Konrath and friends take on Turow

[ProfCrash]

You cannot read a DRMed BN book on a Sony or a Kobo. What percentage of people do you think own a Pocketbook, Onyx, or other smaller e-reader? I am guessing that number is pretty slim. Sony, Kobo, and Nook are the mainstream EPUB readers. If BN e-books cannot be read on 2 of the 3 mainstream readers then BN has done a nice job of playing like Amazon.

This is even worse since the Nook is still only sold in the US. People living outside of the US cannot buy books from BN for their Sonys and Kobos and smaller market devices. If they get around that barrier, they still cannot read BN books on their devices because of the DRM.

So the two largest players in the US market have a DRM that can only be read on their devices. Exactly how is BN better then Amazon?

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Whoops, not quite true. You can absolutely download B&N books right from their site without a nook program.

Theoretically, you could then use a simple python script to unlock the books. If one was into that sort of thing. And if you're not, you can still side-load them to something like Aldiko and read on the app.

I tried getting a B&N book without a Nook program. It did not work. It was a book that shouldn't have had DRM and I still couldn't get it to work. This was when Nook first came out. Maybe it has improved, but I haven't bothered to try.

Really. All the vendors try to lock their customers in. It's not as though one vendor is better than another in that aspect. Sure Amazon has a proprietary format, but so does Nook in its own way since they don't use the same DRM as Sony and so on.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

but so does Nook in its own way since they don't use the same DRM as Sony and so on.

Actually, the nook does use the same DRM as Sony, Kobo and so on. The nook understands B&N's DRM & Adept DRM.

[Daithi]

Joe: Translation: Jeff Bezos's left foot is smarter than everyone at the Big 6 combined, and his right foot has more balls then all of publishing combined.

...more balls then all of publishing...

This error is a pet peeve, but it was made by a highly regarded author, so aspiring authors can take heart, as even the big boys sometimes blow it.

[anamardoll]

AFAIK:

The Nook hardware can read more books than any other reader, as it can read the B&N DRM and Adobe DRM.

The Sony/Kobo hardware can't read B&N DRM but that was a decision that either they or Adobe made and one that B&N did not expect.

The B&N DRM was intended to be less hassle than the other DRM. Unlike Adobe, the DRM doesn't have to be cleared via an internet connection -- it's a simple lock to your credit card number. It was supposed to be one step away from watermarking, and simple. And before the journeyman from space, it was the easiest DRM to automatedly strip.

Plus, yes, you can download directly from their site with no program needed, so the books could be easily gotten no matter what OS you were running.

Now... in practice, reasonable people can disagree about how this all turned out. But I do believe that B&N was trying to make a non-locking-you-into-a-store DRM that they honestly believed would be implemented by other eReader manufacturers. They were fairly open about the DRM and how to unlock it, and at least a few people openly speculated that B&N was being deliberately wink-wink-nudge-nudge about the unlocking tools.

And since I do care about what's installed on my computer, I appreciate being able to download directly from the site, rather than having to go through Kindle 4 PC, Adobe Digital Editions, Sony Reader, etc.

Your Mileage May Vary.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

The Nook hardware can read more books than any other reader, as it can read the B&N DRM and Adobe DRM.

True. (the original nook could do eReader books too IIRC).

The Sony/Kobo hardware can't read B&N DRM but that was a decision that either they or Adobe made and one that B&N did not expect.

It's Sony & Kobo's choice to not enable support for B&N style Adobe DRM.

And since I do care about what's installed on my computer, I appreciate being able to download directly from the site, rather than having to go through Kindle 4 PC, Adobe Digital Editions, Sony Reader, etc.

You don't need K4PC to download Kindle books to a PC (unless you want to read them in K4PC).

[TimW]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

You don't need K4PC to download Kindle books to a PC (unless you want to read them in K4PC).

Very true, the Cloud Reader downloads books without a program. Going to https://read.amazon.com/ will allow you to download books and read them without a web connection. Which folder contains the books from Cloud Reader? I haven't discovered it.

[Blue Tyson]

If a Kindle book is DRM free you can download the file and open it with whatever program you want - Calibre for example.

Same thing of course works with DRMed books with appropriate tools.

[sabredog]

All hail the apprentice.

[tomsem]

I don't have a Kobo Touch, but asked about it on that forum awhile back and someone there confirmed it could open a B&N ebook with DRM (after supplying the proper credentials). Likely not so with previous Kobo ereaders. So if that is accurate, Sony is really the last holdout.

And of course there are a number of apps for iOS and Android that will also open books with the B&N DRM flavor (and again it is not proprietary to B&N).

But here we are off topic again. Discussion of DRM never gets old, does it? Years from now, when DRM is finally gone, oh the stories we will tell our grandchildren...

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

You don't need K4PC to download Kindle books to a PC (unless you want to read them in K4PC).

This is not my experience. I get a message telling me that I need to either register my Kindle or install K4PC.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by rhadin

This is not my experience. I get a message telling me that I need to either register my Kindle or install K4PC.

That's right; you need a 'Kindle' registered (which can be either a physical Kindle or one of the Kindle4xxx programs) to be able to download Amazon books.

[ProfCrash]

I believe Sony and Kobo have decided not to add the BN DRM to their devices.

I think that BN realized that they could safely open up their device to all EPub DRMs and that they would be fine because most people would buy books from BN. For all of our chatter I have a feeling that most people buy their books from the store associated with that e-reader because most people do not take the time to shop outside of their eco system.

I do not believe that Kobo was out when the Nook was announced, I think it followed quickly, so all BN was doing was opening its e-reader to Sony which has the least successful bookstore.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I think that BN realized that they could safely open up their device to all EPub DRMs and that they would be fine because most people would buy books from BN.

A safe assumption in the world of the Price Fix Six because if you have a Nook you'll *know* nobody is allowed to sell the ebooks any cheaper.

At that point it becomes a matter of catalog size which is why B&N actively pursues exclusive content for the Nooks and throws hysterical tantrums whenever somebody else gets *any* exclusive content.

So their walled garden is technically open but in practice it remains closed to any significant competition without the help of the guy from Melmac.

[John F]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I don't have a Kobo Touch, but asked about it on that forum awhile back and someone there confirmed it could open a B&N ebook with DRM (after supplying the proper credentials). Likely not so with previous Kobo ereaders. So if that is accurate, Sony is really the last holdout.

...

Could you provide a link?

Browsing through this thread:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=139139

it looks like people are saying in theory you should be able to, but in practice, you can't (except for the last post). From what I can see, no one has been able to successfully open a B&N DRM ePub on a kobo.

I just tried. I downloaded a free ePub from B&N (using the B&N PC software), and sideloaded it to my Kobo Touch. On my Kobo Touch, there is no cover for the, and when I try to open the book, I get an error message.