DeDRM support site closed

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

I really wonder how you've missed seeing this thread, started in 2014, with the purpose of keeping tout le monde up to date:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=253119
The first post contains all the update information you will continue to need.

It's relatively easy to miss a discussion started in a never-ending thread, like this one — unless you mark the forum read and check back regularly for new posts. I normally skipped posts in this thread because I'm from the school of "if it works, don't fix it." The reason I've been following posts there recently was because of the new DeASCM plugin.

[Lynx-lynx]

I hear what you're saying, but the name of that thread says it all. Subscribe and take a peek when interested, or it's of use, but if one uses the tools then one usually keeps abreast of changes.

I found Alf's blog quite confusing to navigate, and very outdated in presentation, and style. I subscribed to it year's ago, and even that was a confusing experience working out how to do that iirc.

Like others here I'm not literate in the world of programming but I can say that when apprentice harper shifted Alf's stuff over to github it was easier to follow.

Now, the github setup being used is well laid out, and appears quite easy to follow and/create discussions. I suggest the ordinary non programmer type user will be able to read what's going on or get assistance with much greater ease.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by romad

Except that GitHub is for developers and programmers; not for the ordinary user. I don't program so I don't understand probably 99.44% of the discussions there.

It's not as bad as you might think. I'm not a developer, but I use Linux, so GitHub is necessary for some of the applications I want to use. I have a GitHub login (I think I still have one at any rate) but I don't normally log in. Since you already know how to install DeDRM, it's just a matter of downloading the Zip file and opening it up and installing it. And you don't even need a login to do that. Just click the green Code button and (in the drop down) you'll see download the Zip file. If you scroll down further, you'll see the Readme.md file with an introduction and also Apprentice Harper's readme.md file that was (still is?) hosted on the Apprentice Alf's site. There you will see a link to the Changelog, which will tell what has changed in the new versions. You can access the the Discussions section just by clicking the Discussion link. (I guess if you want to add to the discussion you have to login.)

At any rate, unless you have an issue, you can just download DeDRM as usual.

https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools

In addition to the WordPress site, Apprentice Harper also maintained a GitHub site, where you'll find Discussions (lots of them) and Issues (just like the new noDRM site will have).

https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Now, the github setup being used is well laid out, and appears quite easy to follow and/create discussions. I suggest the ordinary non programmer type user will be able to read what's going on or get assistance with much greater ease.

I understand what you're saying. As mentioned in my previous post, Apprentice Harper maintained a GitHub site as well, where you'll find MANY discussion threads (none answered since the release of 7.2.1 — so I'm guessing it was getting to be too much). So that's where the real work was done in the past. I didn't even know this, however, as the WordPress site had all the information I needed. Maybe the new (noDRM) maintainer (is he also an "apprentice?") will create a website with a link to his GitHub site.

[Joliet Jake]

Originally Posted by romad

The WordPress site where users could get help using DeDRM has been shut down. I read the posts daily to stay abreast of problems and to learn when new versions of DeDRM were released. Unfortunately that will no longer be possible. So I'll continue to use my currently installed DeDRM version with Calibre as long as it continues to work, but when it finally breaks, I'll have to go and buy a commercial program like Epubor.

RIP DeDRM.

Could you provide a link to the (old) site? I want to look at it at Archive.org.

[Lynx-lynx]

https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/

[DiapDealer]

I'm a bit confused. Is the OP actually referring to Apprentice Alf's Blog?

The WordPress site where users could get help using DeDRM has been shut down. I read the posts daily to stay abreast of problems and to learn when new versions of DeDRM were released.

The site has not been shut down. Nor were there any daily blog posts made there for a long, long time.

If they're referring to the comment section of one particular post being closed, I can't think of a more awkward and unituitive interface for staying apprised of news and issues than wading through thousands of comments at the bottom of a Wordpress blog post. *shrug"

[Lynx-lynx]

And if someone wants to reformat etc Amazon ebooks then they'll also need to keep up with jb howell's kfx input thread.

Using the apprentice alf site was only ever part of the story

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Joliet Jake

Could you provide a link to the (old) site? I want to look at it at Archive.org.

This is the GitHub site associated with Apprentice Harper (which coincides with the WordPress site). This was current up until the torch was handed over to the noDRM developer just recently. I'm still not sure where the name "Apprentice Alf" comes from.

https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools

There's also GitHub sites older than Apprentice Harper's site.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I'm still not sure where the name "Apprentice Alf" comes from.

The same place that the name Dark Reverser came from: the imagination of the person/people who came up with it. Why does it have to come from anywhere meaningful? It's not as if Alf was the same person/people the whole time anyway. It's a mantle that's been worn by many. Including one who used the moniker Harper to create a github account so the scripts/modules could be hosted and released publicly--centrally--instead of scattered on private PCs with new versions being uploaded to obscure WordPress blogs.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

The same place that the name Dark Reverser came from: the imagination of the person/people who came up with it. Why does it have to come from anywhere meaningful? It's not as if Alf was the same person/people the whole time anyway. It's a mantle that's been worn by many. Including one who used the moniker Harper to create a github account so the scripts/modules could be hosted and released publicly--centrally--instead of scattered on private PCs with new versions being uploaded to obscure WordPress blogs.

I don't know any (or very little) of the history of DeDRM. I like the name Apprentice Alf, it's just that it turns out Apprentice Harper is somebody — all this time I just assumed Apprentice Alf was somebody also. (I actually thought he/she was the developer of DeDRM.)

I guess I'll be more direct... was Apprentice Alf the name of one the DeDRM developers (no name necessary) in the past at some point? Or was Apprentice Alf just the catch-all name for the project? This is not an accusation of some kind and I'm not trying to interrogate anyone, I'm just curious.

[DiapDealer]

I truly have no idea if Alf was a code contributor, or if they just provided a new blog to host releases and--at the time--easier discussion (they clearly shared access to the blog with other anonymous developers, though). The Dark Reverser's Weblog on Wordpress (where most discussion around deconstructing the various formats was taking place at the time) was becoming difficult to navigate. The Dark Reverser's Wordpress blog is still up by the way. The comments there make for interesting reading from a historical standpoint (even if most of the download links are expired/broken).

I'm sure Alf is/was a person to begin with, but I doubt if they were ever THE person. I'm not sure there was ever just "one developer" of DeDRM.

[odamizu]

According to Apprentice Harper and noDRM's FAQ, Apprentice Alf is the person/persons who created the all-in-one calibre plugin using the scripts authored by a whole bunch of persons, then "various people have helped to maintain and improve them" ever since:

Who wrote these scripts?

The authors tend to identify themselves only by pseudonyms:

• The Adobe Adept and Barnes & Noble scripts were created by i♥cabbages
• The Readium LCP support for this plugin was created by NoDRM
• The Amazon Mobipocket and eReader scripts were created by The Dark Reverser
• The Amazon K4PC DRM/format was further decoded by Bart Simpson aka Skindle
• The Amazon K4 Mobi tool was created by by some_updates, mdlnx and others
• The Amazon Topaz DRM removal script was created by CMBDTC
• The Amazon Topaz format conversion was created by some_updates, clarknova, and Bart Simpson
• The DeDRM all-in-one calibre plugin was created by Apprentice Alf
• The support for .kinf2018 key files and KFX 2&3 was by Apprentice Sakuya
• The Scuolabooks tool was created by Hex
• The Microsoft code was created by drs
• The Apple DRM removal tool was created by Brahms

Since the original versions of the scripts and programs were released, various people have helped to maintain and improve them.

[emphasis added]