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Old 11-21-2013, 08:34 AM   #1
cager
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Question How can I read ebooks on my laptop?
I want to buy ebooks to read on my laptop.

These will be epub format bought from legitimate sites.

But it seems to me that all the sites expect downloads to be for a specific device for which the DRM software needs a serial number.

So how can I make this work with just downloaded software?
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Old 11-21-2013, 08:37 AM   #2
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There is Adobe Digital editions and Kobo has a downloaded reader app I believe. Plus there is Calibre which can open epub books for reading on a computer.
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Old 11-21-2013, 08:40 AM   #3
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Adobe Digital Editions is pretty much the basic thing needed. You'll have to create an Adobe Digital Editions ID (e-mail address and password) and authorise the computer as an authorised device.

Various epub-selling shops may also have their own desktop apps or programs, like Kobo, mentioned above, but if you have ADE, you can read most regular epub books (both those with ADE DRM and those without DRM).
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Old 11-21-2013, 10:13 AM   #4
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Fbreader: http://fbreader.org/ -- a very nice stand alone reader.

Calibre: http://calibre-ebook.com/ -- a library management program which includes its own reader.
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Old 11-21-2013, 10:21 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by stevenaleach View Post
Fbreader: http://fbreader.org/ -- a very nice stand alone reader.

Calibre: http://calibre-ebook.com/ -- a library management program which includes its own reader.
Both fine as long as the books are DRM free.
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Old 11-21-2013, 10:24 AM   #6
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Both fine as long as the books are DRM free.
I wasn't aware epub supported DRM?
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Old 11-21-2013, 10:34 AM   #7
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPUB

Sony, Nook, Kobo, Overdrive are (mostly) ePub with ADE DRM
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Old 11-21-2013, 10:41 AM   #8
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Both fine as long as the books are DRM free.
That's what Apprentice Alf's talents are for. He's very easy to Google.
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Old 11-21-2013, 10:46 AM   #9
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I wasn't aware epub supported DRM?
There are currently multiple flavors of DRM on ePub's. Adobe Adept, B&N "Password Style" (in conjunction with Adobe) and iBooks 'FairPlay' are the big ones.


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That's what Apprentice Alf's talents are for. He's very easy to Google.
Yes, of course but some folk don't want to do that for various reasons so I just wanted to make sure it was clear that those wouldn't work with DRM'd content.
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Old 11-21-2013, 11:15 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnemicOak View Post
There are currently multiple flavors of DRM on ePub's. Adobe Adept, B&N "Password Style" (in conjunction with Adobe) and iBooks 'FairPlay' are the big ones.



Yes, of course but some folk don't want to do that for various reasons so I just wanted to make sure it was clear that those wouldn't work with DRM'd content.
True. Though I can't see the harm myself (for books that a person has purchased). Each to their own there though. I don't think Smashwords uses any DRM on their books. There are some that I've bought there (either free books or during the sales) that aren't published in Kindle format but are in epub. Calibre comes in very handy then for a simple conversion.
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Old 11-22-2013, 03:51 PM   #11
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This may seem a bit off the wall but I use Bluestacks app player. Once you have Bluestacks installed you can install any Android app you want and run it on your PC. I use Mantano sync to keep all of my ebooks synced so if I want to read on my laptop it stats in sync with my tablet and phone. Mantano and other android apps support Adobe DRM so you can get a better variety that way.
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Old 11-22-2013, 05:20 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cager View Post
I want to buy ebooks to read on my laptop.

These will be epub format bought from legitimate sites.

But it seems to me that all the sites expect downloads to be for a specific device for which the DRM software needs a serial number.

So how can I make this work with just downloaded software?
Which sites don't have software you can use? I find it a PITA to remember which program I need to use to read which book but without stripping the DRM that's pretty much what you need to do. AFAIK all sites either have software you can use to download & read their books or else they work with software from a different vendor. I use many different apps (Kindle for PC, ADE, Nook for Windows, Kobo) to download books before I import them into Calibre & de-DRM them. Then I use whatever app I prefer to read them. (Calibre is fine if you want to read on your laptop but personally I prefer Firefox. YMMV.)
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