Is it easy to remove DRM protection?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

And Topaz does have certain very limited advantages, in that done well, it can preserve and present a more complex typographical layout than Amazon's Mobipocket format is capable of. This can be important for poetry books, and illustrated ones with the pictures supposed to show at a particular point in the text.

Agreed.

I have purchased one or two ebooks that I actually wished they had used the Topaz format. One in particular had an invented language (with symbols and accents) that couldn't be represented with standard fonts. The mobi version inserted those phrases as inline images that were vastly larger, fainter, and not even close to being vertically aligned with the surrounding text. The epub of the same book was slightly better -- but still atrocious -- and just distracted me horribly during my reading. I returned the ebook(s) and bought the print version instead.

I would have purchased a Topaz version of that ebook in a heartbeat, were one available.

[sadievan]

Thanks to all for the replies as to why Topaz is used.

Carol

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

It used to be (and may still) cheaper for the publishers, because Amazon would do the conversion work for them for a low cost and apparently this could be done as a byproduct of preparing the "Look Inside" feature for print books.

Apparently it's more expensive to do a "real" text-based ebook version, though judging from some of HarperCollins' typo-ridden offerings, the services which provide that may not exactly be giving quality for money spent.

And Topaz does have certain very limited advantages, in that done well, it can preserve and present a more complex typographical layout than Amazon's Mobipocket format is capable of. This can be important for poetry books, and illustrated ones with the pictures supposed to show at a particular point in the text.

And it makes it possible for Amazon to have books in foreign language scripts that aren't covered by the Kindle's internal fonts, which only cover Roman (with accents), Greek, and now Cyrillic and Chinese/Japanese/Korean with the K3 model. ePub can use embedded fonts for additional display/languages, but Mobi's limited to whatever's included on the device.

So in theory, someone with a Mongolian book written in the old script which goes vertically could make a Topaz version and have it look more-or-less like it should.

Topaz does have a number of potentially good uses. Unfortunately, it more often ends up being used for books that just don't need what it provides and would be better off in a "plain" version.

As for taking back your Topaz mistakes, Amazon does let you return any e-book within 7 days for whatever reason.

You could always try telling them that you're finding that the layout/font used is unreadable for you (some of the publishers use faint and skinny typefaces), or the book keeps losing its place and crashing your Kindle (also a common problem), or that the formatting is bad and you keep running into annoying typos that make you regret paying for such poor work.

Thanks for the reply and the tip about returning to Amazon.

Carol

[FF2]

While the thread is:

"Is it easy to remove DRM protection? "

Keeping up with the latest version of the tools is not!

I have yet to try any of this but I'm getting closer and now have 2.3 in zip format.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by FF2

While the thread is:

"Is it easy to remove DRM protection? "

Keeping up with the latest version of the tools is not!

Yes, those crazy fools will insist on improving the tools.

[erictoma]

So what is you conclusion guys?
Please who can answer me?
How many seconds minutes hours it takes you to remove one single DRM ? just to figure out if it is easily feasible or not

[DiapDealer]

So what is you conclusion guys?
Please who can answer me?
How many seconds minutes hours it takes you to remove one single DRM ? just to figure out if is easily feasible or not

1) Time will vary based on format, which tool, what OS, speed of processor, skill of user...
2) You have been given many opinions and suggestions.
3) There will never be a consensus on whether it's hard, easy, or somewhere in between.
4) The question is not relevant to "which ereader should I get?" (with the exception of the ipad)
5) You can determine your own conclusions without having to even purchase an ereader.
6) Yes, it's feasible.

[abookreader]

I'm curious why you don't do as nearly everybody has suggested and attempt it for yourself?

Nobody knows how easy *you* are going to find it. The only way to find that out is to try it for yourself.

[erictoma]

Originally Posted by abookreader

I'm curious why you don't do as nearly everybody has suggested and attempt it for yourself?

Nobody knows how easy *you* are going to find it. The only way to find that out is to try it for yourself.

Because the only way to try it is to order Kindle 3 from Amazon and buying an eBook from Kobo or any others protected eBook
that means waste of money , times and nerves too

[erictoma]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

1) Time will vary based on format, which tool, what OS, speed of processor, skill of user...

Hum skill of user and also the skill of those who have added the DRM in Amazon factories

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by erictoma

So what is you conclusion guys?
Please who can answer me?
How many seconds minutes hours it takes you to remove one single DRM ? just to figure out if it is easily feasible or not

That depends on platform and your willingness to try things.

On Mac OSX 10.5 and 10.6, for Kindle for Mac books all you need is to unzip DeDRM_1.2.zip and drag and drop the book you want on top of it and you are good to go (time maybe 20 to 30 seconds depending mainly how long the book is).

If you are on Windows or Mac OS X and want to use the Calibre plugins, then all you have to do is follow the README.txt files that go along with each Calibre plugin in tools and fill in any extra info if needed. Time to do this might be two to five minutes the first time and then it is simply like importing any book to Calibre. Being familiar with Calibre and Calibre plugins makes this even shorter / easier.

If you are on Windows and want to use the gui script tools, then you must find and install Python first (please choose ActiveState's Active Python 2.6 or 2.7 for 32 bits) and then OpenSSL or PyCrypto. On Mac OS X and Linux, python and OpenSSL are already normally installed so it is a cakewalk. This might take about anywhere from 5 minutes to a half hour to track down and install these things depending on how good you are at running installers. Then all you need do is open the right folder and double-click to launch the right program.

So time really isn't the issue, nor is needing to understand terminals, or run command lines, anymore. You should be good to go is you can read a README.txt file and know how to double-click, run installers, etc.

And if you do run into trouble, simply posting on Alf's site in the right forum will get you all kinds of help in short order (including people who will walk you through debugging an issue if one happens to bite).

So this question is no longer about "ease of use" or even finding all of the tools (Alf's "tools" archive makes this very very painless) and more about someone's willingness to just try, and ask for help if they get in trouble.

My 2 cents,

[ATDrake]

You can get promotional free books from all the stores without having the respective reader hardware (except for Apple's iBooks, which require an iPad or iPhone or iPod Touch). Check the Deals forums for current promo listings.

And to mimic how non-Kindle books will look on a Kindle when converted, there's Amazon's free Kindle Previewer app, which works on Windows and certain Intel Macs.

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by erictoma

Because the only way to try it is to order Kindle 3 from Amazon and buying an eBook from Kobo or any others protected eBook
that means waste of money , times and nerves too

You do not need to buy a Kindle 3 to try this. There is free software "Kindle for PC", "Kindle for Mac", etc out there to just download and install.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by erictoma

Because the only way to try it is to order Kindle 3 from Amazon and buying an eBook from Kobo or any others protected eBook
that means waste of money , times and nerves too

No it does not. I do not have an eBook Reader yet. Download and install the Kindle for PC app. If you want also download and intall Calibre and use the plugin tools. Download a free book and give it a try.

Carol

[Pushka]

Originally Posted by leebase

Just a note from a 25 year professional programmer: _I_ do not find it easy to remove DRM. If I do not find it easy, I doubt most of the general public would.

Lee

Ooh, that makes me feel good. I am an older female who never grew up with computers and the first experience with one was this huge thing in a building at uni where we had to feed typed cards into a slot to run the spss statistics package for research. The original computers! But that pesky drm is not a problem for me. I am motivated though.