eBooks aquired from iBooks

Philippe Lemay · 07-04-2011, 12:57 AM

A friend of mine passed me a PDF copy of a book I really liked, and I converted it into ePub using caliber. It worked reasonably well, but there were some typos that probably resulted from a quick scan of the paper book.

Out of respect for the author, I decided to pay for the book itself on the iBooks store... Never again. I mean, this is the epitome of stupidity. With the free book, I plug it into caliber, convert it into any format I want, and play it literally on any device I damn well please. But if I pay 10 dollars for it...? OH NO! Apple has to make sure I can't play that on any single ****ing thing apart for the hallowed iPad.

I mean seriously, what the hell? It's like if they are trying to push us into piracy and illegal downloading. I paid for it! I should be allowed to read the damn book on my desktop! I'm not violating any DRM laws if I PAID FOR IT.

Edit:
AHR! NO! It won't even open on Desktop Stanza! Why Apple, why? Stanza is a reputable eReader!

swt · 07-04-2011, 03:21 AM

I feel your pain. Apple's not the only one to do it tho. Stanza's owned by Amazon and they have allowed it to degrade. Nook for iPad slid away into negative rating world, obviously so Barnes can push their own Nook devices.

All of this is extremely anti-customer, and 100% pro-corporation. It is not just wrong, but also unethical and immoral in my opinion. Just give us the paid for ebooks and let US choose the readers. Some of us have to due to such as low vision issues (BARNES, I'm looking at you!)

ChristopherTD · 07-04-2011, 04:02 AM

Err, this is by no means restricted to Apple. Most commercial ebooks are limited in the same way, whether you buy them from Amazon, Apple, Sony etc.

Notable exceptions include Angry Robot books and O'Reilly (who make all their excellent technical books available multi-format without DRM)

HarryT · 07-04-2011, 04:31 AM

Given that you are a self-declared "Apple Hater" I'm a little surprised that you bought the book from iBooks. Had you bought it from any other ePub bookstore, you would have had no trouble whatsoever reading it anywhere that you chose. Why choose to buy from iBooks, and be locked in?

GeoffC · 07-04-2011, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given that you are a self-declared "Apple Hater" I'm a little surprised that you bought the book from iBooks. Had you bought it from any other ePub bookstore, you would have had no trouble whatsoever reading it anywhere that you chose. Why choose to buy from iBooks, and be locked in?

and an Apple Hater who has an iPad and iPod ...

Philippe Lemay · 07-04-2011, 09:41 AM

I decided to become an Apple Hater after purchasing the thing and owning it for more than a month... It does the job reasonably well, and usually it's a case of "Apple sucks hard, but everyone else sucks just a little harder." But by GOD. This pissed me off something fierce.

I didn't know that iBooks would be wrapped in DRM, I thought that ePub was by it's very nature universal, and when I heard Apple uses ePub as it's eBooks format I was all like "Oh, awesome for once!" But no... So... do you guys know of any reputable eBook stores that don't choke you with DRM? Harry mentioned the "ePub bookstore"? Do you have a link?

Edit:
Oh, and the Touch was a gift I got from my sister for free. Trust me I feel I would be much happier with some kind of Android device. If I had the money.

susan_cassidy · 07-04-2011, 01:38 PM

All current-type books from major publishers (except Baen Books) have DRM, whether they are in ePub, Mobi, or whatever format.

ePub format does not define DRM, so anyone can put any DRM they like on it.

There are a number of ePub retailers, like Kobo, B&N (different DRM than most), Sony, BooksOnBoard, etc.

stonetools · 07-05-2011, 09:31 AM

It's very likely that iBooks will be coming to the desktop with the Lion update, so just be patient, no need for all this teen drama. Helps also to do some research ahead of putting down your money.

leebase · 07-05-2011, 10:28 AM

Might as well hate on Kindle as well. You can only read those books from a Kindle app. Sony/B&N and others who support Adobe's DRM -- well, at least you can read those books on other devices that support Adobe's DRM.

Sooo...this is not exactly an "Apple" thing. Best thing to do at the moment, is buy from Amazon as their DRM has been cracked. Buy the book, strip off the DRM.

I don't buy iBookstore books (much) for that reason.

Lee

DaleDe · 07-05-2011, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leebase

Might as well hate on Kindle as well. You can only read those books from a Kindle app. Sony/B&N and others who support Adobe's DRM -- well, at least you can read those books on other devices that support Adobe's DRM.

Sooo...this is not exactly an "Apple" thing. Best thing to do at the moment, is buy from Amazon as their DRM has been cracked. Buy the book, strip off the DRM.

I don't buy iBookstore books (much) for that reason.

Lee

B&N uses a variant on Adobe DE that they developed. Not all eBook readers can read their DRM format, so it is in the exclusive camp as well. Kobo sometimes releases their books only in kepub so they can be exclusive on some books. You have to be careful. Apple is exclusive for iBooks but since you can download apps you aren't restricted to only iBooks although they might like you to think so. And, as you mention Kindle uses exclusive DRM on both its formats and topaz at least is exclusive and purchases are not well marked as to which format you will get. Even if you could remove the DRM.

Dale

AlexBell · 07-07-2011, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

All current-type books from major publishers (except Baen Books) have DRM, whether they are in ePub, Mobi, or whatever format.

I wonder how one defines 'major publishers'? BeWrite books, Double Dragon, O'Reilly ... don't use DRM and are doing very well.

yvanleterrible · 07-07-2011, 05:17 AM

OT.

Who says you have to buy books only from one place? At least an iPad allows you to read material you load yourself and there are apps out of the closed OS loop such as FileBrowser or GoodReader that enable you other file formats and file structures.

Complaining about iBooks is like complaining about the first book store around the corner. You can buy books just about anywhere else.

murraypaul · 07-07-2011, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

I wonder how one defines 'major publishers'? BeWrite books, Double Dragon, O'Reilly ... don't use DRM and are doing very well.

But they aren't major publishers, however you define it, they are small, specialist, or niche ones.
They do not publish a high volume of successful books across a wide range of genres.

JMikeD · 07-08-2011, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonetools

Helps also to do some research ahead of putting down your money.

Agreed.

Philippe Lemay · 07-08-2011, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonetools

It's very likely that iBooks will be coming to the desktop with the Lion update, so just be patient, no need for all this teen drama. Helps also to do some research ahead of putting down your money.

As a devoute Apple Hater I reserve the right to rage and teen drama as much as I want.

But seriously, Do we know if they are planning on releasing a PC version of this Desktop-iBooks? Because I'm not ready to pay 300$ more for a computer just to get the Apple logo on my comp (and the assorted bells and whistles that come with that logo).

Also, long story short: is it possible to buy ePub books that can play on anything? Or would that require some kind of jailbreaking hax business?

07-04-2011, 12:57 AM	#1
Philippe Lemay Apple Hater Posts: 18 Karma: 30 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Canada, Quebec Device: iPad, iPod Touch	eBooks aquired from iBooks A friend of mine passed me a PDF copy of a book I really liked, and I converted it into ePub using caliber. It worked reasonably well, but there were some typos that probably resulted from a quick scan of the paper book. Out of respect for the author, I decided to pay for the book itself on the iBooks store... Never again. I mean, this is the epitome of stupidity. With the free book, I plug it into caliber, convert it into any format I want, and play it literally on any device I damn well please. But if I pay 10 dollars for it...? OH NO! Apple has to make sure I can't play that on any single ***ing thing apart for the hallowed iPad. I mean seriously, what the hell? It's like if they are trying to push us into piracy and illegal downloading. I paid for it! I should be allowed to read the damn book on my desktop! I'm not violating any DRM laws if I PAID FOR IT. Edit: AHR! NO! It won't even open on Desktop Stanza! Why Apple, why? Stanza is a reputable eReader! Last edited by Philippe Lemay; 07-04-2011 at 01:04 AM.*

07-04-2011, 09:41 AM	#6
Philippe Lemay Apple Hater Posts: 18 Karma: 30 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Canada, Quebec Device: iPad, iPod Touch	I decided to become an Apple Hater after purchasing the thing and owning it for more than a month... It does the job reasonably well, and usually it's a case of "Apple sucks hard, but everyone else sucks just a little harder." But by GOD. This pissed me off something fierce. I didn't know that iBooks would be wrapped in DRM, I thought that ePub was by it's very nature universal, and when I heard Apple uses ePub as it's eBooks format I was all like "Oh, awesome for once!" But no... So... do you guys know of any reputable eBook stores that don't choke you with DRM? Harry mentioned the "ePub bookstore"? Do you have a link? Edit: Oh, and the Touch was a gift I got from my sister for free. Trust me I feel I would be much happier with some kind of Android device. If I had the money. Last edited by Philippe Lemay; 07-04-2011 at 09:47 AM.

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07-04-2011, 03:21 AM	#2
swt Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: none	I feel your pain. Apple's not the only one to do it tho. Stanza's owned by Amazon and they have allowed it to degrade. Nook for iPad slid away into negative rating world, obviously so Barnes can push their own Nook devices. All of this is extremely anti-customer, and 100% pro-corporation. It is not just wrong, but also unethical and immoral in my opinion. Just give us the paid for ebooks and let US choose the readers. Some of us have to due to such as low vision issues (BARNES, I'm looking at you!)

07-04-2011, 04:02 AM	#3
ChristopherTD Addict Posts: 343 Karma: 1010002 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London. UK Device: Marvin Reader on iPad Air (via Calibre)	Err, this is by no means restricted to Apple. Most commercial ebooks are limited in the same way, whether you buy them from Amazon, Apple, Sony etc. Notable exceptions include Angry Robot books and O'Reilly (who make all their excellent technical books available multi-format without DRM)

07-04-2011, 04:31 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Given that you are a self-declared "Apple Hater" I'm a little surprised that you bought the book from iBooks. Had you bought it from any other ePub bookstore, you would have had no trouble whatsoever reading it anywhere that you chose. Why choose to buy from iBooks, and be locked in?

07-04-2011, 01:38 PM	#7
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	All current-type books from major publishers (except Baen Books) have DRM, whether they are in ePub, Mobi, or whatever format. ePub format does not define DRM, so anyone can put any DRM they like on it. There are a number of ePub retailers, like Kobo, B&N (different DRM than most), Sony, BooksOnBoard, etc.

07-05-2011, 09:31 AM	#8
stonetools Wizard Posts: 2,016 Karma: 2838487 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Ipad, IPhone	It's very likely that iBooks will be coming to the desktop with the Lion update, so just be patient, no need for all this teen drama. Helps also to do some research ahead of putting down your money.

07-05-2011, 10:28 AM	#9
leebase Karma Kameleon Posts: 2,938 Karma: 26738313 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn	Might as well hate on Kindle as well. You can only read those books from a Kindle app. Sony/B&N and others who support Adobe's DRM -- well, at least you can read those books on other devices that support Adobe's DRM. Sooo...this is not exactly an "Apple" thing. Best thing to do at the moment, is buy from Amazon as their DRM has been cracked. Buy the book, strip off the DRM. I don't buy iBookstore books (much) for that reason. Lee

07-07-2011, 05:17 AM	#12
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	OT. Who says you have to buy books only from one place? At least an iPad allows you to read material you load yourself and there are apps out of the closed OS loop such as FileBrowser or GoodReader that enable you other file formats and file structures. Complaining about iBooks is like complaining about the first book store around the corner. You can buy books just about anywhere else.

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