Platform-independent ebooks (ebooks without Adobe DRM)

[Amanoo]

Hi there. I'm quite fond of Discworld, and well, I bought a couple of novels, found a lot of others at some libraries. However I quite like ebook formats. There is a little problem with Discworld ebooks though: every website that sells them has them protected with that horrid Adobe DRM, which means that the ebooks are not usable on almost anything that does not run Windows. A lot of ereaders are not compatible with Adobe DRM, and neither are my computers (which run Linux Mint 99.9% of the time), so the only way to sort-of-legally read Discworld ebooks is to buy them in some store or another and then still download them from illegal sources. It's still discutable if it is legal to do that, but at least I've paid for the ebooks and allowed Terry Pratchett to get a few cents from my purchase (though while the majority of the money probably goes to the money wolves that refused to offer decent customer services). I feel pretty silly paying a store for not-delivered services, though, so here comes the question:

Does anyone know of a store that sells Discworld ebooks that are not made unreadable by that horrid Adobe, so that I can read them on any device I want (and so that I can stop supporting Adobe's malpractices)?

BTW: I don't want to use weird Calibre plugins to remove the DRM from the ebook, it is still illegal to do that, I will still support Adobe with my money and as far as I know, there is only one DRM-stripping Calibre plugin and that one requires WINE. I just want to get rid of Adobe entirely. I don't mind if another sort of DRM is involved, as long as it works crossplatform.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I use a kindle, other forum members also use Kobo, but that does not answer you're question I only know of Calibre I'm sure there must be others.

 

[Amanoo]

Well, the biggest problem is not so much whether or not my ereader is compatible with Adobe DRM, but the fact that my laptop and my desktop aren't compatible (thanks to Adobe not even bothering with my OS and their bad DRM design). I already have to wrestle with incompatibility before I even begin to transfer the books to a mobile device. Even if I had a Kobo or Kindle ereader that would still be an issue.

But at least thanks for looking at my post. That's still better than not being seen at all.

 

[chris.ph]

calibre for me as well

 

[Amanoo]

calibre for me as well

But the plugin for removing DRM with Calibre still depends on Windows libraries, doesn't it? And without somehow removing the Adobe DRM I still can't do anything with Adobe protected ebooks, not even reading them. Not on my operating systems at least. I'm not even sure if you can properly download those ebooks without Adobe Digital Editions, I thought the software did something to the ebook and that without that something you cannot even crack the DRM, although I'm not entirely sure about this. The acsm file (which you get from those ebook stores and is supposed to be opened by Adobe Digital Editions) does contain a URL to a protected version of the ebook, but to my knowledge it is not possible to crack it without using WINE or Windows).

So basically, using Calibre for Adobe DRM protected ebooks appears to be an awful lot of trouble for a Linux user (either that or I really don't understand Calibre and its plugins, but I'm pretty sure it's not possible to use those ebooks without also using Windows libraries). I don't think using Adobe protected ebooks is an option for me.

EDIT: Just checked the facts again, just to be sure I didn't make anything up by accident. I was right, to make the Adobe-protected ebooks usable on Linux, I need to strip them if their DRM (which BTW is illegal) and doing so requires WINE, which is a program that works very badly. It's like turning your Linux installation into a half Windows half Linux Frankenstein monster. So that makes Adobe DRM not an option. I won't say I'm always a law abiding citizen, but I would like the idea of being able to support my favourite author without having to get involved with illegal activity simply because I want to use the ebooks on Linux. That's all I'm asking for, legally using Discworld ebooks on Linux, but I suspect Adobe has made this impossible.

So yeah, what this boils down to is that I cannot legally read ebooks protected by Adobe's ADEPT DRM. If there are no Discworld ebooks for sale that do not have this DRM, then effectively the people that are trying to get everyone to read ebooks legally will have ensured that I, as a Linux-user, cannot read ebooks legally. Quite ironic.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Amanoo try this link I have found them very helpful in the past.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/

 

[Amanoo]

Would be an idea to visit that in order to find a DRM-cracking solution that doesn't involve WINE, but I've pretty much given up hope on that already. All the infor I could find (quite a lot) suggested such a method does not exist.

I was hoping someone here would know a webshop that offers Discworld ebooks without Adobe DRM. Doesn't look like that exists either, though. Part of me wishes Terry Pratchett would just open his own webstore for digital Discworld material without some mad publisher thinking they know what's best for ebooks getting involved. DRM, always frustrating the honest buyer...

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

There are one or two publisher's who don't DRM the books they sell, BAEN books being one.

 

[Amanoo]

There are one or two publisher's who don't DRM the books they sell, BAEN books being one.

Doesn't look like Terry Pratchett is among the authors of BAEN, unfortunately, but it does look interesting. I'll keep that one bookmarked. There might be something interesting on BAEN. Thanks.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

You can get a lot of free e books from them in various formats just register.

 

[chris.ph]

Try calibre, it normally just breaks through protection ive been told

 

[Amanoo]

Try calibre, it normally just breaks through protection ive been told

As I mentioned before, that works only with a plugin that on Linux will require you to use WINE (against which I have a rather strong bias, basically that method is still going to be a very annoying hassle)+that's actually illegal to do that, and the whole point was to show my appreciation for Terry Pratchett by finally stopping to get involved with illegality.

 

[chris.ph]

fairy snuff, makes a change to see somebody with scruples :clap: :clap: not that i would ever do anything illegal :whistle: :whistle:

 

[Amanoo]

Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm the best kid in class, so to speak, but I like the idea of properly supporting something when I really like it. Sometimes a product is just too good to do it illegally, but I suppose I have little choice in this case.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

fairy snuff, makes a change to see somebody with scruples :clap: :clap: not that i would ever do anything illegal :whistle: :whistle: