How many use Calibre and / or Apprentice Alf [POLL ENDED]

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Another nonsense poll that is obviously slanted. Not enough real world options, just "I hate DRM" options. How about a "I would hate the DRM but would read the DRMed books anyway" option, or the "It would make no difference in which eBooks I read" option?

The poll indicates that only 8% of the voters do NOT use Alf to strip DRM. while 92% do use it. The ramifications of that result are fascinating and, since it is not a statistically valid sample of all Amazon eBook readers, cannot be projected unless a properly sampled group of Amazon readers was also done.

Instead of criticizing the poll, why not set up your own poll if you can improve on it?

[alanHd]

I use Calibre to manage all my ebooks and alf to make sure my back ups are future proof.

I use media monkey to manage all my music and editing metadata of cds I rip is a must. checking track details and adding artwork, lyrics etc.

why do people assume that cos people use certain software they must be up to no good.

[rcentros]

I probably buy 80% of my books from Amazon. Usually they're fiction -- so no need to use Calibre. But I recently bought a non-fiction book I wanted to be able quote from (for a review) and tried to import it into Calibre (it was DRM protected and wouldn't open) so I Googled and found Apprentice Alf. I answered the poll "mostly Amazon books and use Calibre and Alf" but I very rarely do this. Fiction is archived to Amazon so, should I ever decide to read the book again, I'll just get it there.

[Yapyap]

I downloaded two Amazon-bought ebooks today to add them to Calibre; one bought today, another a couple of years ago, which I noticed I hadn't downloaded to my computer before.

Neither of them had any metadata beyond author name (which was wrong in one case: it had "BBC and Justin Richards" as the authors of a Doctor Who book, when it should have been "Justin Richards and Trevor Baxendale"), the title of the book, the publisher and the ISBN/ASIN - no description, no useful tags, no series information.

Sometimes Amazon books do also include the description, but not always, and series data may be there or it may not be there.

With a large catalogue of books, I find it very helpful to have book descriptions in Calibre, when considering my next read. And series information is an absolute must-have.

[FacebookVirus]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

The ramifications of that result are fascinating and, since it is not a statistically valid sample of all Amazon eBook readers, cannot be projected unless a properly sampled group of Amazon readers was also done.

Instead of criticizing the poll, why not set up your own poll if you can improve on it?

Because the respondents are self-selected.

When that's the case, speaking of statistical validity is meaningless.

Online polls are popularity contests and trivial ones at that.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by rcentros

But I recently bought a non-fiction book I wanted to be able quote from (for a review)

You can go to this site to copy and paste to other software all your highlights and notes on Amazon eBooks:

https://kindle.amazon.com/your_highlights

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

The posts in this poll seem to paint a slightly different picture.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&highlight=drm

That was a really badly worded poll, and didn't have an option I could choose. It also asks a distinctly different question.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

That was a really badly worded poll, and didn't have an option I could choose. It also asks a distinctly different question.

Indeed, but a surprising number of people took the time to write that they never or rarely removed DRM. These are valid comments as to what they do despite the questions asked.

An even larger amount of people wrote that they did remove DRM, but that it didn't and wouldn't stop them buying books if they couldn't.

Helen

[Haesslich]

One thing I'll note is that I bought a bunch of books from Mobipocket, before Anazon took them over. When they stopped supporting DRM'd Mobipocket files, I lost all access to the books. Those books cost as much to purchase as their paperback copies, and while not a huge investment in funds was still a PITA, especially since Amazon wanted me to repurchase all of them if I wanted to read them.

In contrast, Baen and Tor use DRM-free ePub files. I've bought far more from those two publishers, then converted them to work on my Kindle. Or I read them on my Kobo Aura HD. DRM by itself does little to stop people who would steal the books - torrent sites with cracks for these systems are proof of that. Convenience is why Amazon did as well as it did with ebook sales, compared to Sony's horrible book store (and at times clunky readers). Yes, there's DRM, but it's not nearly as obtrusive and user-unfriendly as ADE tends to be. Amazon made it easy to read books purchased from it, and without needing to jump through hoops to get books onto readers, so long as they're registered to your Amazon account.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Haesslich

One thing I'll note is that I bought a bunch of books from Mobipocket, before Anazon took them over. When they stopped supporting DRM'd Mobipocket files, I lost all access to the books. Those books cost as much to purchase as their paperback copies, and while not a huge investment in funds was still a PITA, especially since Amazon wanted me to repurchase all of them if I wanted to read them.

If you still have a note of the PID of the device you read those books on, and the book files themselves, Alf's tools will strip the DRM so you can read the books on a Kindle, or use calibre to convert them to ePub.

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by Haesslich

One thing I'll note is that I bought a bunch of books from Mobipocket, before Anazon took them over. When they stopped supporting DRM'd Mobipocket files, I lost all access to the books.

It is for this reason I began to use Alf's tools and why I continue to use them. Except for me, I almost lost access to a significant amount of books due to this change. Now I use the tools not only for the freedom to adjust the metadata in the manner that I like but also so that I will have access to my books regardless of the device I am using and whether or not the online store is still accessible and in the format that I need.

[Barbara1955]

I plea the 5th!

[ProfCrash]

Technically, if you use Alf, you use Calibre. I mean, Alf's tools don't work without Calibre. I have mucked with the meta data a bit, mainly renaming books and assigning series, but didn't see the Buy Amazon, Use Calibre and Alf until after I voted. (shrugs)

I would consider the Use Alf and use Calibre as one and the same.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Technically, if you use Alf, you use Calibre. I mean, Alf's tools don't work without Calibre.

There's a standalone app also.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Technically, if you use Alf, you use Calibre. I mean, Alf's tools don't work without Calibre. I have mucked with the meta data a bit, mainly renaming books and assigning series, but didn't see the Buy Amazon, Use Calibre and Alf until after I voted. (shrugs)

I would consider the Use Alf and use Calibre as one and the same.

I'm pretty sure that I've used Alf without Calibre in the past. Although it was some time ago and maybe that option is no longer available?