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DiapDealer · 06-30-2014, 12:39 PM

It seems to me that the "waters" of epub compatibility (including DRM-interoperability) are becoming more and more cumbersome to navigate.

I prefer to buy epubs. Not because of any Amazon hate (or love for another retailer), but because epub is easier to manipulate. I'm not a chronic tweaker, by any means, but I do like the easy option of being able to fix something atrociously wrong if/when I encounter them in my books. I also found a reading app that I prefer to all others (Mantano Pro) which allows me to read DRM-free epubs--as well as epubs with Adobe's "standard" ADEPT drm (B&N's drm too). Bases pretty well-covered, I think.

I buy quite a bit from Amazon as well (more so in the past), but unless they're drastically cheaper, I'm probably going to buy the epub at Kobo or B&N (why buy the whole cow and milk it when I can buy the milk pre-separated from the cow?)

Here's the cumbersome bit.

I went to buy a newly released book from Kobo (usually my first choice) and discovered that it's only available in Kobo's proprietary kepub format. Meaning I can't download the ascm, fullfill the purchase and load it on an Adobe registered device/app. Don't want that--don't have anything I can read it with (short of using the Kobo reading app that I don't want to use).

No problem, I'll head on over to B&N and buy the Nookbook. Which I do. Only to discover that it's full-blown ePub3. My reading app doesn't support epub3, so I can't read it unless I use the Nook app or a Nook device--I neither have nor want either of those things.

So now, since I already spent my money, I have to go to the trouble of changing the epub v3 into a v2 epub--or read it with an app that I find sub-optimal. If the simple act of removing the DRM solved the interoperability issues (like it used to do with epub), I'd have no beef. But now what? How do I determine if the ePub I want to buy is one that I can make immediate use of ... easily and quickly?

And how does a library loan an epub that's only commercially available as ePub3 or some proprietary epub variant?

Thanks for letting gripe about the fragmented (and getting worse) state of ePub.

If this belongs in the ePub subforum, so be it.

06-30-2014, 12:39 PM	#1
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,659 Karma: 205039118 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	ePub flavors becoming cumbersome? It seems to me that the "waters" of epub compatibility (including DRM-interoperability) are becoming more and more cumbersome to navigate. I prefer to buy epubs. Not because of any Amazon hate (or love for another retailer), but because epub is easier to manipulate. I'm not a chronic tweaker, by any means, but I do like the easy option of being able to fix something atrociously wrong if/when I encounter them in my books. I also found a reading app that I prefer to all others (Mantano Pro) which allows me to read DRM-free epubs--as well as epubs with Adobe's "standard" ADEPT drm (B&N's drm too). Bases pretty well-covered, I think. I buy quite a bit from Amazon as well (more so in the past), but unless they're drastically cheaper, I'm probably going to buy the epub at Kobo or B&N (why buy the whole cow and milk it when I can buy the milk pre-separated from the cow?) Here's the cumbersome bit. I went to buy a newly released book from Kobo (usually my first choice) and discovered that it's only available in Kobo's proprietary kepub format. Meaning I can't download the ascm, fullfill the purchase and load it on an Adobe registered device/app. Don't want that--don't have anything I can read it with (short of using the Kobo reading app that I don't want to use). No problem, I'll head on over to B&N and buy the Nookbook. Which I do. Only to discover that it's full-blown ePub3. My reading app doesn't support epub3, so I can't read it unless I use the Nook app or a Nook device--I neither have nor want either of those things. So now, since I already spent my money, I have to go to the trouble of changing the epub v3 into a v2 epub--or read it with an app that I find sub-optimal. If the simple act of removing the DRM solved the interoperability issues (like it used to do with epub), I'd have no beef. But now what? How do I determine if the ePub I want to buy is one that I can make immediate use of ... easily and quickly? And how does a library loan an epub that's only commercially available as ePub3 or some proprietary epub variant? Thanks for letting gripe about the fragmented (and getting worse) state of ePub. If this belongs in the ePub subforum, so be it.