I wish downloading books was as easy...

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I also use Add Books, as I don't have Windows Explorer open all the time. I have pretty poor coordination and don't really like using drag&drop at all, because often enough I drop something in the wrong place.

Kovid added the 'add as new book' option when dragging onto the details pane after I suggested it following a hand slip

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Kovid added the 'add as new book' option when dragging onto the details pane after I suggested it following a hand slip

Good to know.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

My Kobo ACSM and ePubs download to the Windows Downloads folder, which I almost always have open. I usually also have Calibre open as well. So dragging is easy.

With add books, I have to navigate to the Downloads folder. And I get confused with 'Add books from a single folder' and 'Add from folders and sub-folders'

I also let things go to the Download folder. So that's where Add books go automatically (I think Add books go to where you last told it to go by default). No navigation involved. I don't make any choices, just choose the files and hit Enter (or double-click if it's just one file wich is pretty often the case)

But hey, whatever works is fine! I was just curious

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I have no Kobo desktop software, but a magic plugin that reads acsm files. I have to remember to rename at download as every DRMed Kobo download has the same name.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Why? When the magic plugin does its magic, it will pull up the correct book regardless of what you named the downloaded acsm file.

Originally Posted by Quoth

When you purchase and download more than one book at a time without leaving the web site. Same issue would apply even if on Windows and using ADE.

So indeed I don't care what exactly I rename them. At least they could add an incrementing number?

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Again, your experience and mine are different.

I too use the magic plug in, not ADE. I purchase and download my requisite three books a day, download the files which are named URLLink.acsm, URLLink(1).acsm and URLLink(2).acsm. I drag and drop those acsm files into Calibre and boom! Three different ePubs automagically appear in Calibre. No download rename or anything.

Test it with three already purchased books and see if I am incorrect.

Originally Posted by Quoth

I suspect your OS or browser is autonumbering, I can either manually rename or overwrite. Which is expected behaviour when the site offers the same name each time. Unless I add a suffix the file overwrites.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Sounds like you need a better browser or OS.

Originally Posted by Quoth

I'm happy with both.

Weird...when you said "At least they could add an incrementing number?" it sounded as if you would like to have one or the other change.

Or maybe I'm just being a pedant...

Shari

[JSWolf]

I find it plenty easy to download and add to Calibre using ADE.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I find it plenty easy to download and add to Calibre using ADE.

I have ADE as well. But the ACSM plug-in just saves that step, so why not use it?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I have ADE as well. But the ACSM plug-in just saves that step, so why not use it?

The plugin sometimes doesn't work for me. I have no idea why. When that happens, I still have to use ADE.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I just bought some digital music from Amazon, both an album and a single. On the 'purchase complete' screen, there was a handy button to download (DRM)-free) copies of my new purchase.

Later I got on the desktop downstairs and wanted to download another copy of my back-up drive. Go to my digital orders and there's the 'download music' button. It's a real pleasure.

As much as it pains me to say it, the party largely responsible for getting DRM-free mp3s in stores is Apple:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes...hts_management

DRM-encumbered music was very much a thing before that, and still is in many systems. But iTunes changes the conversation, and many other retailers had to change their tactics in order to compete.

What we need is a publisher of Apple's size to do the same for eBooks. TOR is leading the way, but as popular as they are in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi space, it doesn't seem to have been enough to convince anyone else yet.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

As much as it pains me to say it, the party largely responsible for getting DRM-free mp3s in stores is Apple:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes...hts_management.

Well, to get into the weeds a bit:

Apple didn't want DRM in the first place, but bowed to industry pressure with its FairPlay DRM.

Then, music publishers got worried about Apple's monopoly on music sales and went to Amazon. Amazon started selling DRM-free MP3s in 2007: Amazon launches DRM-free music store.

Apple came after: On January 6, 2009, Apple announced that DRM had been removed from 80% of its music catalog in the US.

I guess you could say Apple pushed for it and fears of their monopoly made the music industry see the light.

[Quoth]

Also MS Plays for sure (Zune?) ended badly.

Further aside:
The iTunes, with the 99c per track made the iPod a success, not the Apple HW or SW. Also almost destroyed the concept album. There are still albums cheaper on CD than iTunes and some old cassette only albums are just too expensive on a per track basis and not bundled as albums.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Also MS Plays for sure (Zune?) ended badly.

Further aside:
The iTunes, with the 99c per track made the iPod a success, not the Apple HW or SW. Also almost destroyed the concept album. There are still albums cheaper on CD than iTunes and some old cassette only albums are just too expensive on a per track basis and not bundled as albums.

Well that's what Bandcamp is for.

[Quoth]

I think one group I ever bought was on Bandcamp. It's a good idea.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

As much as it pains me to say it, the party largely responsible for getting DRM-free mp3s in stores is Apple:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes...hts_management

DRM-encumbered music was very much a thing before that, and still is in many systems. But iTunes changes the conversation, and many other retailers had to change their tactics in order to compete.

What we need is a publisher of Apple's size to do the same for eBooks. TOR is leading the way, but as popular as they are in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi space, it doesn't seem to have been enough to convince anyone else yet.

Simon & Schuster have made their Star Trek eBooks DRM free. But S&S need to make the rest of their eBooks DRM free.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

What we need is a publisher of Apple's size to do the same for eBooks. TOR is leading the way, but as popular as they are in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi space, it doesn't seem to have been enough to convince anyone else yet.

Most people who use ereaders don't change devices nearly as often as people who listen to music.

DRM-free music was instantly useful to a lot of people - they could load their purchases on to their ipods, their phones, and their home computer that had good speakers. (And their kids' MP3 players. And so on.) Also, new devices were coming out constantly - more memory, better navigation features, better sound quality - so people kept changing them, and having to register with a DRM service was a hassle.

People who read ebooks generally use one device for that--or one cloud account, less common 10+ years ago--so they barely notice the DRM. They like the multi-device sync features that can be thrown in if they stick to a single account - so they don't mind DRM if it means their laptop and phone and actual Kindle all open the book to the correct page. (DRM is not required for that, but Amazon certainly wants people to think so.)

They don't notice problems with DRM until (sigh) another store disappears, or they have to get a new device and run into limits on transfers or find that some books are no longer in their cloud library because of rights disputes.

We won't see major progress on ebook DRM removal until Kindle Unlimited collapses, or at least fades a bit.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

People who read ebooks generally use one device for that--or one cloud account, less common 10+ years ago--so they barely notice the DRM. They like the multi-device sync features that can be thrown in if they stick to a single account - so they don't mind DRM if it means their laptop and phone and actual Kindle all open the book to the correct page.

Tell that to all those people in the Which One Should I Buy and on Reddit who mention wanting to be able to buy books from any bookstore.

The settle on the status quo because it is the status quo.