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L
llaen
Participant
July 18, 2011
Question

Digital Editions and Linux

  • July 18, 2011
  • 6 replies
  • 69334 views

I've read that Digital Editions works well on Linux under Wine.

I wanted to give it a try, but I can't even download the software installer.

The page just declares that my OS is not supported and refuses to give me a link to anything.

Do I have to download the setup on a different (Windows) machine and then send it to myself in order to be able to install the software?

That's kind of stupid, isn't it?

If not, am I simply not seeing the link?

This topic has been closed for replies.

6 replies

C
ceciliaw63881408
Participant
May 27, 2016

Installed ADE 2.0 and then again 4.5 and authorized with adobe ID but not sure why checked out and downloaded ebooks could not be opened up by ADE?  Thanks for help.

A
Anonymous
October 25, 2012

Virtualize XP in VirtualBox!

J
jelabarre59
Participating Frequently
October 25, 2012

Well DUH!  I think that point has already been well covered, so what about some *useful* information.

B
bman_reader
Participant
September 6, 2012

The standalone-installation package can be downloaded now from https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=digitaleditions (the link provided by Jim_Lester above is out of date), and then installed with Wine. I just installed it on Linux Mint 13, runing Wine 1.5, and I was reading my DRM-ed pdfs in less than a minute. It is annoying the adobe.com makes it nearly impossible to find the link -- I grabbed it here from Wine HQ.

A
Anonymous
December 29, 2012

Thanks, That download link worked fine, on my computer, under xubuntu 12:04 and Wine 1.4. I cannot get my DRM Adobe books to transfer to my Pandigital Novel and work under Adobe eBooks DRM (ADE), but 50% success is one great step for me. I'll stick to plain Nook, smashwords or Kindle books in future. ADE is just too much hard work.

B
bman_reader
Participant
December 30, 2012

I own a Kobo Touch, and use Ubuntu 12.04 on my latop; I find that ADE works fine for downloaded Adobe DRM-ed books (epub or pdf), and it is easy to transfer the books to my Kobo reader via USB, and the reader handles them fine. Of course I don't direclty transfer books from ADE in Wine to my reader; but a copy and paste using the window manager is easy enough. Thus, I've had no trouble with Linux, ADE, and my Kobo reader. Just an FYI, in case that helps anyone.

T
tanfur
Participant
May 22, 2012

Hello,

This might be more of a licensing issue than a technical one.  The following is advice only if in fact installing on Linux doesn't violate the EULA for the program.  Of course, the technical issues are the same whether or not the license allows it.

Have you ever heard of user agent spoofing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_agent_spoofing )?   Most of the browsers (all those I know of) have plugins.  Look for the User-Agent string that identifies you as a MS user, and set your browser to identify itself as that.  Or set the User-Agent string to identify yourself as an OS/X user, if you want to be sure it won't require ActiveX.

I had to do this around 2001, when my bank's website at the time wanted me to use IE on Windows.  I was running FreeBSD and using Konqueror, which had (at least then) a built-in User-Agent spoofer.  The bank's site didn't actually use any proprietary MS components, it just was picky.  But by spoofing I was able to do the business I needed to do.

Fortunately, fewer sites are doing that anymore.

Also if you d/l the installer, perhaps you might also look into using a VM (such as VMWare Workstation or Player, of VirtualBox), and install a full OS on that.  Windows will do that much better than OS/X, which is much harder to virtunalize.  Many computers come with Windows and if so you'll have a license already.

Good luck!

Blackfeather

A
Anonymous
March 30, 2012

There is no linux version for ADE, so you cannot install it.

However, what you can do is install WINE and then use WINE to install ADE.

(s-g like "wine install.exe")

You can also pray that this works right...

J
jelabarre59
Participating Frequently
March 30, 2012

The problem with ADE under Wine is it *still* doesn't let you manage content for the B&N Nook, since you need USB connectivity, which Wine doesn't have yet.  And since B&N kneecapped the Nook, there's no installing regular Android tools/apps either.

F
Frustrated in AZ
Participating Frequently
March 31, 2012

So you're out of luck with ADE. Sorry!

You might try another epublication management system like Bluefire Reader,

Overdrive or B&N's own site....

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

F
Frustrated in AZ
Participating Frequently
July 18, 2011

Hi!

I checked the Digital Editions support pages and found the System

Requirements HERE

<http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/systemreqs/>. There's no

mention of Linux/Unix support, so I'd bet that's why you're getting the

message....

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

L
llaenAuthor
Participant
September 11, 2011

Frustrated in AZ,

This isn't a question about supporting the software in Linux. It's a question about downloading the setup file while using Linux.

It's up to me to make it work on my system which doesn't fully fit the software requirements. I don't need Adobe pointing out what OS I'm using and how their software is not supported in this case.

They can add a warning to the download page - sure. At the end of the day, I'm accessing their website on a computer, requesting the install file. It's none of their business what OS I'm using at the time.

What if I was downloading the file under Linux but meaning to set it up on a different, Windows machine?

It makes no sense for Adobe to be barring me from using the software that they're trying to promote... Seems like a great example of non-progressive, backwards thinking.

It ticks me off enough to not care to try it out in Windows (which I sometimes use) either. Was that the end goal of their website? Probably not.

You can trick some institutions into using your software (like my local library), but you also need a proper userbase to have it really take off.

In my case, I ended up ignoring the Digital Editions format of the book I wanted and instead getting the good old paperback version from the library.

If that was less of a hassle than trying to use Adobe's software, then there's something wrong with the software or, as in this case, the distribution model.

There's nothing simpler than a download link and yet somehow they got that wrong.

This shouldn't even be up for discussion!

-- Stan

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