PRS-900 Daily Reader with Ubuntu?

[tulsa]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Ah... that does pose a problem. Perhaps you can get ADE running in Wine...

BOb

Looks like it will work with Wine.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=701191

I'll download it from my windows machine at work tomorrow, and install it at home and report back. but first to go get that book I mentioned earlier....

thanks, bob, I wouldn't have thought of running it through wine.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by tulsa

Looks like it will work with Wine.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=701191

I'll download it from my windows machine at work tomorrow, and install it at home and report back. but first to go get that book I mentioned earlier....

thanks, bob, I wouldn't have thought of running it through wine.

Just make sure you create an Adobe ID and authorize your PC to it before you buy the book. Otherwise ADE will create an anonymous ID that will tie the book to your PC. You will also need to connect your reader to the Windows PC and authorize it to that Adobe ID also.

BOb

[Man Eating Duck]

Originally Posted by tulsa

Looks like it will work with Wine.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=701191

I'll download it from my windows machine at work tomorrow, and install it at home and report back. but first to go get that book I mentioned earlier....

thanks, bob, I wouldn't have thought of running it through wine.

I run Karmic, and can confirm that ADE runs fine out of the box with wine 1.2 from the repos. Install, authorize and just download .acsm-files, they will even open in ADE by default. I haven't tried the Reader Library software, I authorized my reader at work.

As pilotbob says, make sure to get an Adobe login and authorize your computer with it before you buy anything or your money is basically wasted, I can't believe that they didn't make this clearer in ADE.

As for connecting to the device I can highly recommend Calibre, it integrates well with my prs-600. Get the binary install from here to get the latest version: http://calibre-ebook.com/download_linux
You can use it for uploading to the reader, but not change drm-infested books (there are ways around that as well...). Good luck!

[tulsa]

Yeah, I found a slightly older version of ADE and was able to get it working under Wine last night. Did the authorize thing with no issues.

I've used Calibre for about a month with my Kindle 2. Really like it a lot. Makes transferring content so much easier, especially when the library gets bigger.

I'm going to purchase the eReader Daily Edition today.

Anybody have recommendations on which retailer I should use? I see that Amazon has it as well as Best Buy and CompUSA. They're all pretty much the same price.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by tulsa

Anybody have recommendations on which retailer I should use? I see that Amazon has it as well as Best Buy and CompUSA. They're all pretty much the same price.

I would go with Amazon or Best Buy. You will probably have to pay tax with Best Buy and possibly not with Amazon.

BOb

[tulsa]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I would go with Amazon or Best Buy. You will probably have to pay tax with Best Buy and possibly not with Amazon.

BOb

Yep. I noticed the Sony site itself charges tax. I tossed one into my Amazon cart and it doesn't. I'll probably go with them.

After I get it unpacked in a week or so, I'll report back here on my experience.

Thanks everybody for helping me out!

[tulsa]

woo hoo! I got my Sony eReader daily edition already! Came this morning via fed ex.
can't wait to tinker tonight!

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by tulsa

woo hoo! I got my Sony eReader daily edition already! Came this morning via fed ex.
can't wait to tinker tonight!

Nice, enjoy.

BOb

[tulsa]

Well, I have to admit I'm really liking this thing. At first I thought there would be a glare problem on the screen's surface that would distract me from reading, but it turned out not to be so bad. I'm just used to the K2's virtually glare-free surface, I guess.

Calibre transferred my epubs flawlessly.

Ubuntu also puts two icons on my desktop when the reader is plugged in:
One called LAUNCHER, which looks to contain installation software for the Sony software. The other icon is called READER, which contains four folders:
database, Digital Editions, Documents, and tmp.
I would have though all my epubs that Calibre transferred would be in "Documents." But the only thing in there is the user manual. I tried show hidden files, but still no joy.

I may want to drag and drop sometimes. Does anybody know where Calibre put the epubs into the reader? For whatever reason, I may want/need to drag and drop files into the folder.

[kenschunk]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

You are correct... the only way to buy from the Sony eBook store is to use the software... to many peoples consternation. Which is why I would say many Sony owners here don't buy from Sony, but from BooksOnBoard.com and fictionwise.com and others.

BOb

...but that's NOT true with the PRS-900, which he was talking about. You can in fact buy directly from the Sony store on the Daily Edition device, so you don't actually need to have the software on the computer.

Now, authorizing the PRS-900, well that's a different story - I'd suspect you'd at least need Windows or OS-X long enough to do that. After that you could buy directly form the Sony store without using a computer, for better or worse.....

It isn't, however, as convenient as the Kindle, if that's what you're comparing it to. As a comparison, with the PRS-900 you can either buy using the on-device store function, or purchase using the (oh so fine) Sony/Adobe software system and then transfer to the reader using USB or a memory card. On the Kindle, on the other hand, you can do all of those except the memory card thing. Additionally you can buy on Amazon's site using any web browser, on any operating system, and have the book wirelessly sent to the associated device(s).

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by kenschunk

...but that's NOT true with the PRS-900, which he was talking about. You can in fact buy directly from the Sony store on the Daily Edition device, so you don't actually need to have the software on the computer.

My mistake.

Originally Posted by kenschunk

Now, authorizing the PRS-900, well that's a different story

[/quote]

There's always a but isn't there. It just shouldn't be this hard. Someone should be able to establish and account on the Sony (or Kindle) with the device without the need for a PC.

BOb

[Man Eating Duck]

Originally Posted by tulsa

I may want to drag and drop sometimes. Does anybody know where Calibre put the epubs into the reader? For whatever reason, I may want/need to drag and drop files into the folder.

On the prs-600 Calibre arranges them by Author/Title within database/media/books on the 'Reader' disk, i.e
database/media/books/McCarthy, Cormac/The Road - Cormac McCarthy.epub

I find that I never put files there manually, haven't even tried it. Calibre manages this perfectly, and I guess that tags won't be included if you do it yourself.

I don't know how the 900 library interface is, but on the 600 tags are very handy for navigating a large library on the reader. I use author and maximum two categories, and can find any book within a couple of seconds.

About the glare: Have you seen a 600 in person? Is there less glare on the 900 than the 600? I find the glare on the 600 to be a very minor problem, but it's a selling point if I want to upgrade for other reasons.

[tulsa]

Originally Posted by Man Eating Duck

On the prs-600 Calibre arranges them by Author/Title within database/media/books on the 'Reader' disk, i.e
database/media/books/McCarthy, Cormac/The Road - Cormac McCarthy.epub

I find that I never put files there manually, haven't even tried it. Calibre manages this perfectly, and I guess that tags won't be included if you do it yourself.

I don't know how the 900 library interface is, but on the 600 tags are very handy for navigating a large library on the reader. I use author and maximum two categories, and can find any book within a couple of seconds.

About the glare: Have you seen a 600 in person? Is there less glare on the 900 than the 600? I find the glare on the 600 to be a very minor problem, but it's a selling point if I want to upgrade for other reasons.

Thanks for the info. I'm at work at the moment, but I'll be able to check the folder thing tonight. I, too, am likely to be content to let Calibre handle to the transferring.

I've never seen a 600. I've read reviews on Amazon that the glare on the 900 is actually less of a problem than the 600 and that it was a deliberate improvement on Sony's part due to people complaining about it.

My big test will be actually purchasing books from the sony store. Probably won't do that until I do more research on how to do this with Ubuntu. (but will keep this thread updated on my experiences.)

[raac]

If I were you, I'd go the virtual machine route for Windows. In addition to running ADE, you can more easily use certain Windows-based Python scripts to "by-pass" the DRM. Following this, you'll be able to read everything on Ubuntu to your heart's content.

[mboothe]

When I bought my 900, I just logged into the Sony store on the device and it authorized it before I even hooked up to my computer.