Kindle Questions

[MorganM]

Now that BigW here in Aus is selling the Kindle 3 online and in store the urge to buy on is getting stronger lol. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions before purchasing.

Can you ONLY buy books from Amazon or say Smashwords with have mobi? I have about 50 epub books sitting in my Calibre currently and would it be possible if I did get a Kindle to convert them to mobi with no prob and put them on the Kindle?

Also I run a Linux system on my computer and would that be a problem for the Kindle? I do have Windows on my laptop but I don't really like getting it out just for ebooks. I want a Kindle to be compatible with my main computer which runs Linux Natty Narwhal currently. It's taken me months of fiddling around to get ADE and the Kobo desktop to work properly on here. Finally!

Anything else I need to know?

[fr0stbit3]

Can you ONLY buy books from Amazon or say Smashwords with have mobi? I have about 50 epub books sitting in my Calibre currently and would it be possible if I did get a Kindle to convert them to mobi with no prob and put them on the Kindle?

You can convert and use it for sure. No problem. As long as the format is right.

As for the other part of your question, I am really unsure.. But I think they would have some support for linux.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by MorganM

I have about 50 epub books sitting in my Calibre currently and would it be possible if I did get a Kindle to convert them to mobi with no prob and put them on the Kindle?

Calibre will convert them if they don't have DRM. If they do have DRM, you'll need to strip it before you can convert.

Originally Posted by MorganM

Also I run a Linux system on my computer and would that be a problem for the Kindle? I do have Windows on my laptop but I don't really like getting it out just for ebooks. I want a Kindle to be compatible with my main computer which runs Linux Natty Narwhal currently. It's taken me months of fiddling around to get ADE and the Kobo desktop to work properly on here. Finally!

It'll work quite happily with Linux. When you plug it in, it'll appear as an extra drive, in the same way that a USB flash drive would. I use Natty at home and Fedora 14 at work, both work with the Kindle.

The only thing I'd suggest with Linux is that you install Calibre using the instructions on the Calibre website (http://calibre-ebook.com/download_linux). The copy in the repositories tends to be quite old. I've had no problems using Calibre on Linux with my Kindle.

[gASK]

Converting epub to mobi is no problem with Calibre and Kindle will read them just fine (I do that all the time with free and indie ebooks which mostly come in epub).

Connecting to Linux is another matter - I tried mine on friend's Ubuntu without problem, but I found some topics on the internet suggesting that some people have trouble connecting it to some Linux systems (as is the case with most HW - what works on one Linux system might not work on another one). So short of trying yourself there is probably no way of knowing, but most probably it will connect just fine. And if all else fails, you can always send the books to the Kindle over Whispernet (I do it sometimes as well when I am lazy to walk for my cable

[ProfCrash]

You can buy books from Smashword, Baen, and other booksellers that sell non-DRMed Mobi text.

[jocampo]

Hi Morgan,

You can buy from anywhere and any place, even ePub format. The key is buying DRM free books.

If the book is on mobi format, you're all set. If the book is on ePub and DRM free, just run Calibre. I've done it before without any issues.

And yes!!! You can run Kindle app. via Wine on your Linux machine, I have it on my Ubuntu Linux machine. It works perfectly fine!

[dwig]

Originally Posted by MorganM

... I want a Kindle to be compatible with my main computer which runs Linux Natty Narwhal currently. It's taken me months of fiddling around to get ADE and the Kobo desktop to work properly on here. Finally!

Anything else I need to know?

There is no need to run any software on your PC in order to sideload ebooks onto a Kindle. You only need a system that will recognize the Kindle as a Mass Storage device. In fact, Amazon doesn't even have a library management app as an option. If you want one use calibre.

Each Kindle has its own email address. Ebooks can be transferred to them by email if you don't want to or can't use a USB connection. Calibre has a function to do this and you can simply attached a file to email using any email software. The email service is free if received on the Kindle by Wi-Fi. In most areas there is a small change if handled over a 3G connection.

DRM ebooks: You can only by them from Amazon. Kindle's don't support the DRM'd MOBI books from Mobipocket.

Non-DRM Mobipocket ebooks: The Kindle will handle any non-DRM Mobipocket ebook whether .AZW, .MOBI, or . PRC. It will also handle TXT and non-DRM PDF. Note that it will handle password protected PDFs if you know the password. As others have noted, there are several vendors of non-DRM Mobi format ebooks.

Non-DRM ebooks in other formats: Calibre is your friend. It will convert most other ebook formats to MOBI for use on a Kindle. The commonly available ePUB format usually converts very well. Amazon's email service can also convert several common formats before forwarding it to your Kindle.

[MorganM]

Thanks for all the replies!