e-book basic questions...

[the_rover]

Disclosure: I am a technology idiot when it comes to a lot of the new media. I do not FB, TXT, Tweet. I use the internet for information gathering and interest/ hobbby forums such as RVnet. My electronic communications consist of e-mail and cell phone. I am and old school, fuddyduddy tech-wise.

That said, is the word "e-book" just the basic term meaning "electronic book" and it is not proprietary? Does e-book mean just the basic concept of downloading written words to a receiving device (i.e. computer, laptop, tablet, etc..)

I see the brands Kindle and Nook. Are these just electron versions of a book sellers just like a Barnes & Noble would be for a physical book?

I see where Amazon sells Kindle e-books. I also see where folks have purchased separate pieces of hardware in order to buy e-books. I do not want more electronic devices if I can help it.

Can I purchase from Amazon and read a Kindle e-book on my PC without buying additional items?

I will wait for replies before I ask any more question as the responses might answer still lingering questions I have.

Thanks!
-tr

[n7bsn]

1492 wrote:

Tom_M wrote:
There is a free plugin available for Calibre that will strip DRM.

Which would be illegal to manufacture or distribute in the U.S. by the DMCA.

Correct, which is why you can't get any DRM hacking plugin at the Calibre web-site.

[1492]

Tom_M wrote:
There is a free plugin available for Calibre that will strip DRM.

Which would be illegal to manufacture or distribute in the U.S. by the DMCA.

[docj]

n7bsn wrote:


I have issues with the entire idea of DRM and locking your purchase to a device. What happens of the company goes under (B&N?), how do you move your encrypted book to a new reader? It's really almost more like "renting" the book vrs buying a hard-copy book you can keep.

I don't like DRM either, but when Sony went out of the eBook business they did transfer all the books I've bought from them to the Kobo store so I can still download them if necessary.

[Tom_M1]

There is a free plugin available for Calibre that will strip DRM.

[ferretgrandpa]

n7bsn
Every book I've ever bought is on my Caliber, and the library is backed up to DVD.
It sounds like your opinion of DRM is similar to mine.

[fj12ryder]

Basically you are just "renting" an e-book. You've purchased the right to read it, not own it. I read part of a EULA for one of the e-books and you don't "own" the book, just like you don't "own" software. You buy the right to use it, not own it. That's how they can decide what device you can use it on.

[n7bsn]

Calibre is the best choice for managing your e-books. I keep the "library" on the computer (which is backed up). Only the books I'm actively reading are on the reader.

I prefer ePub over Mobi, for the simple reason I can buy ePub's from a number of vendors, while Mobi is really Amazon only.

I also prefer vendors that do NOT encrypt (eg DRM), Baen Publishing is one that only encrypts if the author requires it.

One of the "down-sides" of managing your e-books only on your reader is that Amazon/B&N/Apple/what-ever can (and -has-) deleted purchased books from people's readers. This is usually a mistake, but...

I have issues with the entire idea of DRM and locking your purchase to a device. What happens of the company goes under (B&N?), how do you move your encrypted book to a new reader? It's really almost more like "renting" the book vrs buying a hard-copy book you can keep.

[ferretgrandpa]

X how ever many times on Calibre.
I prefer Kindle to Nook for one reason, Nook encryption is based on your Credit Card number, Kindle is some arbitrary number (based on name of first book bought?)
Calibre can convert from one format to another, so if you want to download a bunch of free books from Project Gutenberg or PG Australia, you can convert them to any format, Kindle or Nook and read them on your device (what ever it might be). (you might need Apprentice Alf's Tools)
If you or your spouse don't like reading from a screen, you can convert to a word (rtf) format and print them out (a little bit of glue, any kind, and a simple clamp can bind the edges so you can read it like a book. I must add that this is NOT legal for most ebooks. A cheap duplexing laser printer and toner refills can keep the cost down to just a few dollars for a couple hundred page book.

[CA_Traveler]

OP Suggestion: Install the Amazon program, download and read several free books. You will need a Amazon account. Borrow a Kindle to compare and decide what works for you.

I generally don't delete the books but if so they can be downloaded again.

[Ron3rd]

toedtoes wrote:
eBooks only expire if you rent them. With Amazon, your purchases are tracked in their system and you can download the books on your kindle again if needed.

That's right, they stay in your account in the cloud and if you ever need to download them again, it's simple.

[Ron3rd]

monkey44 wrote:
Just to clarify -- you do not need WIFI service to read a Kindle. It loads the books and you can read it anywhere.

You only need WIFI to load the books on the Kindle --- very good device for camping.

Correct.

[DiskDoctr]

Awesome, thanks! I try not to hijack threads, but if the question is additive to the discussion, it's often beneficial to add it to the same thread.

Maybe someone else will find the info useful,too 🙂

[docj]

Tom_M wrote:
T

I have a large collection of eBooks and use software called Calibre to manage my books. This allows me to store all my books on my computer and I can transfer a few at a time to my NOOK.

Another thing to keep in mind is that B&N is getting out of the tablet and eReader business. I don't know what effect this will have on their sale of eBooks.

X2 on using Calibre to manage the book collection. It's a free program and can even convert book files from one format to another in case you have both a Kindle and a reader that uses the ePub format.

We have a pair of Sony eReaders and Sony just went out of the reader business, but they transferred our account and books we had purchased to Kobo Kobo sells readers of its own and a couple of them look like good values.

[MrWizard]

For android I'm using "Alreader"
On my zoom tablet