I am thinking of getting someone an ereader as a Thanksgiving present.

Debating between the PRS-505 and the Kindle.

I'd rather get the PRS-505, but the person has only a Mac, thus my question:

If they purchase DRM-ed book from the Sony store, can they load them on the 505 directly (as it appears as a drive on the desktop) or use something like Calibre.

I doubt the above would work, but is there an easy way to load purchased books with a Mac?

The only way to purchase from the Sony store is via the windows only software.

Why make life difficult for your recipient? Get something like a BeBook or a CyBook (or the Astak EZ Reader, which is the same as the BeBook) and you can buy books from any MobiPocket store with complete operating system independence.

I am thinking of getting someone an ereader as a Thanksgiving present.

Debating between the PRS-505 and the Kindle.

I'd rather get the PRS-505, but the person has only a Mac, thus my question:

If they purchase DRM-ed book from the Sony store, can they load them on the 505 directly (as it appears as a drive on the desktop) or use something like Calibre.

I doubt the above would work, but is there an easy way to load purchased books with a Mac?
If the person uses Bootcamp or VMWare Fusion (like me) anyway, this would be an option. Also it is possible to ignore the Sony Store and buy books using Adobe Digital Editons as DRM since this software also runs on the Mac.
Otherwise I would recommend buying a reader with software that offers cross-plattform support for DRM.

It is possible to ignore the Sony Store and buy books using Adobe Digital Editons as DRM since this software also runs on the Mac.

But AFAIK you can't authorize the Reader to read Adobe Digital Editions books from a Mac, nor indeed any DRM'd books.

But AFAIK you can't authorize the Reader to read Adobe Digital Editions books from a Mac, nor indeed any DRM'd books.

That's right, I forgot about that: You have to authorize the PRS505 on a PC then you can use the Adobe Online ID which you used when authorizing on an Mac with ADE, too:

However you can work around this to get DRM content portability working.

First, on the same Windows machine that you upgraded your Sony Reader, install ADE and authorize it to your AdobeID.

Next, plug in your Sony Reader and then in ADE, select the Reader and choose "Authorize Device" from the Library menu (I'm doing this from memory, and I don't have a Sony Reader to test it on right now - so the wording may be off).

At this point you have a Sony Reader which is authorized to your AdobeID. For any eBooks you purchase on the Mac (with ADE 1.5 authorized to the same AdobeID), you will be able to copy the .pdf/.epub files to your Sony Reader, using the Finder, and then be able to view then on your Sony Reader.

I agree, its ugly, and its very un-Mac like.

--
Jim Lester
Adobe Systems

Debating between the PRS-505 and the Kindle.

I'd rather get the PRS-505, but the person has only a Mac, thus my question:

If they purchase DRM-ed book from the Sony store, can they load them on the 505 directly (as it appears as a drive on the desktop) or use something like Calibre.


A Mac will be able to connect to and transfer ebooks to the 505. But they won't be able to apply firmware updates... or register it with an Adobe Secure ID. Of course, all that will take is 5 minutes with a PC of a friend or at work.

The Kindle is pretty much PC agnostic. Actually, you don't even need a PC to use it like you do with every other reader out there.

Getting them a Kindle will also give them access to the largest commercial library of ebooks at the best prices. Case in point... Fictionwise is having a Crichton sale. But even the club prices after the discount the books are about $2 more than in the Kindle store.

BOb

The Kindle is pretty much PC agnostic. Actually, you don't even need a PC to use it like you do with every other reader out there.

Getting them a Kindle will also give them access to the largest commercial library of ebooks at the best prices. Case in point... Fictionwise is having a Crichton sale. But even the club prices after the discount the books are about $2 more than in the Kindle store.

BOb

Agreed -- that's what I was going to say. And the suggestion that the gift is for "Thanksgiving" suggests that the person may live in the US, which is a requirement for Kindle usage. But if one IS in the States, the Kindle is extremely easy to use.

Thanks, everyone!

I am just about to order a Kindle.... Would really have preferred the 505, but the lack of Mac compatibility is a deal-killer in this case: the recipient is little older and convenience and ease-of-use is paramount.

So, ugly or not, the Bezos box wins this one. :thanks:

I think you've made the right choice.

I agree. I've got both the kindle and the Sony 505. I use the kindle to buy books and the sony to read them, but if I was going to recommend a book reader to a non techie, it would be the kindle right now. The combination of more content and ease of getting books on the device wins out over the better ergonomics of the sony.