[DNSB]

The first ebook reading device I had was my computer starting with my S-100 bus sytem back in the late 70's. Most of the content was scanned and OCRed from my collection so I spent quite a bit of time correcting errors. After moving on to IBM/Microsoft systems, I purchased a few commercial ebooks in mobi/PRC and then moved to .lit format since I liked the way Microsoft's reader program display the pages on-screen. I started purchasing ebooks from Baen when they first started selling them and am happy that they later allowed me to download other versions to replace my oiginal downloads.

My first portable "ereader" was a Palm Pilot with it's massive 160x160 screen. I later owned a used Sony which I used for a couple of years. Shortly before I moved on, a firmware update allowed me to move from LRF to epub books. I moved to the original Kobo with it's Bluetooth connection to my Blackberry. I now use a Kobo KA1 for fiction reading and my laptop or iPad for technical PDFs though the KA1 serves as my backup for that purpose.

Along the way, I discovered Sigil and Calibre which pretty much top my current must-have programs list.

After the loss of several ebooks when Microsoft shut down it's DRM servers for the .lit format, I have made the ability to remove DRM a requirement for any ebook format I purchase. If I can't back up a readable copy, I don't buy it.