Mobipocket announcements at IDPF conference

[Nate the great]

The following is an expansion upon the notes I took during the talk given by Martin Gorner, the President & CEO of Mobipocket.

Mobi Desktop 6.2 can import EPUB, and will auto-convert an EPUB file to Mobi format so you can read it. He demonstrated this during the presentation.

The next version of Mobi Creator and Mobigen will also support EPUB creation.

By the end of the year, Mobipocket will release updated readers for the various platforms, as well as release a new reader for the Apple iPhone.

Mr. Gorner also said that sales of Mobipocket format e-books have doubled since last year, while giving a breakdown of users by device. I wasn't quite fast enough to get all the data, but I can tell you it's 43 percent Windows Mobile, 23 percent Palm, 6% proprietary (iRex iLiad, Pepper-Pad, etc). The number of Palm users is shrinking, both as a percentage and as an absolute number.

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When Gorner demoed EPUB support, I was under the impression that Mobi Desktop can read EPUB natively. Well, I just tested it, and my copy of 6.2 converted the EPUB file to Mobi before opening it. Either way, it's a nice step forward!

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

as well as giving a breakdown of users by device.

I'm curious how they know this. Do they count by downloads? What about devices where the reader is pre-installed like CyBook/iLiad?

BOb

[Nate the great]

I would guess that Mobipocket can tell what type of device you have based on the PID.

Since you have to provide a PID to download a book, and the book must be encoded by Mobipocket's DRM servers with that PID, Mobipocket at some point will know about each PID.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I would guess that Mobipocket can tell what type of device you have based on the PID.

So are you suggesting that the Mobipocket software is reporting back to the mother ship. You don't actually have to use the Mobipocket software on your PC, right?

Or, are you suggesting that all Mobipocket stores are reporting PID's registered with them back to Mobipocket?

BOb

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I would guess that Mobipocket can tell what type of device you have based on the PID.

Since you have to provide a PID to download a book, and the book must be encoded by Mobipocket's DRM servers with that PID, Mobipocket at some point will know about each PID.

The PID is generated from the device's system ID/serial number.

Derek

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

So are you suggesting that the Mobipocket software is reporting back to the mother ship. You don't actually have to use the Mobipocket software on your PC, right?

Or, are you suggesting that all Mobipocket stores are reporting PID's registered with them back to Mobipocket?

BOb

When you purchase a Mobipocket format eBook, the site you purchase it from has to talk to the DRM server in order to insert the PID(s) you've told the site you want to use. So in effect you are sending your purchase info back to Mobipocket.

[MaggieScratch]

Well, since I have my Cybook AND my Treo registered, that must confuse the servers.

Overall, I prefer eReader on the Treo anyway.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you purchase a Mobipocket format eBook, the site you purchase it from has to talk to the DRM server in order to insert the PID(s) you've told the site you want to use. So in effect you are sending your purchase info back to Mobipocket.

Ah, I didn't know the encoding was such a secret that it wasn't provided to Mobi stores as an SDK. Well then, that makes sense that they could get the info from the PIDs.

BOb

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Ah, I didn't know the encoding was such a secret that it wasn't provided to Mobi stores as an SDK. Well then, that makes sense that they could get the info from the PIDs.

BOb

Well... It's a "secret" and NOT a "secret". If you look around for the python scripts that detail how to get a Mobipocket PID from a Kindle, that will tell you how a PID is developed.

And the python scripts which decrypt the Mobi DRM will show you how the Pukall cipher (PC1) works. Given those tools, there's no reason to not incorporate Secure Mobipocket support into FBReader.

Derek

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

And the python scripts which decrypt the Mobi DRM will show you how the Pukall cipher (PC1) works. Given those tools, there's no reason to not incorporate Secure Mobipocket support into FBReader.

hmm.. if that's the case, I wonder why they haven't added it.

BTW: Do you get the same PID on the same device all the time?

So it uses the PC1 cipher with the PID as the key?

BOb

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

Well... It's a "secret" and NOT a "secret". If you look around for the python scripts that detail how to get a Mobipocket PID from a Kindle, that will tell you how a PID is developed.

And the python scripts which decrypt the Mobi DRM will show you how the Pukall cipher (PC1) works. Given those tools, there's no reason to not incorporate Secure Mobipocket support into FBReader.

Derek

Except a legal one.

Dale

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

hmm.. if that's the case, I wonder why they haven't added it.

BTW: Do you get the same PID on the same device all the time?

So it uses the PC1 cipher with the PID as the key?

BOb

Yes, the PID is fixed on a given device/machine. And if you buy a new computer and install Mobireader, you'll get a *brand new* PID and all your old books won't open until you register that PID and re-download them. (Note I did NOT say you have to re-purchase them.)

And, yes, the PC1 cipher will, with the PID as the key, decypher them.

Derek

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Except a legal one.

Dale

Well, *IF* the "decryption" were performed "on-the-fly" on an internal-to-FBReader file and that file weren't saved to disc - in other words, this decryption took place every single time one chose to read the ebook - I can't really see how it would violate the law. The PID would be "unique" to the user's device. The ebook would have been legally purchased. FBReader would not create a permanent "decrypted" version. Sorry, but nowhere does it say one *MUST* use Mobipocket Reader to read the Secure Mobipocket ebooks. And in point of fact, the iLiad version was created - then got approval from Mobipocket.

Now if Mobipocket wants to get all "legal" over a program designed to permanently remove the DRM so the legally-purchased ebook can be shared amongst people, I'm down on Mobipocket's side. But to be aghast at another application allowing reading - by the person who purchased the Mobi ebook - while not crushing the developers who did so for the iLiad, nope, I don't buy the argument.

Derek

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

And, yes, the PC1 cipher will, with the PID as the key, decypher them.

I'm curious how it does this with multiple PIDs. Most asymetric ciphers use a key to convert plain text to cipher text. I'm not sure how this would work with 3 keys. Unless the whole file isn't encrypted and there is just some header. Hmmm...

BOb

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Mobi Desktop 6.2 can import EPUB, and will auto convert an epub file to Mobi format so you can read it.

I tried one of Adobe's sample ebooks, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It displays well in Adobe Digital Editions, including the text wrapping around images. FBReader displays it ok too, but without CSS support it does not wrap the text or style the chapter heading. In MobiPocket Reader, a MOBI version was produced but without any images and with character encoding errors.

MobiPocket Reader did better on Red Alert, another Adobe sample ebook. However, Digital Editions and MobiPocket Reader display the chapter title in different colors.

Both MobiPocket Reader and FBReader fail to produce a TOC from the toc.ncx file for both ebooks. When I tried mobigen (rather than MobiPocket Reader) the console messages indicate that the toc.ncx file is read, but no TOC was produced.

MobiPocket Reader failed to convert the only epub example I have with SVG graphics, but it is seriously non-conforming and so this might not have been due to the SVG content.