Linux Users: Is Wine + ADE/K4PC still working for you?

[latepaul]

So I first noticed this about 3/4 months ago and my situation has changed so I'm mostly just curious because I know from this thread that there are folks on this forum who use Wine + ADE (and K4PC) on Linux.

The problem is that these programs failed to connect over the internet. K4PC kept complaining about the network and ADE wouldn't download files from ascm files. I tried re-installing, I tried different versions of Wine but I couldn't fix it. The weird thing is that it was both these programs but not every program. I could run (Windows) ping under Wine and firefox and they connected ok.

I have actually switched back to Windows 10 now but still run Linux in a VM sometimes, as well as WSL. Anyway I'm curious if anyone else has seen this. When I've googled it I've not found much.

[LinuxArie]

I don't use wine, most of the times it's hit or miss.
Best option (my opinion) is a VM or dualboot.
At the moment I have dualboot Linux Mint and Windows 10

But there is a way you don't need windows anymore, execpt 1 time.
Install ADE and Calibre with DeDRM plugins in windows
Import de ADE key in Calibre
Export the key
Import the key in Calibre Linux
Download de .acsm file with Android*, copy the epub to Linux
Import de epub in Calibre, your epub is now DRM free
* probably it works also with an iphone / ipad but I don't have those so I cannot test it

[droopy]

hi LinuxArie,
My laptop isn't dual-boot; it's only got Linux Mint. But within Linux Mint, I have Lutris, which has user-friendly way of installing the Windows version of ADE 2.x.
But now that ADE is not downloading epubs when I drag-drop ACSM files onto it, I'd like to know how you got your Android phone to help.
What I mean to say is, what program do you use on Android? Did you install the ADE (currently version 1.0) that is found in the Google Play store?
I ask because the DeDRM plugin in Calibre can't seem to decrypt the encrypted epub that Android Digital Editions downloaded.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by droopy

I ask because the DeDRM plugin in Calibre can't seem to decrypt the encrypted epub that Android Digital Editions downloaded.

Not sure if you are aware of a new calibre plugin but the ACSM input plugin is now available. I've done some limited testing and it worked for ~12 EPUBs and the one PDF I tested. Basically, you can drop the .acsm file into calibre and it will be imported, etc. without needing ADE as an intermediate step.

[droopy]

Thank you DNSB! Your comment is helpful. It's helpful for many reasons:
1. I don't have to use WINE/ADE anymore (I prefer not having to use WINE/windows programs on my Linux computer -- it takes a lot of hard drive space)
2. This is more streamlined.
3. I was aware of Soutadé's work, but that meant using the terminal, and I couldn't make it work on my first/only attempt. The ACSM input plugin you link to makes use of Soutade's files, but does so in a newbie-friendly way (a way even I could use!)

I just tried the deACSM plugin and it works. I just had to make sure that both the deACSM plugin and and the deDRM plugin shared the same ADE keys (same AdobeID account info).

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by droopy

Thank you DNSB! Your comment is helpful. It's helpful for many reasons:
1. I don't have to use WINE/ADE anymore (I prefer not having to use WINE/windows programs on my Linux computer -- it takes a lot of hard drive space)
2. This is more streamlined.
3. I was aware of Soutadé's work, but that meant using the terminal, and I couldn't make it work on my first/only attempt. The ACSM input plugin you link to makes use of Soutade's files, but does so in a newbie-friendly way (a way even I could use!)

I just tried the deACSM plugin and it works. I just had to make sure that both the deACSM plugin and and the deDRM plugin shared the same ADE keys (same AdobeID account info).

That's pretty much what I did. I did think about @Leseratte_10's suggestion to create a new Adobe ID/password for the plugin but decided that the chances of Adobe noticing anything wasn't worth the effort of maintaining two Adobe IDs.

[droopy]

Originally Posted by DNSB

That's pretty much what I did. I did think about @Leseratte_10's suggestion to create a new Adobe ID/password for the plugin but decided that the chances of Adobe noticing anything wasn't worth the effort of maintaining two Adobe IDs.

I don't know why we have to concern ourselves with that potential roadblock. Isn't it more time-efficient to just wait until Adobe blocks the Adobe ID before we create a new one?

At least for me, there's nothing tied to, say, my first/original AdobeID. If Adobe were to block that AdobeID, any books linked to that AdobeID would have already been decrypted anyway.

[Leseratte_10]

Originally Posted by droopy

At least for me, there's nothing tied to, say, my first/original AdobeID. If Adobe were to block that AdobeID, any books linked to that AdobeID would have already been decrypted anyway.

This is probably the case for most people already using Calibre and DeDRM in the past, but might not be the case for everyone.

Of course if losing your "main" / 1st Adobe ID wouldn't be a problem for you then there isn't really a need to make a dedicated ID for the plugin.

But there are some books (particularly newer PDF books) that use some newer DRM and require ADE 4.5, and as far as I know that DRM can't be removed yet; so if you have some of these on your account then you might not want to lose your AdobeID.