I don't know what Google is up to and not sure if this sheds any light on the situation, but here are some tidbits I gleaned from chatting with an Adobe insider a while back:
Adobe Content Server (ACS) is what a bookseller/library uses to deliver ebooks to you:
- If a bookseller/library is using ACS 4.0, it will deliver old DRM
- If a bookseller/library is using ACS 4.2+, it can deliver either old DRM or new DRM, depending on what settings the bookseller/library chooses
- It's not clear what happens with ACS 4.1
Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) -- or RMSDK if you're downloading directly to an ereader -- is what you use to download/receive ebooks from a bookseller/library:
- ADE 1.7.2 or 2, or RMSDK 9 can only open old DRM
- ADE 3 or 4, or RMSDK 10 can open both old and new DRM
To determine which ACS is being used, try opening the acsm file in a text editor, look for the fulfillment link between the <operatorURL> tags then add /statuscheck/ and copy it into a browser. In most cases, it will give you info on the ACS fulfillment server, including what version ACS is being used (though the statuscheck fails with Google).
Examples:
Overdrive through my local library:
http://acsepub.contentreserve.com/fu...t/statuscheck/ --
reporting ACS 4.1.2
Kobo: http://acs4.shortcovers.com:8080/ful...t/statuscheck/ --
reporting ACS 4.0.3
Google: http://books.google.com/books/acs4/f...t/statuscheck/ --
statuscheck failed