Becoming a format snob

[Ken Maltby]

For me, there is a legacy issue as well, but in my case it is the .pdb ebook format, not
the .lit.

I also immediately remove the DRM infections from my purchases and run them through
Calibre to apply tweaks for my device and in the process convert them to .epub (even
if they already are .epub).

My JBL supports more formats than most (and three of the DRM scams, as well) but I do
end up using .epub as a preferred format.

PDF is not an ebook format, it is a mistake to try and make it one.

Luck;
Ken

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

For me, there is a legacy issue as well, but in my case it is the .pdb ebook format, not
the .lit.

I also immediately remove the DRM infections from my purchases and run them through
Calibre to apply tweaks for my device and in the process convert them to .epub (even
if they already are .epub).

My JBL supports more formats than most (and three of the DRM scams, as well) but I do
end up using .epub as a preferred format.

PDF is not an ebook format, it is a mistake to try and make it one.

Luck;
Ken

I have some of each. The .pdb files do make nice .mobi conversions, which I put on my phone in lieu of a kindle.

[osnova]

My preference is mobi/Kindle. epub is distant second. Once epub gets support for dictionaries and indexes, I will revisit my preferences.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by DJHARKAVY

I buy whatever format I can find, and use Calibre to convert it all to epub. Seems fairly easy to convert from epub to other formats at need and all my current readers use epub.

I don't have calibre installed, and won't install it unless i need converting. And so far i found all the books i wanted in epub.
I have a few ePubs converted from mobi by calibre, the resulting code would make anyone with knowledge in html and css faint.

[TedJ]

Originally Posted by Eisengoth

I probably could have stated it more eloquently, but it's really just the same frustration I had with Minidisc (Sony's stupidity), DVD-R/+R, and then HD-DVD/Blu-Ray...

I believe that minidisc was the last format that Sony released that was actually trying to solve a problem, that being digital recording without the limitations of the then nascent optical recordables, rather than locking the consumer into their ecosystem. I have several friends in journalism who were upset when Sony finally drew the curtain on the format a couple of years ago.

Sony forcing owners of their early digital audio players to transcode their MP3s to ATRAC, Memory Stick and UMD were simply attempts to screw the consumer.

[Eisengoth]

Originally Posted by TedJ

I believe that minidisc was the last format that Sony released that was actually trying to solve a problem, that being digital recording without the limitations of the then nascent optical recordables, rather than locking the consumer into their ecosystem. I have several friends in journalism who were upset when Sony finally drew the curtain on the format a couple of years ago.

Sony forcing owners of their early digital audio players to transcode their MP3s to ATRAC, Memory Stick and UMD were simply attempts to screw the consumer.

...so, I actually meant UMD (the PSP-discs) when I wrote Minidisc. You're right - Minidisc was actually pretty cool. I missed most of it because I was really too young to have a use for it, but I remember pretty high praise for its recording capabilities.

Note to self: double-fact-check rants before posting.

[din155]

Originally Posted by sabredog

With geographic restrictions, I buy what format I can, then convert it.

Calibre is my friend in that regard.

My preference is ePUB as all my readers have chosen that format to be the preferred format.

As long as I can buy it cheap enough any format is fine with me (except pdf). I won’t buy anything in pdf as long as there is a pbook for that. I buy pbook if its only in pdf and then go to darknet for ebook in my preferred..I know I know but I buy it first you see..

din

[TedJ]

Originally Posted by Eisengoth

...so, I actually meant UMD (the PSP-discs) when I wrote Minidisc.

UMD was a rough beast, fortunately one that didn't last terribly long in the marketplace. You had two options:

1. Buy the UMD version of your favourite movie for more than the DVD release, and receive a blocky low-res copy that only worked on the PSP.
2. Make a digital copy from your DVD using free software and copy to a Memory Stick.

Most people went with option 2.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by TedJ

UMD was a rough beast, fortunately one that didn't last terribly long in the marketplace. You had two options:

1. Buy the UMD version of your favourite movie for more than the DVD release, and receive a blocky low-res copy that only worked on the PSP.
2. Make a digital copy from your DVD using free software and copy to a Memory Stick.

Most people went with option 2.

Some of us even bought a micro SD to ProDuo adapter to sidestep buying memory sticks.

[elemenoP]

I keep on "purchasing" free Kindle books with the thought that one day I will download and convert them all. In the meantime, I keep on reading epubs and never get around to it. Once in a while I will read a short Kindle book on my iphone.

I won't even bother with PDF. Too hard to read as-is, too much work to convert, too many other things readily available to read.

eP

[Timoleon]

I've become a multi-format snob.
When I buy a book, I remove the DRM if needed. I run it through Calibre and then convert it to rtf! I then take the rtf file, open it in Book Designer, and make the book perfect in every way. I have Book Designer save the little work of art as a lit file, then open the lit file in Calibre, edit the metadata as need be, and then convert it to three different formats: epub, mobi, and lrf (damn Sony --- I wish they would release their lrf code to the public, now that they have abandoned it!). Epub for my Sony PRS-350, mobi for my Kindle 3, and lrf for my old Sony PRS-505. The great thing about lrf, besides being very nice looking, is that it handles headers very gracefully --- something that I have yet to see in an epub or mobi book.

[kjk]

When I used my iPhone and Sony 505 (before they added ePub), I used ePub, PDF and LRF. Once the Sony got ePub, I focused mostly on ePub.

But, now with a Kindle (mobi) and iPad (mobi, ePub and PDF), I just don't worry that much about formats-I have ways to read them all comfortably.

[ebusinesstutor]

Originally Posted by carld

O
The only exception is that, like you, I simply refuse to read a book online. I'm not really a fan of PDF either because it causes so many problems with ereaders.

I don't totally refuse to read a book online. I read business reference books online or refer to "how-to" reference books on one screen while writing for another.

But for my fiction, escapist reading I want to be off the computer.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by TimW

If you turn the image to landscape, it's not a completely horrible experience...but it's close.

It goes from horrible to awful.

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by TedJ

UMD was a rough beast, fortunately one that didn't last terribly long in the marketplace. You had two options:

1. Buy the UMD version of your favourite movie for more than the DVD release, and receive a blocky low-res copy that only worked on the PSP.
2. Make a digital copy from your DVD using free software and copy to a Memory Stick.

Most people went with option 2.

Of course, bear in mind, when the PSP first launched, that wasn't really possible, because memory sticks weren't big enough.

A few years later, sure. But when you only had 512 megabytes , a movie would take up most of the card.

Ironically, if Sony hadn't used memory sticks but something proprietary or a small amount onboard for saving, they likely would have sold a lot more UMDs (and games, since the advent of big memory sticks helped piracy, too)