Hamster offers eBook conversion

djulian · 07-05-2011, 11:34 AM

Ran across this on Lifehacker. Any idea if it's legal? No word on their site if they strip DRM.

http://ebook.hamstersoft.com/en/home

The "Support" page says that it's based on the Calibre engine...

DiapDealer · 07-05-2011, 11:43 AM

I'm pretty sure the books you try to convert would need to be DRM free already. I downloaded the "installer" file from that web page, which passed a variety of scans, but it turns out it's not really THE installer, anyway. It needs to connect to the internet to actually download the true installer files. And it wants to install their Zip Archive software (by default) as an added bonus. I gave up at this point. I don't trust installer's that need to connect to the internet. If this uses calibre's engine... I would suggest just using calibre instead.

wayrad · 07-05-2011, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djulian

Ran across this on Lifehacker. Any idea if it's legal? No word on their site if they strip DRM.

http://ebook.hamstersoft.com/en/home

The "Support" page says that it's based on the Calibre engine...

Looks like it's just doing part of what Calibre does? That's perfectly legal.

P.S. I agree with DiapDealer though - Calibre seems a more straightforward option.

cfrizz · 07-05-2011, 06:16 PM

Ehh, I'll stick with Calibre.

J. Strnad · 07-05-2011, 06:27 PM

Calibre is pretty awesome, especially with the right plug-ins.

slm · 07-05-2011, 08:52 PM

Hamster uses Calibre--they credit the program. It just provides a wrap, I guess.

Hellmark · 07-06-2011, 12:52 AM

The support page mentions Calibre, and the EULA page mentions other GPL based apps it is based on. Why not just mention it all in one place. The EULA they have is a bit sketchy, and can be argued isn't in GPL compliance. What really ticks me off is that do not offer the source for the modified code they've used from GPL'ed products, but rather just direct people to the websites for the original projects.

kovidgoyal · 07-07-2011, 02:57 PM

Given that it is using calibre and is being distributed in binary form without source code and with a license incompatible with the GNU GPL v3 (calibre's license) it is illegal.

Besides being utterly immoral in that it uses calibre and does not acknowledge that fact anywhere in its user interface.

kovidgoyal · 07-07-2011, 03:01 PM

This part of their "support" page really made me laugh

Quote:

Don't miss new version! We do new features every week

Parasites!

toddos · 07-09-2011, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Given that it is using calibre and is being distributed in binary form without source code and with a license incompatible with the GNU GPL v3 (calibre's license) it is illegal.

Besides being utterly immoral in that it uses calibre and does not acknowledge that fact anywhere in its user interface.

Have you contacted them?

bZkindle · 07-09-2011, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

This part of their "support" page really made me laugh

Parasites!

That's pretty low.
Hamster is a dumb name too. Not very web 2.0ish.

kovidgoyal · 07-09-2011, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddos

Have you contacted them?

Yeah, they've promised to fix their GPL violation and credit calibre prominently in a week, let's see if they live up to that.

07-05-2011, 11:34 AM	#1
djulian Evangelist Posts: 408 Karma: 1786912 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle Voyage	Hamster offers eBook conversion Ran across this on Lifehacker. Any idea if it's legal? No word on their site if they strip DRM. http://ebook.hamstersoft.com/en/home The "Support" page says that it's based on the Calibre engine...

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07-05-2011, 11:43 AM	#2
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,561 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I'm pretty sure the books you try to convert would need to be DRM free already. I downloaded the "installer" file from that web page, which passed a variety of scans, but it turns out it's not really THE installer, anyway. It needs to connect to the internet to actually download the true installer files. And it wants to install their Zip Archive software (by default) as an added bonus. I gave up at this point. I don't trust installer's that need to connect to the internet. If this uses calibre's engine... I would suggest just using calibre instead.

07-05-2011, 06:16 PM	#4
cfrizz Wizard Posts: 1,569 Karma: 36389706 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Quincy, MA Device: Samsung 54A, Kobo Libra H2O, Samsung S6 Lite	Ehh, I'll stick with Calibre.

07-05-2011, 06:27 PM	#5
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	Calibre is pretty awesome, especially with the right plug-ins.

07-05-2011, 08:52 PM	#6
slm Fool Posts: 468 Karma: 4113712 Join Date: Feb 2003 Device: Kindle: Voyage,PW1,KOA, Kobo: Clara Colour, Nook GLP, Pocketbook verse	Hamster uses Calibre--they credit the program. It just provides a wrap, I guess.

07-06-2011, 12:52 AM	#7
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,592 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	The support page mentions Calibre, and the EULA page mentions other GPL based apps it is based on. Why not just mention it all in one place. The EULA they have is a bit sketchy, and can be argued isn't in GPL compliance. What really ticks me off is that do not offer the source for the modified code they've used from GPL'ed products, but rather just direct people to the websites for the original projects.

07-07-2011, 02:57 PM	#8
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,339 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Given that it is using calibre and is being distributed in binary form without source code and with a license incompatible with the GNU GPL v3 (calibre's license) it is illegal. Besides being utterly immoral in that it uses calibre and does not acknowledge that fact anywhere in its user interface.

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