Quote:
Originally Posted by kaireece
I'm not opposed to learning how to strip DRM (what IS that?! lol) to get the books onto the kindle. I just wonder if it's too difficult for a rookie.
|
1) DRM means "Digital Rights Management". It's a kind of copy-protection which is meant to restrict what you can do with a digital file.
For most file formats, it's not hard to remove (and still legal in Canada, because despite the best efforts of our current government, we do not yet have a US-style Digital Millenium Copyright Act which basically makes it illegal to use your legally obtained files on any compatible device you wish to use it upon, instead locking you in to whatever the vendor who sold it dictates).
2) You don't need a US credit card for the B&N store. You could get by with paying using gift certificates. You do need your own credit card for their DRM scheme, which unlocks your files using your name and CC number. But it can be a Canadian one as long as you enter a US billing address.
You should probably use a US IP VPN proxy when going through their checkout. Sometimes they block sales that way, especially if your geo-location is well outside the US borders. There are a couple of decent free ones listed in the international users thread in the nook forum.
3) To check on the availability of Mobipocket files, see if your library's website has a link to their ebook catalogue. If not, you could always try the
Overdrive search for your area.
When you find the relevant webpage, there should be a search box with a dropdown which you should be able to switch from All Formats to Mobipocket eBook. Leave the box blank, and click the button to pull up all the Mobipocket format books; if there's no option for that, but they list Adobe ePub/PDF, then you can assume they don't have any.
4) Stripping and converting doesn't take long. You do have to install some stuff and set things up first, but once that's done, it's a matter of minutes per book. There may be a bit of a learning curve if you're not used to using command-line scripts, but if you happen to be on Windows, some people have very kindly packaged them up as GUI programs for easier use.
I'm afraid we can't discuss these things in detail on the MR forums, both out of courtesy for the rules and to protect the site from possible legal action, but it's pretty easy to find the relevant info via Google.
5) If you're worried about overspending, there's plenty of free books available, both public domain classics (some even
hand-formatted right here by our very own MobileRead members) and time-limited promotional books the publishers offer, especially at Amazon, B&N, and the Sony Reader and Kobo stores.
Amazon gets the most freebies every month, but they're mostly evangelical Christian fiction and fairly steamy romance (though occasionally a few other genres), so if you're not interested in those categories, that may not be much of a value-add consideration.
Hope this answers your questions. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any more.