John Scalzi Lock-In not downloadable in epub format

[AnemicOak]

Haven't tried a DRM-free kePub, but it should just be a matter of changing the extension to .epub and running the modify epub plugin on it in Calibre (with Strip Kobo DRM remnants checked) I'd think.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Not quite right, Jon. Epub 2 books are also converted to kepub. Those are the ones that can be directly downloaded to your Kobo ereader or a Kobo app (Windows, Mac, iOS and Android), sync your reading position across multiple devices, etc.

The difference is that epub2 ebooks are also available as downloadable epubs readable on any epub2 software/device while epub3 ebooks are not. What would make sense to me would be Kobo changing their system to treat epub3 ebooks with a toc.ncx as epub2.

I think you are missing the point here. I am not talking about using Kobo Desktop or a Kobo app to download eBooks from Koob. If the eBook is ONLY available as kepub then you cannot download it as an ePub at all.

[jackie_w]

Is it such a big deal to use Kobo Desktop to download the kepub?

I just made my first-ever purchase from Kobo so I could try out the new obok plugin. It works as advertised and Modify Epub cleaned up the de-drmed kepub well enough that it looks and feels like a standard epub to me. Admittedly a sample of one doesn't actually prove anything.

[JSWolf]

if you don't use Kobo Desktop and you don't have a Kobo Reader, it is a big deal. You've then paid for an eBook you most likely cannot use. That is an issue that needs to be resolved and with Kobo converting new ePub 3 to kepub and not having an ePub download option, things are just going to get worse instead of better.

Not everyone who purchases from Kobo would know how to go from kepub to ePub to put on a non-Kobo Reader.

[jackie_w]

It seems pretty similar to buying from Amazon to me. I need to own a Kindle (which I don't), or download to a Kindle (android) app (no thanks) or use Kindle for PC. If the last, I then need to remove DRM and convert to my preferred standard epub format.

Anyway, I've said all I want to say on the matter.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

It seems pretty similar to buying from Amazon to me. I need to own a Kindle (which I don't), or download to a Kindle (android) app (no thanks) or use Kindle for PC. If the last, I then need to remove DRM and convert to my preferred standard epub format.

Anyway, I've said all I want to say on the matter.

If I buy from Amazon, I know what I'm getting. If I buy from B&N, I know what I'm getting. If I buy from eBooks.com I know what I'm getting. If I buy from Kobo, it's a crap shoot in some cases.

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by oj829

I'm long familiar with the command-line version supplied in TOOLS. This Calibre plugin version, however, seems to have appeared out of the blue. Any word on its pedigree?

The code in obok_plugin/obok/obok.py looks like a slightly cleaned up version of the script posted in comments to the long Apprentice Alf thread. LGTM.

[BookAdmin]

Why it is important to get the ebook DRM free?
I mean it's work on your Kobo with or without DRM, right?
(I don't know anything about Kobo, it's just for my own culture...)

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by BookAdmin

Why it is important to get the ebook DRM free?
I mean it's work on your Kobo with or without DRM, right?
(I don't know anything about Kobo, it's just for my own culture...)

Because one day you get an ebook reader from a different manufacturer (e.g. your Kobo dies) and you want to read your legally purchased books on your new reader.

Googling for "apprentice alf" will find lots more information, and tools.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If I buy from Amazon, I know what I'm getting. If I buy from B&N, I know what I'm getting. If I buy from eBooks.com I know what I'm getting. If I buy from Kobo, it's a crap shoot in some cases.

Hmmmm... last time I looked at Amazon.ca, I was not told if the ebook I was looking at had DRM nor could I purchase an epub format so time to get acquainted with Calibre and Apprentice Alf. B&N has removed all download links so that simplifies using their site. eBooks.com does give that information but I find their selection of ebooks is not as wide as I would like. Now if I purchase from Baen, I get to know exactly what I am purchasing and I know there is no DRM but again, the selection is limited.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I think you are missing the point here. I am not talking about using Kobo Desktop or a Kobo app to download eBooks from Koob. If the eBook is ONLY available as kepub then you cannot download it as an ePub at all.

If we wish to get technical, a kepub is an epub with some added code. And yes, simply renaming a non-DRMed kepub from it's GUID name to a human readable name and adding the .epub extension lets me use it on any ereader that handles epubs.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ForsCream

Similar question.

I've got Obok plugin to process my kobo books, the DRMed files are well handled, but I can't get my DRM-free kobo books turned to normal EPUB files.

Any suggestions?

I checked this thread and someone mentioned change the extension and use Calibre to re-convert to clean the mess codes, I didn't make it however.

Obok removes DRM and renames the files. For non-DRMed files, you can wait for a later version of obok that will show and rename non-DRMed files or you can manually rename them.

My process is to rename the file to .epub and then suck it into Calibre. Calibre will rename the file to whatever standard you are using (title - author name is what I use). The ModifyEpub plugin has an option to strip Kobo DRM remnants which also cleans up the extra spans, etc. At that point, you can use it as any other epub. I will edit the file using Sigil if I really don't like the style but that's a personal choice.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

If we wish to get technical, a kepub is an epub with some added code. And yes, simply renaming a non-DRMed kepub from it's GUID name to a human readable name and adding the .epub extension lets me use it on any ereader that handles epubs.

But for those of us who want to fix the code some, the kepub is a nightmare inside. The original code moght not be the best it could be, but when the ePub gets converted to kepub, it's many many times worse. Even after using Modify ePub, there's still some crud left in.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But for those of us who want to fix the code some, the kepub is a nightmare inside. The original code moght not be the best it could be, but when the ePub gets converted to kepub, it's many many times worse. Even after using Modify ePub, there's still some crud left in.

Really? Even before using ModifyEpub, using Sigil, it took a few minutes worth of running canned regular expressions to remove the Kobo location spans and another half minute to delete the .js files. Now if you wanted to modify the files as stored on an Android device which the .zip wrapper is unpacked, that is a bit more of a challenge.

Looking at Locked In, the added code is the location spans wrapped around every sentence:


<span class="koboSpan" id="kobo.6.4" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

and the following at the head of each file:

<!-- kobo-style -->

<script src="../Misc/kobo.js" type="text/javascript" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
</script>

<style type="text/css">
.koboSpan { -webkit-text-combine: inherit; }
</style>


A simple regex to reduce each location span to <span>
something like
find: <<span class="koboSpan" id="kobo(.*?)" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

replace: <span>

and a simple find the header string and replace with nothing.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Is it such a big deal to use Kobo Desktop to download the kepub?

I just made my first-ever purchase from Kobo so I could try out the new obok plugin. It works as advertised and Modify Epub cleaned up the de-drmed kepub well enough that it looks and feels like a standard epub to me. Admittedly a sample of one doesn't actually prove anything.

I have a book I bought at Sony that was kepub only when it transferred to Kobo. The books are different - the epub has the chapter headings as a clickable link and has the font specified as serif. The font size is also bigger in Calibre's viewer for the kepub.

So the books are different and there may be other differences in other books. If I don't know what they might change in a book I'd prefer to have the original.