Quote:
Originally Posted by eschwartz
This is wrong. Just... wrong.
Why does it make a difference what format you use? Any epub that can be sideloaded onto a Nook can be converted into an azw3 and read on the Kindle. In fact, many stores (but obviously not B&N or Kobo) will actually sell you a zip containing both an epub and a mobi.
|
I wanted a open format that was well supported. And at the time it was the only reader that also supported libraries. Sure most formats can be cracked/converted, but to be honest I wanted something where I could avoid that if possible. I have been buying ebooks since about 99 or so. And I have seen MANY MANY formats disappear during that time. I have had to convert a lot of books I bought back then, and like I said it is a pain and I would like to spend my time READING not converting my library.
Also remember at the time the Nook came out, there was only the choice of propriety formats or Nook with epub. Sure it had encryption, but it was in a format that if the company stopped supporting it, you could still read your books (the DRM wasn't tied to some crazy server system with keys that changed, authorizations that had to be done etc etc). Remember Microsoft's ebook format? They changed that so often that even a year after you bought a book, often the new reader software couldn't read the older books. Or vice versa. Several other formats had the same problem. I didn't want to fall into that pit. Been there done that. I wanted something that if I was going to invest in, it was not dependent upon the company. Just like a regular book is not dependent upon the publisher to be read. Anyone can pick it up and read it, even if the publisher is long gone.
As I said, sure I could convert them. But converting is a chore (also remember Calibre wasn't around at the time, or was just getting going), and I would much rather spend my time READING than converting.