Ready possibly make my first sony store epub purchase need advice.

[bluerfoot]

Hi I own the 350 and despite come hiccups such as not working perfectly on oreilly book tocs, I have very much liked the form factor and swiping. Well I also own an kindle and hence I now have my first dilemma (which shows my total lack of understanding on what drm is btw). I want to buy a book to read on the sony and I am not sure where I should be purchasing it. my choices are...

http://www.amazon.com/Python-Visual-...1506010&sr=1-2

http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/tob...00000000208835

http://www.peachpit.com/store/produc...sbn=032159097X

I would ideally like to read this on all 3 devices. my sony 350, my n900 smartphone (using fbreader) and my kindle.

well first off if I understand this, if I don't get the kindle version I will never be able to read this on my kindle as it is epub and (am I wrong here?) calibre will only convert from .mobi to epub and not the reverse.

but if I get the kindle version, will I be able to through magic of calibre, read this on both the 350 and n900 as well? and will things such as formatting and toc work as well?

finally If I do go for an epub version, not taking price difference into account between sony and peachpit, will there be any difference on how it reads on the sony and the n900? in fact WILL I in fact be able to read it on both the 350 and the n900, or will the sony version restrict me to just the 350?

I know I could spend much time reading about this, but I feel if I can work out this one issue here, I will be well on my way to understanding drm, as well as the implications of purchasing epubs from alternate sources and hopefully what my options are if I get it from amazon.

my head is spinning...how they heck am I going to learn python if I can't even figure out where I should buy the damn book...thanks much for listening, any guidance in my first epub purchase (that is not an oreilly book) would be so very much appreciated...

[starrlamia]

It depends on the format you buy it in and if it is DRMed

Kindle books are mobi format and drmed, meaning you have to strip the DRM off in order to convert and use on any other device. This is illegal in most places and you wont find instructions here on doing so.

Alternatively, if you get it in PDF or epub format you can read it on your sony (and im assuming your other device, not familiar with that reader software). You would again have to strip DRM (if it has DRM) in order to convert to mobi for your kindle, if it has no DRM then you can convert to your hearts content using Calibre.

I think the difference in display on the 2 devices would most likely be effected the most by screen size.

Stripping DRM is actually very simple but it is up to the individual user to decide if they want to do it.

[polly]

When purchasing epubs, take a look at www.inkmesh.com for a way to search for a title across book stores. There can be big differences in prices for the same book. Be aware that your Sony can NOT use ePubs from B&N and Apple stores because those two use a different encryption method. EPubs from all other stores will work. Also, if you are going to purchase from the Sony store, you have to use the Reader software.

[doreenjoy]

I used to want to do the same thing (read the same books on three different devices) but in the end it wasn't worth the hassle. I hope you have more success with it than I did!

[Kralik]

Calibre can convert between all of those formats as long as you can find a way to remove the protection first.

[antistar]

I buy from Amazon all the time, strip and convert through calibre (with the help of a plugin), and put the books on my device (in epub format).
I would have liked to buy from other bookstores, but Amazon usually have the lowest price.