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S
Sawyerrk
Participant
April 12, 2012
Question

Anyway to Open a DRM epub on a PC or Kindle? This is What I've Tried...

  • April 12, 2012
  • 2 replies
  • 8970 views

I bought and downloaded a DRM protected epub (didn't realize it would be protected) book from iTunes.  Yes, there were warnings that I had to have an Apple device to be able to use it.  A friend assured me that since I had Adobe Reader, I'd be able to read  it.  She was wrong...surprise!

I have a PC and a Kindle.  I have the program Calibre and all the plugins, Pytho and Pycrypto programs that are supposed to let me remove the DRM and read the book (that I BOUGHT!).  Nothing worked.  Good chance I'm not doing something right.  Then I downloaded Adobe Digital Editions.  Dropped the book in that program and I got a title and a table of contents but that's all.  Yes, ADE is activated.  This seems totally insane!  Is there ANYthing (short of buying an Apple device) that I can do to be able to read this book?

PLEASE help!  Thanks,

Monica

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    F
    Frustrated in AZ
    Participating Frequently
    April 12, 2012

    Just to add to Jim's comments....

    Many, many people are lured into the assumption that an ebook is just an

    electronic version of a paper book, and that they have the right to do

    whatever they want with it because they bought it and it's their property.

    Many people also assume that the digital world of ebooks is transparent and

    works over all devices somehow (magic?). Neither is true. Intellectual

    property protection is rooted in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act of

    2000, and all mainstream ebook management programs adhere to the provisions

    of the law. Those programs that advertise they can 'unlock' an ebook are

    breaking that law - whether you or I like it or not. It's not OK to

    unprotect someone else's intellectual property.

    Apple's world is just that. They've defined how ebooks will be managed on

    their devices. The lone exception is that Digital Editions has a version

    that operates on the MAC under their form of interoperability with Windows

    programming.

    Amazon has chosen to go its own way also, and Kindles are interlocked with

    their way. Some sites, such as Gutenberg, have inve$ted the time and

    energy to figure out a way to be compatible. The mainstream - and Apple -

    have not.

    Other mainstream sources for ebooks and ereaders also have some quirks that

    are unique to their interaction with their devices, such as SONY and B&N.

    Finally the world of electronic devices has changed radically since the

    early 2000's. We now have handheld devices that are capable of doing what

    our laptops did only a few years ago. However, they are running a

    completely different operating system from a PC or a MAC, and programs like

    Digital Editions and Overdrive don't interface with them.

    The end result is that you get burned if you assume a lot based on your

    conception of how things should work. It's been that way as long as

    technology has been available to individuals. The 'fine print' is

    extremely important.

    You're tied almost exclusively to Amazon as a source for epublications for

    your Kindle. There are exceptions - the Fire interacts with applications

    on the web - but that doesn't mean that ALL the applications will work with

    the Kindle....

    I don't think that anything either Jim or I have said will change your

    mind. But it's here if you want to refer to it.....

    ==================

    S
    SawyerrkAuthor
    Participant
    April 12, 2012

    Sorry, didn't realize it was against forum rules to talk about possible ways to read the book that you just paid money for.  Like I said above, I was given warnings about the book only being avialable to read on Apple devices (should have known better).  It was the assurance of someone (with Apple devices) that told me I'd be ok since I had Adobe Reader (I tried ADE too).   I understand it, but I don't have to like it <g>

    Monica

    F
    Frustrated in AZ
    Participating Frequently
    April 12, 2012

    OOPS! I forgot to mention something you might not be considering, Monica.

    Digital rights are established by the publisher or distributor or the

    author. They aren't put there by Apple, Amazon, SONY, B&N or any other

    source for downloading an ebook. If you use Digital Editions to access

    your ebook on an Windows PC or on the MAC, and there are digital rights

    assigned by the publisher or distributor, you'd have the same issues as you

    would have with Apple iTunes, or any other program like Calibre, Overdrive,

    Bluefire Reader, etc. As I said in my reply to you, there are a lot of

    people like you that use the paper book analogy when they talk about what

    they can do with an ebook, and that's just not the case. If you REALLY

    want to press the issue, find out who published the ebook edition and go to

    them with your concerns.

    =======================

    J
    Jim_Lester
    Participating Frequently
    April 12, 2012

    Nope -- the file is DRM protected by Apple (not Adobe).  Also specific conversations about how to remove DRM are not permitted on these forums.

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