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The Random Ebooks Questions Post
Ask your questions! Get answers! Maybe even useful answers!
Ask anything! Ask about ereaders, or filetypes, or conversion methods, or where to find books, or which authors don't like ebooks, or what software works on which computers, or anything else ebook-related. Preferably, put the question, or part of it, in the subject line. That way, the questions will be easy to find, and new readers who show up can see if their question has been asked before.
Feel free to post links to your journal where you've spelled out your questions in detail (or just make a new post here; it's totally fine to make a long post about "thinking about ebook readers; what's the pros & cons of these two?")
Answer questions! If you know about a certain aspect of ebookery, jump in with answers!
Ask anything! Ask about ereaders, or filetypes, or conversion methods, or where to find books, or which authors don't like ebooks, or what software works on which computers, or anything else ebook-related. Preferably, put the question, or part of it, in the subject line. That way, the questions will be easy to find, and new readers who show up can see if their question has been asked before.
Feel free to post links to your journal where you've spelled out your questions in detail (or just make a new post here; it's totally fine to make a long post about "thinking about ebook readers; what's the pros & cons of these two?")
Answer questions! If you know about a certain aspect of ebookery, jump in with answers!
Re: Basics: What can and can't I do with readers?
Any non-Kindle reader can't use DRM'd ebooks from Amazon--and possibly can't use any books from Amazon unless they're converted first.
The Kindle reads:
.mobi/.prc ebooks, either non-DRM'd, or with Amazon's DRM
.tpz, Amazon's "topaz" format, only available through them (and nobody likes it)
.pdf ebooks, without DRM (badly. None of them are good at PDFs)
.txt files, which are almost useless as ebooks.
The Nook reads
.epub & .pdf with B&N's DRM, other Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) DRM (there are two types), and non-DRM'd
Sony reads:
.epub & .pdf with ADE, and without DRM
.txt
.rtf
Kobo reads:
.epub & .pdf with ADE
non-DRM'd .mobi (so, files from Amazon *that don't have DRM*, or have had it removed, would be readable)
.txt, .html, .rtf, .cbz, .cbr (however, I have no idea how good the support is for these; I have a reader that claims to read these and does it horribly.)
None of the other readers currently strongly marketed read DRM'd .mobi ebooks; the industry is shifting to .epub. (It's a much more versatile format; .mobi is a holdover from the PalmOS days.)
Waterstones is tied to Sony; they sell in .epub, and I believe it's all DRM'd. Blackwell also uses Adobe Digital Editions; it's unclear whether everything is DRM'd, but you can probably expect it is.
A lot of ebookstores try not to tell you exactly what filetypes they sell; several don't tell you whether the files are DRM'd or not. (B&N sells some with & some without--but refuses to tell you which are which. Amazon's can only be identified by the device # restriction on the book listings. (If it says unlimited devices, it doesn't have DRM.)
It's probably easiest to get a Sony, buy from Waterstones & Blackwell directly for it, and buy from Amazon through the PC program and use another program to strip the DRM, then use Calibre to convert to .epub. But only probably. And stripping the DRM may or may not be legal in your area. (Nobody has ever been prosecuted, nor is likely to be, for removing DRM on their own purchases.)
That's a lot of info to throw at you at once; I'm happy to go over more if you'd like, but I don't want to overwhelm you or swamp you with details that won't matter to you.
Re: Basics: What can and can't I do with readers?
(Since originally commenting I've been reading a lot of the links you've posted in this comm about indie publishing, and all at once realised there's a whole world of non-DRM stuff out there, so a lot of my concerns about jumping either way have eased. Also, I am now more excited about writing than I have been in years, because suddenly there's another option for my influenced-by-anime-epic-fantasy-with-incidental-gay-people stories. So thank you!)
Re: Basics: What can and can't I do with readers?
Or you might look into the Jetbook/Jetbook Mini/Aluratek Libre lines. Those aren't e-ink, so the battery life's shorter, but they have some features that aren't covered by the other readers.
Rule #1 Of Buying An Ebook Reader:
Most people who like reading, are ecstatically happy with whatever reader they wind up getting.
There *are* pros and cons to the different ones, and if you've got specific reading habits or disabilities to deal with, you need to look into those. But if it's a case of "I just want books, in my pocket, ALL THE TIME" ... they all work for that.
Most of the device manufacturers try to steer you at specific bookstores. Most of the *publishers* try to steer you at bookstores. None of them are pitching, "hey, you could be reading FREE WEB CONTENT for years on this thing."
And I'm glad you're looking at the publishing options! (Have you seen the Three Micahs blog?) The more indie/self-published content out there, the more the mainstream publishers are going to have to realize that they've lost their entertainment monopoly, and if they want to succeed in the future, they'll have to do it through quality editing & selective promotion, not just counting sales because it exists as a hardcover.
Re: Basics: What can and can't I do with readers?
Thanks for the blog link, I'll add that to my reader! Also poking around her samples on Amazon since I can now magically click and they appear on my Kindle (I cannot get over that. INSTANT BOOKS. When did I wake up in the future?)
Weird conversion question
My problem is Kindle. I would occasionally like to buy books and give them to the nice fellow as presents. The nice fellow also reads ebooks on a Blackberry, and has no interest in another reader he would need to carry around. It was somewhere between irritating and amusing to give him a book for his birthday, and have the codex sit on his overcrowded shelves unopened because he didn't want to carry it around...maybe he would steal a pirated ebook to read in mobi or epub, regarding my present as a recommendation.
His birthday is coming up, and there are books I'd like to give him. Books by authors I personally like and respect, and would rather not steal from. Books that are commercially available on Kindle, through Amazon, and in no other format. Is there a way to give him these books so he can read them? Or would it make more sense to steal them, and send some money to the authors on the side?
Re: Weird conversion question
Ah! Give Kindle books link at Amazon. Says it works for "anyone with an email address."
I believe he'd have to install the Kindle software to redeem it. (Kindle works on Blackberry, right?)
Ooh, and nice to know that Blackberrys have longer battery lives than Palms; I had a Sony Clie that I loved, but got tired of it dying mid-book & needing to recharge. Work is considering assigning me a Blackberry & it's good to hear I could read ebooks on it without killing its usability as a phone.
ETA: Wait, you said "conversion" *d'oh!*
If the kindle-for-blackberry program/app doesn't work for him (for whatever reason), check out Apprentice Alf's blog.