Pros and Cons of Using CM7 ROM as Compared to Stock - Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet

In another thread, albertwertz made these observations in a video he created:
albertwertz said:
Another video showing the advantages and disadvantages of using this rom at the moment. It really is working quite nicely. Only one item is having problems that I can tell. Shown in the video at the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTWWV3ckjxM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured this topic deserved a post of it's own, so as not to get lost within the CM7 support thread, so I created it.
The only real concern I had, before switching to CM7, was what about Adobe PDF ebook format? There is some DRM in there that can only be opened (as far as I can tell) by the stock B&N Reader app. So I suppose my questions are these:
1.Is the stock B&N Reader app already included in the CM7 ROM? If so, can it open Adobe PDF ebook format?
And if not, then...
2.Are there any other (vanilla Android) app(s) that can open these kind of files?
3.If you backup the stock B&N Reader app (using TiBu, etc.), then restore it back into your newly installed CM7, does it still work with the Adobe PDF ebook format (and possibly other forms of DRM as well)?
Apparently, this Adobe PDF ebook is one of the predominant formats used by libraries to allow checking out of materials available electronically (something I have just been looking into lately) and so I thought it would be an important issue for others as well.

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1. No, it's not supported
2. Try with ezPDF Reader
3. No
~ Veronica
Sent from XDA premium using my Nook Tablet

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Yes Adobe's Digital Addition it is very important.
Without this capability you will limit your access to reading material to basically purchased; I think you will find the BN free book list wanting. I limit my book purchases to a few authors (the electronic books are expensive compared to printed from what I can tell they can not be resold).
The Adobe digital addition will not load onto a stock nook. I was hoping that could be fixed at some point. The Nook reader is well worth keeping.

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most libraries, in the NY area at least, have some ebook lending capabilities available through their website. There's an app called OverDrive available on Android Market (and iphone/ipad App Store) that links in to many of these libraries and handles the DRM and serves as the reader. It's fairly well-featured and allows to search for your local library in the US by ZIP code. All can be done OTA in this case, without a need to hook up to USB to move over the Adobe Digital Edition files.
If you really prefer the Kindle app, many of the ebooks the library lends can also be sent to your Kindle account, which any Kindle or Kindle app can pick up.
Hope this helps.

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If this is a concern I think you could always just flash back to a nandroid of the stock rom or wait for a cm7 bootable SD card and just pull it and put into stock when you need this.

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TRS-80 said:
In another thread, albertwertz made these observations in a video he created:
I figured this topic deserved a post of it's own, so as not to get lost within the CM7 support thread, so I created it.
The only real concern I had, before switching to CM7, was what about Adobe PDF ebook format? There is some DRM in there that can only be opened (as far as I can tell) by the stock B&N Reader app. So I suppose my questions are these:
1.Is the stock B&N Reader app already included in the CM7 ROM? If so, can it open Adobe PDF ebook format?
And if not, then...
2.Are there any other (vanilla Android) app(s) that can open these kind of files?
3.If you backup the stock B&N Reader app (using TiBu, etc.), then restore it back into your newly installed CM7, does it still work with the Adobe PDF ebook format (and possibly other forms of DRM as well)?
Apparently, this Adobe PDF ebook is one of the predominant formats used by libraries to allow checking out of materials available electronically (something I have just been looking into lately) and so I thought it would be an important issue for others as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do all this from your NT. Download Aldiko from the market. Download the acsm file from your public digital library. Use a file explorer - I use Root Explorer, Astro does not work for some reason - to select acsm then wait a few seconds as you receive epub.
Let me know how things work out or ask if you have any questions.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda premium

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It is also a pretty simple matter to strip the DRM from an adobe pdf that you download from the library.
You can find a blog post with more information titled "Ebook Formats, DRM and You — A Guide for the Perplexed" (can't actually link to it yet...).
Using a program like Calibre, you can strip the DRM and load the pdf onto your nook, or convert it into a different format.
I personally haven't had a chance to try the Overdrive app for a pdf file, only epub, but for the most part it works well.

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tf144 said:
It is also a pretty simple matter to strip the DRM from an adobe pdf that you download from the library.
You can find a blog post with more information titled "Ebook Formats, DRM and You — A Guide for the Perplexed" (can't actually link to it yet...).
Using a program like Calibre, you can strip the DRM and load the pdf onto your nook, or convert it into a different format.
I personally haven't had a chance to try the Overdrive app for a pdf file, only epub, but for the most part it works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overdrive is merely a middleman. I think Aldiko offers a superior reader.
Sent from myGlacier

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SD card version of CM7 is currently in the final testing stages. Look for it to be released by Celtic very soon.
I don't currently have any pdf files with DRM in them. I have never had one far as I know. I have always been able to read pdfs one way or another on any android device. As far as the B&N stock app being included with CM7, no, that app in particular will not work. However the B&N app in the market works for most things. DRM protected epubs purchased from B&N, purchasing, reading etc.

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For me, the switch to CM7 has been almost all Pros and very few Cons. The NT boots quicker, touch screen seems much more responsive and I can tweak just about any setting I can imagine. The only Con has been an intermittent wifi issue but a simple reboot fixes that if/when it pops up.
Many thanks to Team B for there hard work on CM7!!!

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Con of CM7 is stability. I was taking notes for about 10 minutes and it locked up and reboot.

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slgooding said:
Con of CM7 is stability. I was taking notes for about 10 minutes and it locked up and reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cons of cm7:
No B&N content.
intermittent wifi issues.
you need to remove and replace the sd card at times
you have too many choices to decide what to do with your tablet.
Cons of Stock.
B&N content
you have to deal with barnes and noble's restrictions on everything they could possibly restrict
you have too few choices about what to do with your tablet
you have too see the annoying nook logo on boot for halfway to forever. (what did they extend the time it takes you to boot just to get more airtime for the nook logo, in case someone, somewhere didn't know it was a nook by barnes and noble?

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Pros of CM7
CM7 (Android and all the awesome that comes with a open ROM)
Android Market - Apps, Music, Books, etc
Pride in an unlocked device
Any ereader you want!
Pros of 1.4.x (Stock Nook ROM)
Full B&N support
Full B&N compatibility
Perfectly working Netflix
The biggest Pro for Stock, and so the biggest Con to CM7, is the lack of stability. Remember, CM7 is still alpha software. And I love it!

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johnjjschmidt said:
You can do all this from your NT. Download Aldiko from the market. Download the acsm file from your public digital library. Use a file explorer - I use Root Explorer, Astro does not work for some reason - to select acsm then wait a few seconds as you receive epub.
Let me know how things work out or ask if you have any questions.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downloaded Aldiko. Downloaded acsm from library. Used es file explorer to select acsm file. Selected open with Aldiko.
I get an error: Could not load file.
Just realized. I downloaded the file with overdrive directly to nook and its saved as epub not acsm. Can this be the problem?
So far loving cm7. Only problem has been wifi. Moving around the house, on a weak signal wifi will not turn on. I have to leave wifi on & it works fine.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda premium

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heissman said:
For me, the switch to CM7 has been almost all Pros and very few Cons. The NT boots quicker, touch screen seems much more responsive and I can tweak just about any setting I can imagine. The only Con has been an intermittent wifi issue but a simple reboot fixes that if/when it pops up.
Many thanks to Team B for there hard work on CM7!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After posting, I realized that some of what I said in my OP may have been construed as nit-picking. I suppose what I should have said was, "I have been anxiously awaiting the CM7 ROM and am very excited about it's release. However, I have just begun trying to download some ebooks from my local library and have come across some issues with DRM, specifically Adobe PDF ebook format..." which would be much closer to my sentiments on the matter.
I did hear quite a few good things about the Aldiko reader when I was quickly trying to solve this problem the other day (before posting). I will try that (as well as the other suggestions) and report back my findings. Give me another week or two though, we just moved and are still working on getting settled in to the new place.
Thanks everyone for your input thus far.

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tonytronic said:
Downloaded Aldiko. Downloaded acsm from library. Used es file explorer to select acsm file. Selected open with Aldiko.
I get an error: Could not load file.
Just realized. I downloaded the file with overdrive directly to nook and its saved as epub not acsm. Can this be the problem
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very possible. I downloaded the acsm file directly through the library site as opposed through Overdrive... in fact, I have that completely uninstalled.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda premium

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tonytronic said:
Downloaded Aldiko. Downloaded acsm from library. Used es file explorer to select acsm file. Selected open with Aldiko.
I get an error: Could not load file.
Just realized. I downloaded the file with overdrive directly to nook and its saved as epub not acsm. Can this be the problem?
So far loving cm7. Only problem has been wifi. Moving around the house, on a weak signal wifi will not turn on. I have to leave wifi on & it works fine.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
johnjjschmidt said:
Very possible. I downloaded the acsm file directly through the library site as opposed through Overdrive... in fact, I have that completely uninstalled.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very interesting... I thought I would try ES Explorer to try and open an ascm file and apparently, it doesn't recognize file associations that are set up for the file. I get the option to open the file as text/image/video/audio but no way to open it with Aldiko.
I tried Astro but at the moment I'm using rooted 1.4.0 and Astro doesn't work well with that setup. (Does it work any better in CM7???) I used the search function, typed in part of the ascm file name, and clicked on the appropriate file in the results and it opened in Aldiko. A pain in the butt, but it worked.

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PlacidCat said:
Very interesting... I thought I would try ES Explorer to try and open an ascm file and apparently, it doesn't recognize file associations that are set up for the file. I get the option to open the file as text/image/video/audio but no way to open it with Aldiko.
I tried Astro but at the moment I'm using rooted 1.4.0 and Astro doesn't work well with that setup. (Does it work any better in CM7???) I used the search function, typed in part of the ascm file name, and clicked on the appropriate file in the results and it opened in Aldiko. A pain in the butt, but it worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Astro does not appear to work with CM7, from what I can tell. Root Explorer gave me the best results.
Sent from my Nook Tablet

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I just found out the biggest disadvantage I could ever think of about a stock Nook. Something that made me delete my backup and forget 1.4.1 ever existed - a terrible oversight by B&N, IMHO.
It's useless outside the US.
I can't believe B&N. When I bought the Nook, the salesman who sold it to me knew perfectly well I lived in Mexico. He never mentioned I can't buy any books with an international credit card, or even if I had a US card, I wouldn't be able to download them outside the country.
Seriously - WTH? Had I known that, I'd have bought a Kindle immediately. I love the children's books on the Nook. I like the magazines, and B&N store. And I'm locked out of it.
As it is, I just deleted the Nook app and will stick with CM7 from now on. God bless the Kindle app.

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fjhuerta said:
It's useless outside the US.
I can't believe B&N. When I bought the Nook, the salesman who sold it to me knew perfectly well I lived in Mexico. He never mentioned I can't buy any books with an international credit card, or even if I had a US card, I wouldn't be able to download them outside the country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What if he didn't know? Working in retail, one can't possibly be an expert on every single little thing that is sold in the store.
Sent from myGlacier