Solutions

Aug. 27th, 2012 10:19 pm
altivo: Clydesdale Pegasus (pegasus)
A universal solution for the present time has been found. I fixed my B&N problem from yesterday by just plain stripping the DRM from the file.

It turns out that B&N uses its own DRM format, and is not compatible with Adobe Digital Editions at all. Their Nook readers are compatible with ADE, and can read content from ADE compatible providers such as Kobo or many public library systems, but ADE cannot read B&N/Nook epub files. The B&N desktop reader application can read those files and display them, but makes no provision for loading them to a non-Nook epub reader. So... I paid for the book, and I converted it to a readable format for my own use. End of story, and probably the end of my dealings with B&N.

The Nook DRM uses a key built from the credit card account holder's name and the credit card number used to purchase the book. This means that if you later change credit card numbers, as nearly everyone will do eventually even if they stay with the same bank, the key for your books bought with each credit card number will be different. What a stupid concept. That alone is a good reason for stripping the DRM from these files if you want to retain access to them permanently.

This also explains why B&N can't accept PayPal or other electronic transfers for the purchase of Nook epub files. They need a unique credit card number in order to construct the DRM keys. And because the system is hardwired into the thousands (millions) of Nook devices that have been sold, changing the method is well-nigh impossible for them.

The book is now installed into my ereader and displays perfectly there, as it should.
altivo: Wet Altivo (wet altivo)
It has been dripping all day. Just dripping. Forecast called for a 90% chance of thunderstorms and accumulated rainfall of 3/4 to 1 inch. Nope. Enough raindrops to make it unpleasant being outdoors, but not enough to even register in our rain gauge. In general, that means it was less than 1/8 inch. Nothing predicted now for the whole week ahead. Back to drought mode.

Barnes & Noble/Nook has me just about angry enough to declare a boycott against them henceforth forever. I've had an online account with them for a long time. This year I started buying an occasional ebook. You can read their epub files with Adobe Digital Editions on either Windows or Mac (or Linux, with WINE or VirtualBox.) They also work, or at least usually do, on a Kobo reader as long as you use Adobe Digital Editions to load them to the reader device.

The first three books I bought worked just fine on both Adobe and the Kobo. Two weeks ago I bought a fourth title. Downloaded as usual, but Adobe Digital Editions says "licensed to another account" and refuses to open it. Note that nothing has changed in either my Adobe setup or my online account. The first three books I had bought still download and display without difficulty, but no matter what I try, the fourth one continues to be rejected as "licensed to another account." I've gone in circles repeatedly with Nook "help" without getting anywhere. They think I'm too stupid to follow their instructions, and I say they are too stupid to actually read my explanation of the problem. And there it sits. Sorry, Barnes & Noble, I'm very, very unimpressed with your support staff at this point. I'm also unimpressed with your download setup. My public library account and the Kobobooks website have no issues with licensing because they use Adobe's ACSM format to trigger a download. That apparently passes some sort of key to Adobe Digital Editions that allows use of the book regardless of whether the ADE identifier is the same as the one used to purchase the book. And this makes sense. After all, why should I have to tell the bookseller what the ID and password is to my ADE software? But that seems to be what B&N demands. Though they don't explain it very well at all, as if they are afraid someone will find a way around their "security."

I'm sure there's a way to strip the security off an Adobe DRM'ed epub file, but I'm also sure it's more trouble than it's worth. DRM stinks, folks. It doesn't stop criminals, it just gets in the way of your legitimate users. Guess I'll stick with Smashwords in the future. They don't use DRM at all.
altivo: Geekish ham radio pony (geek)
Succeeded in getting two old/slow SD cards to work with the Kobo eReaders, so putting one in Gary's reader and one in mine. This makes it really easy to swap or share non-DRMed content, and easy to keep our Calibre loaded stuff out of the way of the Kobo internal SQL database.

I gather from veiled comments I've seen that it is possible to strip off the DRM on .azw and .epub files, but no one tells you how to do it in the open for fear of legal or other reprisals. Boo. Sue me for giving away illegal copies, sure. But don't sue me for wanting to remove the pointless shackles you tried to attach to something I have purchased legitimately and want to be able to backup or move from one device to another.

Got time off work for Indy Fur Con (Aug. 9-13) and registered online for the con. This year's theme is "Furs in Space." So wondering how to make Argos look "spacier" than he already is. Not so easy to do, I think.
altivo: Running Clydesdale (running clyde)
From before dawn until at least seven this morning, it was quite noisy and spectacular. It finally did rain, a good inch and a bit more, all in about a half hour's time. We went on down to Elgin anyway for brunch with friends and to watch a ten mile run that goes right by their corner twice. Normally the race is on Monday, and it wasn't clear why they changed to Saturday this year, but it seems to have caused a drop in participation. Or else the threatening skies chased some away, but it wasn't bad weather for running. Humidity was not high, temperature was in the 60s, and the sky was overcast so no pounding or blinding sun.

Anyway, it was fun. Saw two apparent furries running with what I took to be fox ears on their heads. Or maybe they were cat ears, but definitely furry ears. I said something about "Oh look, furries running" when they appeared and evidently they heard me because they waved. I waved back, though I have no idea who they were. One of our friends looked at me and asked "Do you know them?" But I had to admit that I did not.

I think the annual event is called something like "Fox Valley Foxtrot" so having foxes running seems appropriate enough.

This evening I managed to check out a library ebook and get it downloaded to the Kobo Wifi, which wasn't as easy as I'd hoped but did work in the end. Getting Adobe Digital Editions to recognize and initialize the device was the issue. Now that has been done, future downloads should be easier. (At least as long as I continue to use that particular computer. I'm not sure I can activate the device through more than one machine.)

Comparing the Kobo with the Literati it becomes clear just how much they share a common code base. It seems that Kobo in fact provided the base code for the Literati, but it was rushed to market without adequate debugging. I'm sure it can be updated successfully, but I have to make sure I can do it without "bricking" the device this time. Then I'll try it once more.

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