Throwing money away because of ADE...

Report · May 26, 2011

Ok. Here's my problem.

I'm new to this whole "eBook" thing. I just got this little 5" Coby MP957 MP4/MP3 player. I was so happy to see it supports eBooks too, because I'm going on a trip but can't take my fav. books with- no space. The Coby says it supports .epub and .pdf files. So I thought, great! I'll buy e-copies of my favorite books, load them in the device & have them with me! Well, I've blown a bunch of money now, on several different sites, and I CAN'T. READ. THEM.

What really ticks me off is that all of the sites I have purchased from (aside from the fist one) do not say that the books are in .acsm (ADE) format. So I think I'm buying a .pdf/.epub book only to find out (after I shell out the cash) that I'm buying something I cannot and will not ever be able to use. Yes, I know I can read them on my computer. But my computer can't leave my house, and I already have paperback copies of the books, so really... it's just a total waste.

My question is: Where on earth can I buy .pdf/.epub eBooks that DO NOT require ADE????? I would like to buy several Terry Goodkind books, in .pdf or .epub and actually be able to read them. Is it even possible, or am I looking for something that simply dose not exist?

I think I would have been better off just typing out the books by hand

Report · May 26, 2011

Reading your post has me questioning if you know that the acsm file is not the book. It is the ticket or link to download the epub or epdf file with.

The epub or epdf file is stored on your computer after you download it. Depending on whether you are on a mac of pc it will be in some sort of documents folder. I don't know if your reader is compatible with ADE. I have a kindle so I don't have the capability to interface with it from ADE.

I assume that you have to get the license to read the file as well as the file to your devie via some send to device function or export. Someone with more experience will hopefully respond with better information for you.

Good luck.

Report · May 27, 2011

You're right in that I'm not totally sure what the .acsm type file is exactly. I saw another thread on this board where someone explained that .acsm is the key, and ADE is the door. As I understood it, it's some sort of encryption protection to prevent the book from being copied? I don't know. I fully admit, I'm somewhat clueless about all this stuff.

However, this is the file type that shows up in my designated folder after I download the books from the site. Example: one file is named faith_of_the_fallen.acsm When I click on the file, it automatically opens in ADE. I cannot open the files in ANY other applications, not even Adobe reader. I cannot find anywhere on my PC where the files are stored as .pdf or .epub, and my device dose not recognize the files in their current .ascm state.

My device is NOT compatible with ADE. I'm also getting an Android based phone, and as I understand it Android is also not compatible with ADE. The main reason I'm irritated is because with several of the books I bought, It was not made clear on the site that ADE would be the only program that could read the book. Example- on Booksamillion.com, it stated that the file was an "open .pdf" with no mention of ADE anywhere I could find. Yet, when I found it in the file it downloaded into, it was listed as .acsm and would only open in ADE.

I've read about a tool/plug-in for Calibre that allows you to strip the encryption from these types of files and convert them to other formats... I really don't what to get into that. I would assume that would be illegal. I've also found what appear to be free (but probably pirated) copies of the books I want. I don't want to get into that either. I just want to buy them legally, put them on one of my devices (Coby MP3 or Android phone) and read them...

Report · May 27, 2011

This area is quite new, and confusing. You've gotten one response already,

but there's more.

First, ADE is not the only ebook management software you could use.

However, that doesn't mean that any of the others will work with what you

have, or that they are any easier to use.

Next, ADE supports certain devices, but not all of them. Like the

other software packages, they update the supported devices periodically, but

with the devices themselves evolving every three months or so, nobody can be

current for more than a few days. Here's a list of devices ADE supports:

http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalpublishing/supported-devices . Unfortunately,

your Colby is not on the list. You can call Adobe or email them and ask

if your device will be supported soon.

A few other tidbits might be useful. The epublishing business has

standardized on how to distribute ematerial in accordance with the Digital

Millenium Copyright Act of 2000 (DMCA), so whether you pick ADE, Bluefire,

Calibre or something else, there will be similarities. The biggest one is

how the material is accessed. The .ascm 'file' you spoke of is really a

key, not the ebook. It contains information from the publisher, including

digital rights, location of the ebook itself, and other technical stuff.

Ebook management software uses this key to get the material and download it

to your computer or your edevice. If you see it showing up on your

computer, it's because you bypassed the use of ADE/et. al. and downloaded

that key directly. If you tried to open it with ADE, once it's downloaded,

ADE/et. al. will do that, but won't save the ebook. It will just access it.

Ebooks do come in formats other than .pdf and .epub. Many are available in

HTML, for example. However, the industry has chosen .epub as its main

transportable format, and all of the ereaders compatible with the DMCA

requirements will be able to import them. You may be able to get an HTML

copy of a book to download and function on your devices - but maybe not.

It's device-dependent. Yes, it's illegal to try and break what you call

'encryption'.

I might be restating the obvious, but you have to do some research in the

area before you try to do something technical, because there are just too

many things that need to be checked out before it works. It's really

frustrating to read a maker's claim that you can read ebooks on your device,

only to find out that the device has to have some special setup, or is

linked only to one ebook site (as Amazon and Barnes and Noble link their

readers).

Hope this helps!

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are any easier to use, or that

Report · Nov 22, 2011

Does your device appear in ADE when you connect it to your PC?