Mobipocket - the end of an era

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

But since MOBI hasn't "vanished into oblivion," we're still holding steady at two.

LIT and LRF haven't vanished either. But support for selling their DRM'd versions (LRX) has vanished.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

LIT and LRF haven't vanished either. But support for selling their DRM'd versions (LRX) has vanished.

Amazon's current format (with DRM) is still just MOBI under the hood. So support for selling DRM'd MOBI files is still very much alive and kicking (and will be for some time).

Mobipocket's particular flavor of DRM has been retired... not the underlying ebook format.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by dwig

The new Kindles support Mobipockt files with both the *.mobi and *.prc extensions provided the files are not restricted with the antique Mobipocket DRM. The non-DRM *.mobi and *.prc files posted here on MR work fine with all Kindles.

Ah, prc. I noticed I still had some *.prc files when I used Callibre to send to Kindle, and I specified mobi format only. I had forgotten those days of using dos!

[dwig]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Ah, prc. I noticed I still had some *.prc files when I used Callibre to send to Kindle, and I specified mobi format only. I had forgotten those days of using dos!

The PRC extension has nothing to do with MS-DOS specifically. It was a PalmOS thing. Palm application files, and some other files like Mobipocket ebooks, were in "Palm Resource" format, a compiled format that used the PRC extension. Other files, data files like most other ebook formats, were in "Palm Database" format and used the PDB extension.

[curtw]

So, what are the chances that I'll be able to convert my Fictionwise Mobipocket purchases to their Kindle equivalents between now and the end of the year?

[susan_cassidy]

You'll have to strip the DRM, if they are Secure Mobipocket format. If they are Multiformat mobipocket files, no need to convert. I have tons of Fictionwise Multiformat .mobi files on my Kindle.

[DiapDealer]

So, what are the chances that I'll be able to convert my Fictionwise Mobipocket purchases to their Kindle equivalents between now and the end of the year?

There is no conversion necessary. Just remove any DRM that might exist and it's Kindle-ready. They're already equivalent.

[curtw]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

There is no conversion necessary. Just remove any DRM that might exist and it's Kindle-ready. They're already equivalent.

Yeah, I know that. But it's the *principle* of the thing. Having to break the law to continue to read a book I purchased. Maybe I need to submit a comment to that copyright office site (referenced here, asking that Secure Mobipocket be added to the list.

_________

update: Done. I have asked the US copyright office to consider legalizing circumvention of the DRM of Secure Mobipocket, to preserve the first sale doctrine (i.e., unless they change the law, I won't be able to register the Mobipocket ID of a computer I buy next year, and read a book I bought last year).

By the way, the correct link for submission of comments is: www.copyright.gov/1201/comment-forms/comment-submission.html

[curtw]

Well, I guess that'll teach me to read the fine print before buying anything that's DRM-encumbered again.

It turns out that Fictionwise only "promises" to retain encrypted books on the user's shelf for one week following purchase, and only for the specific device(s) licensed at the time of purchase. The fact that over the past ten years, they have not removed my Secure Mobipocket books, and additionally permitted me to add new devices to the list has just been out of the kindness of their heart.

Stupid me, I thought I was buying a book, with the right to keep on reading it.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by curtw

Well, I guess that'll teach me to read the fine print before buying anything that's DRM-encumbered again.

It turns out that Fictionwise only "promises" to retain encrypted books on the user's shelf for one week following purchase, and only for the specific device(s) licensed at the time of purchase. The fact that over the past ten years, they have not removed my Secure Mobipocket books, and additionally permitted me to add new devices to the list has just been out of the kindness of their heart.

Stupid me, I thought I was buying a book, with the right to keep on reading it.

I strongly advise you to make the acquaintance of Apprentice Alf. His blog will tell you how to ensure you can read your Mobipocket ebooks on future devices, even if your Fictionwise bookshelf goes away. Following the instructions may or may not be illegal in your country.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I strongly advise you to make the acquaintance of Apprentice Alf. His blog will tell you how to ensure you can read your Mobipocket ebooks on future devices, even if your Fictionwise bookshelf goes away. Following the instructions may or may not be illegal in your country.

Grand advice from the grand mouse!

[J. Strnad]

The format hardly seems to matter anymore. It's all about the DRM.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kennyc

My hope is that we'll have a single consolidated format and No drm.

Of course I'm an optomist!

We would is Jeff Bezos would just be reasonable and realize that ePub is it.

[seajewel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

We would is Jeff Bezos would just be reasonable and realize that ePub is it.

When I think about how if Amazon didn't go the way it did, epub would likely be the worldwide standard, and we could buy books at any store and use them on any of our readers.. it really makes me a little sad.

I know that epub vs mobi can be a contentious issue, but really. Think about it. Yes, DRM is easy to remove (if illegal in some places). We could have a worldwide standard. Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, Cybook, all the other readers have adopted epub. Mobi lives on because of Amazon, and because of Amazon's clout, it may even be the preferred format here in the States. All I know is that I can't buy Amazon books and read them on my Sony without doing a possibly illegal act. and because of that, I don't buy from Amazon, even if I am willing to de-DRM.. because I hope that enough people will do that and allow them to see that maybe going to epub would be a good thing. Amazon has an excellent bookstore, and I have been buying my paper books from them since I was a kid. I'd love to buy from them.

and as much as I love my Sonys (I love my 950 *irrationally* as I stated in another thread.. it is really a beautiful device), I can't say that Amazon doesn't put out good e-readers. I think they are ugly (personal preference) but Amazon gets the reading right. fonts were FAR superior to Sony (if you didn't use PRS+) and the idea of providing Wi-Fi and free 3G to buy books and not be tied to the computer was a godsend for a lot of reading folks out there. but still.. I wish there weren't this format war going on. (and a point for sony.. touchscreen is actually wonderful, now that I've finally upgraded. double tap on a word for dictionary? completely win. trying out the K4 in store I thought it had a nice clean look and great font rendering, but the controller/joystick? Just no.)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by seajewel

When I think about how if Amazon didn't go the way it did, epub would likely be the worldwide standard, and we could buy books at any store and use them on any of our readers.. it really makes me a little sad.

I know that epub vs mobi can be a contentious issue, but really. Think about it. Yes, DRM is easy to remove (if illegal in some places). We could have a worldwide standard. Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, Cybook, all the other readers have adopted epub. (snip)

With all due respect...we don't have a "worldwide standard" in ePUBs. I wish we did; I was just lamenting this lack the other day on another thread. ePUBs that are gorgeous on ADE don't work properly on iPad; ePUBs with the xpgt don't work thither; dropcaps that work in ADE don't work on Nook; dropcaps that are stunning in Nook for PC are horrific and displaced on the NookColor. The steps you have to take to ensure that Nook doesn't automatically hyphenate headers wherever it runs out of room (we don't need no stinkin' syllables!) bastardizes any shot you have of using a BFL-smallcaps combo for any type of heading. iBooks ignores WHATEVER CSS Apple chooses--and if you don't like it, tough. Sony's readers don't recognize justification, for about 80% of them, so if you have a client that wants a fully-justified book, you have to make an LRF for them.

Sorry, but the idea that ePUB is a "worldwide standard" is, IME, wishful thinking. We are fast approaching the stage--hell, we've passed the stage--wherein you have to make a slightly different ePUB for every device upon which it might be read. I have a client that insisted we remake an ePUB 14 times--FOURTEEN TIMES--because we couldn't get the BFL-smallcap combo to work WITH the steps we had to take (speed optimize, anyone?) to prevent Nook from hyphenating the header text absurdly. I finally sent them 10 different screenshots and asked them which compromise they were willing to live with, because B&N had released an update that was incredibly awful. And the BFL's we used in lieu of drops, for their chapter starts? Are dreadful on the iBooks app.

BUT, people are jumping up and down with joy because merely by using html5, CSS3 and who-knows-what-else, you can animate images inside ePUBs on the iPad. Whooop, another flashy-thingy! Meanwhile, Amazon, which has the most primitive reading format, by far, quietly goes about its business, cleaning up tidily on the massive self-publishing trend, watching authors like Larry Block slip over to "the dark side," and offering innumerable new authors exclusive deals. Yeah, ePUB is the "worldwide standard," all right...but at the end of the day, it tends to be widely used by people making books for themselves. You can take all the ePUB retailers put together, and still...for every ONE book they sell, Amazon sells ten.

I wish there was one standard, I truly do. I wish there was a single, polished format like ePUB3. I wish the retailers would stop screwing around and chasing every new bright shiny thing...but it's not going to happen, I fear. Just as consumers demand every new toy that comes out (oooooooooooooooh, the iPhone4! Who cares if no one can hear me on it? Gotta have it, gotta gotta gotta....my precious...I'll stand in line for 3 days waiting for it...), retailers will keep screwing around with book formats, because making the books that get read on them isn't THEIR problem.

So, no...I can't blame Amazon. If everyone else actually WAS using an ePUB standard, I could join that chorus...but they aren't, and they clearly have no intention of so doing. Hell, I think we'll see a new format before we actually see an ePUB standard that's adhered to (yes...that's probably sardonic pained hyperbole, but you get my point).

JMHO, and worth what you paid for it,
Hitch