> I do buy B&N DRMed ebooks occasionally, but that's with the intention
> of removing the DRM immediately and using tools like Sigil if
> necessary to fix flaws. The average price for books for both platforms
> is completely unreasonable considering the DRM and level of quality
> control I've seen.
>
>
>
> On 11/10/11, Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org> wrote:
> > HTC is suing Microsoft. Most likely the value of paying for a license is
> > cheaper than a messy lawsuit. Remember back when TSCOG was extorting
> > Linux users, many paid TSCOG until other companies, such as Red Hat, HP,
> > IBM indemnified their customers.
> >
> > I think that B&N has an interesting problem. First, they are
> > historically a seller of books. When Amazon came onto the scene, B&N
> > added an online presence. I think the company is still mentally a retail
> > book seller, and while they are building the Nook product line and
> > providing ebooks, they are still organized as a retail book seller, and
> > probably have not set up the proper support infrastructure so your
> > criticism of B&N is certainly correct. Fortunately I have not had to
> > contact their customer service.
> >
> > On 11/10/2011 08:43 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote:
> >> I've been doing a little research about this issue.  Interestingly,
> >> HTC and Samsung have both developed agreements with Microsoft ranging
> >> somewhere between $5 and $10 per Android device.  I have to assume
> >> lawyers for HTC and Samsung both examined Microsoft's patent claims
> >> and decided that they were valid enough that an agreement was in
> >> order.  Most likely Microsoft's patents are generalized an vague, but
> >> could be upheld in court making an agreement more cost effective than
> >> a law suit.
> >>
> >> If any company other than B&N were to stand up against Microsoft I
> >> would probably be cheering.  However, I think that in this case two
> >> factors come into play here:
> >> 1.  B&N wasn't competent enough to negotiate an agreement with
> >> Microsoft, thus they are crying foul.
> >> 2.  B&N values money more than customers.  If they spent half the
> >> energy and effort they've spent speaking out against MS and Amazon
> >> they *might* have a halfway workable product with customer service
> >> that actually serves their customers.
> >>
> >> This is not to say that I think what Microsoft is doing is fair, but I
> >> don't know all of the details.  I assume that if MS patent claims were
> >> completely invalid HTC and Samsung, along with the other android
> >> device makers, would have jointly gone after MS in court.
> >>
> >>
> >> On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 7:42 AM, Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org
> >> <mailto:gaf at blu.org>> wrote:
> >>
> >>     I would also agree with that, I saw your FB post.
> >>
> >>     On 11/09/2011 07:39 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote:
> >>     > I would like someone to investigate the way Barnes and Noble
> treats
> >>     > their customers.  Instead of insulting Amazon's new competing
> >>     product
> >>     >
> >>
> >> (
> http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/tech/gaming-gadgets/nook-kindle-war/index.html?eref=rss_tech&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_tech+%28RSS%3A+Technology%29
> >>
> >> <
> http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/tech/gaming-gadgets/nook-kindle-war/index.html?eref=rss_tech&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_tech+%28RSS%3A+Technology%29
> >
> >>     >
> >>
> >> <
> http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/tech/gaming-gadgets/nook-kindle-war/index.html?eref=rss_tech&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_tech+%28RSS%3A+Technology%29
> >>
> >> <
> http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/tech/gaming-gadgets/nook-kindle-war/index.html?eref=rss_tech&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_tech+%28RSS%3A+Technology%29
> >>)
> >>     > and crying about unfair licensing practices they should be
> >>     focusing on
> >>     > improving their broken customer service and creating a quality
> >>     product
> >>     > that's less bug-ridden than the ones they usually release.
> >>     >
> >>     > On Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 7:28 AM, Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org
> >>     <mailto:gaf at blu.org>
> >>     > <mailto:gaf at blu.org <mailto:gaf at blu.org>>> wrote:
> >>     >
> >>     >     On 11/08/2011 07:39 PM, edwardp at linuxmail.org
> >>     <mailto:edwardp at linuxmail.org>
> >>     >     <mailto:edwardp at linuxmail.org
> >>     <mailto:edwardp at linuxmail.org>> wrote:
> >>     >     > Microsoft is going after device makers who use Android.
> >>     >     >
> >>     >     >
> >>     >
> >>
> >>
> http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57320800-75/barnes-noble-wants-doj-probe-into-microsoft-patent-tactics/?tag=mncol;topStories
> >>     >     >
> >>     >     It is good that B&N is standing up to them.
> >>     >
> >>     >
> >>
> >>
> >>     --
> >>     Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org <mailto:gaf at blu.org>>
> >>     Boston Linux and Unix
> >>     PGP key id:3BC1EB90
> >>     PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66  C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1
> >>     EB90
> >>
> >>     _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > --
> > Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
> > Boston Linux and Unix
> > PGP key id:3BC1EB90
> > PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66  C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90
> >
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