Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=166

The secure adobe through digital editions?

It takes some doing and some knowledge of python scripts, but basically anything is possible

EDIT: If your device allows secure adobe then you have NO problems. CALIBRE will not CONVERT DRM material but will manage and upload it (That is, will not convert without some tweaking)

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Yes the secure format through digital editions and yes the Sony Pocket reader plays them fine. That's very cool that it will manage the files, I do not like the sony provided software but digital editions is VERY limiting in what it does.

Definitely going to try Calibre, thanks for the tip on the forum!

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

I don't understand the appeal of this DRM infested garbage. Are there any sites that still let you download ebooks in a format that you could possibly remove the protection from after buying them? I won't ask for specifics here, obviously, just suggested stores. For that matter does anyone even sell ebooks you can actually read OFFLINE? I refuse to buy anything I can't do as I please with. Every CD I actually buy goes on my computer for digital listening in nice lossless, DRM-free FLAC files. No encrypted ipod garbage for me.

From what I can tell, you can't even buy ebooks from Amazon to view on your PC anymore, since it's all Kindle shit now. That's crazy. I also think that if you buy the hard copy of a book from a place like Amazon, you should get access to the digital version for free.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

They have the Kindle for PC program. And it syncs to whatever bookmarks you have on other devices.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

My wife does a lot of reading. I am thinking of picking up an ereader for her birthday. Don't know much about them though. I know the Kindle only works with Amazon while the Sony's and Nook's work with other files but not Amazon? Who has the best bookstore? Best prices?

Just heard the Sony Pocket Reader is going on sale for $170 and this new Kobo will be $150. Do either of these seem okay?

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

I'm currently experiencing the absolute worst customer service I have ever had regarding Amazon and the Kindle.

A few days ago, I accessed the Kindle store from my Kindle to buy a book. It told me that I needed to register it before I was permitted to make purchases. My Kindle had been registered since the day I received it. So, I then accessed Amazon.com from my computer. I put in my user name and password to access my account. I was informed that my user name and password did not match any existing Amazon.com accounts.

I call Kindle customer support and am told that my account has been indefinitely suspended. I ask why. The tech tells me that he is "not at liberty to discuss" that with me. I ask what I should do. He tells me to create a new account. I ask if I will still be able to access material purchased with the old account. He tells me no. We go back and forth for a few minutes, and he finally tells me that Amazon's accounts department will call me the next day.

The next day, I receive an email from Amazon's accounts department asking for my credit card issuer to call them. The email does not provide a telephone number. I call Amazon's main number and ask for the accounts department. They refuse to put me through and tell me that a representative from the accounts department will call me within 24 hours. I send an email expressing my displeasure and stating that their refusal to communicate with me suggests that there was a security breach on their end and that they seem to be trying to protect themselves from possible liability.

A day later, I receive the exact same email from the accounts department that I received the day before...only this time it also says that Amazon will refuse to do business with me again unless I create a new account. It also says that it is illegal for them to discuss illegal activity on my account with me.

So, at this point, I guess I have three options:

1. Create a new account and permanently lose access to the approximately $400 worth of books I have purchased thus far for the Kindle.

2. Never do business with Amazon again.

3. Sue.

I'm leaning towards option 3.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

I say go with option 3. And keep us informed, of course.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

After fighting with Amazon about this for 5 days and after threatening to sue them and report them to the Better Business Bureau, they've finally agreed to send me a gift card for the total amount of Kindle purchases I made on my old account. According to Amazon, it is impossible to transfer Kindle purchases from one account to another, which doesn't seem like it should be all that difficult to do. Amazon will not answer any questions I have about my closed account, including why they closed it.

I'll use my gift card, but if the iPad works as an e-reader, I'm likely done with Amazon forever. This was the most frustrating customer service experience I've ever had.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events books 2-6 & 9-13 are free for Amazon's Kindle. That's all but 3 books. And you can read the first book for free online at the official website. books 7 and 8 are nine bucks each. So if you ever wanted to get into the series you can read them all for eighteen bucks.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

I imagine this has more to do with contracts with the publishing houses than with any technical hurdles.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Gdrlv, did you find out what preceded all of this? Fraudulent activity on your account, or fraudulent activity on your credit card that had it flagged?

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

No. Amazon flat-out refused to talk to me about it. They told me it was illegal for them to tell me how my account had been compromised. I told them that I knew it was not, and customer service replied that it was Amazon's policy not to discuss accounts with customers.

It was not fraudulent activity on my card. My bank confirmed that. Amazon won't tell me what happened to my account.

All did not end well for me, by the way.

I created a new account, like Amazon asked me to. Amazon sent me an electronic gift card, as they promised to. I applied that gift card to my new account per Amazon's instructions.

Then, Amazon cancelled the new account before I could even use the gift card. They are not responding to my emails and when I call, they refuse to transfer me out of customer support in India.

I hate this fucking company so much right now.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Enjoy the DRM-infested content that you can no longer access. Maybe people should start thinking about boycotting that shit til they drop it. Of course, there are too many people that just don't care and buy the garbage anyway, so it's probably not possible to make things change.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

That sucks. If you go to Mobileread, you should be able to figure out how to free your content of its device dependency.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Post your story on consumerist.com

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Amazon does not force anyone into DRM anymore, there are a few titles without it, and hopefully the tide does change. It's up to the publishers at this point.

Look for Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited under Product Details.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

I took care of this during the weekend with all my stuff in eReader or Mobi/Kindle format. I just ran into a problem with Fictionwise which I have used for 12 years. They have a contract issue due to the new agency pricing being forced on all the ebook sellers. They have pulled everything from the 5 major publishers and not only is it not for sale, but even if you purchased it in the past you are no longer allowed to download it. This is the thing that bothers me about relying on an online company to keep your bookshelf.

Thankfully I keep all my downloads backed up on my own PC and I removed all the issues that could prevent me from putting them on a device of my choice in the future. I now have the issue of buying ebooks without all the great discounts I enjoyed for years at Fictionwise. I'm used to paying on average $3 for an ebook with the discounts and rebates and with agency pricing that is gone. I've checked Amazon's pricing under the agency model and most of the series I like are now the full $7 of a paperback. I'm just not paying that much for a digital book. I nearly bought a Nook a couple of months ago and I'm thankful I didn't. I'll stick with public domain freebies, independent publishers and my iPod Touch and Netbook.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Open a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in the state that Amazon is based...someone with actual power will contact you very soon

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

I caved on an eBook Reader tonight. J&R is selling the Jetbook Lite for $99 this weekend. It pretty much handles most of the complaints I have about the Kindle and Nook and its only $99. Reviews of it seem pretty favorable so I will finally have a dedicated reader for ebooks.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

$99? Wow! J&R a reputable company? Never bought from them before.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

The Jetbook looks neat but is backlit. I kind of want either an e-ink screen or to just go all out and get a iPad that will do full color.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

The Jetbook is not backlit. It is a highly reflective TFT and looks very nice. A friend of mine picked one up 6 months ago (not the lite, but it is the same plus a built in rechargeable battery and mp3 player) and loves it. I have compared it side by side with the Nook at B&N and I think the screen on the Jetbook has just as good contrast and looks just as good as an eink screen. It also has the advantage of being faster with no lag or black flashes as it moves page to page. TFTs are very readable in even low light and look just as good in direct sunlight as eink. Their big drawback is power consumption. The Jetbook Lite only gets 23 hours on 4 AA batteries. However, I will be using Eneloops in it so I have no problems with this.

The other thing I like about the Jetbook is it lets you use folders. So I can sort everything by Author and Series the same way I do on my Netbook. This was one of the things I didn't like about the Nook. It doesn't let you use folders and its a pain to use with a large number of books on the SD card according to posts about it on Mobilereads.

The Jetbook is not perfect, but it seems to fit the requirements I had for formats since it can use eReader, Mobi and Epub, is a 5 inch screen which is more of the size I wanted kind of like the Sony Pocket Reader and is only $99. That was requirement number one.

BTW, J&R is a very reputable company. I have bought several things from them over the years and they also sell through Amazon which makes things even easier.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

I bought a Nook a month and a half ago and couldn't be more happy with it. My only two complaints is the glare from the color screen at the bottom and the way Powerpoint PDF's show up. Other than that, I'm very happy with my purchase.

A note about the Ebooks. I buy almost all of my Ebooks from The Horror Mall (small press website) in EPUB format. Because I do this, I can simply save my Ebooks to a back up drive/thumb drive/whatever, and I'll own these files forever. I read the above story about Kindle and that was one of the things that swayed me away from it (reading the same types of stories). These types of stories have really pushed me to buy from sites that actually let you download a file so you have a back up.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

Hrm, when i looked at this page: http://www.ectaco.com/main.jsp?do=pr...44&refid=29532

It listed "backlight" under the screen specifications so i assumed it was. Looks like i read it wrong because elsewhere on the site it refers to it as a reflective VGA screen.

This piques my interest and i may have to keep an eye on it.

Re: The Official eBook & eReader Thread
 

That jetbook seemed like a great secondary reader, but looking at some videos really turned me off. I do not like the screen. It looks like it has a better contrast, but it has that yellow-grey look. Woof. And the viewing angle would be a problem for me. Just small movements and it has a flickery look. Plus I tend to lay my kindle on my lap or desk or on my bed at odd angles.

I also don't like that it uses AA batteries.

I would like to see it in person, but e-ink still looks far better even with the flash between pages (which I don't notice anymore, it's like blinking).

Of course I understand the jetbook has plenty more advantages, but none of them really matter to me. That e-ink is great.

Welcome to the eBook side anyway darkside, seems like you'll really enjoy it.