Classic New B&N eReader $259 & will allow sharing

[JVIPER88]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

All of those formats are pretty easy to convert. (Doc can be saved in html or rtf by word) Try Calibre as a start.

Dale

That would definitely help. I appreciate that... But is there any information as to whether or not the Nook can support HTML or RTF? From the information I've seen, only PDF, ePub and eReader are supported along with things like JPEG. If RTF is supported, then there won't be an issue.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I'd guess, like Dale that it is some variation on the eReader encryption which would allow for sharing of the book as they have indicated that you can do with nookie...

Right now we can strip the DRM from ePub (Adept) and that is very good. A lot of ePub are horribly formatted and by stripping the DRM, I can go in and fix things so it looks nice. Plus I can use fonts other then the default. So unless we'll eventually be able to strip off this new DRM, why rock the boat?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by charleski

....

The separate LCD touch-screen is an innovative idea, but I sure hope it can be turned off while reading as otherwise it will be very distracting.

and power consuming...

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by JVIPER88

That would definitely help. I appreciate that... But is there any information as to whether or not the Nook can support HTML or RTF? From the information I've seen, only PDF, ePub and eReader are supported along with things like JPEG. If RTF is supported, then there won't be an issue.

there is no indication of RTF. ePUB is really packaged html already so it would be easy enough just to package it with Calibre. RTF is a verbose format, particularly for images, and even eReaders that support it sometimes have a hard time with some files.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Right now we can strip the DRM from ePub (Adept) and that is very good. A lot of ePub are horribly formatted and by stripping the DRM, I can go in and fix things so it looks nice. Plus I can use fonts other then the default. So unless we'll eventually be able to strip off this new DRM, why rock the boat?

I'm not advocating changing it, but I'm not convinced that is what they are saying. It's all as clear as mud at the moment.

[sircastor]

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

Yes, because we should support the server based DRM that locks people out of the books that they purchased over one that fulfills whatever legitimate claims DRM might have in the least onerous way possible. And why? Because it might annoy the EPub club. Who cares? As long as I am assured access to the content I buy and that content is available on multiple platforms (dedicated devices, phones, PCs, etc.), I really don't care that what format it is in. Whatever upgrade their performing to the EReader DRM that allows books to expire after they have been lent will also allow for library use, so that need should sort itself out. If you are going to argue that this will cause confusion, frankly, it's the EPub club's fault for allowing EPub to mean ADOBE ADEPT DRMed EPub in common parlance. The latter is just as closed and proprietary as the Amazon Kindle format; the fact that the licensing fees go to the DRM vendor and not to an EBook retailer or device manufacturer is irrelevant.

I don't think any of us like DRM, but it's not going to go away overnight. As long as there are multiple formats/multiple options, the promise of unified, DRM-Free ebooks is just a dream. When there's only one file format to deal with, then the market is focused on providing the same service to one group of customers. At that point, DRM can be fought against with your wallet. So long as there are a dozen formats being used, publishers don't have to cater to their customer base, There's too few of them to make a difference, and those few have already invested heavily into a device.

Unify the format first, then the solve the DRM problem, then you'll have your assured access to your content where-ever you want, whenever you want.

[orion2001]

Originally Posted by sircastor

I don't think any of us like DRM, but it's not going to go away overnight. As long as there are multiple formats/multiple options, the promise of unified, DRM-Free ebooks is just a dream. When there's only one file format to deal with, then the market is focused on providing the same service to one group of customers. At that point, DRM can be fought against with your wallet. So long as there are a dozen formats being used, publishers don't have to cater to their customer base, There's too few of them to make a difference, and those few have already invested heavily into a device.

Unify the format first, then the solve the DRM problem, then you'll have your assured access to your content where-ever you want, whenever you want.

Save the e-reader...save the world.

[Sporadic]

Originally Posted by Daithi

I could see the lending of books become VERY popular here.

From what I heard, you can only share a book once.

[luqmaninbmore]

Originally Posted by sircastor

Unify the format first, then the solve the DRM problem, then you'll have your assured access to your content where-ever you want, whenever you want.

I think that's entirely backwards. Formats are trivially easy to convert back and forth with the numerous free, GUI-tastic tools that are available. It is DRM that is really keeping the EBook market fragmented. These are still the early days of the market and it is imperative that we do our best to ensure that the DRM system that wins out is the most consumer-friendly. So far, that DRM is EReader style DRM which is keyed to a password or credit-card number and not tied to a server that will eventually go dark. Have you ADOBE library books that won't open because of some bug or have you not been able to authorize your computer because of a bug that forces you to run through your entire authorization count? This doesn't happen with EReader. Oh, and I don't need screwey proprietary software to download my EReader books. I just need a web browser.

[user_none]

For those of you worried about format support, I will be making sure eReader formatted PDB files produced by calibre will be compatible with the Nook (currently I only ensure compatibility with the desktop software). Also, I'll be ensuring calibre support for the device. Even (my wife is going to kill me for saying this) if I have to buy one to make these statements true.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Stensie4JC

I am interested in this device, but I need to be able to use it in China. I doubt the whispernet will be available there, so I need to be able to load books via my PC. Additionally, China blocks some web pages. Some pages are always blocked, some come and go based on the political climate and the changing content of the web page. So to purchase a new book I might need to have a friend in the US purchase it and then email it to me. Is that something that would be possible with a password based DRM?

For the existing eReader DRM, the username and password are taken from your credit card name and number (probably a US credit card to be safe). Anyone with access to your account can download the file and email it to you. There is no need to share your credit card number with your friend, but they will be able to charge ebooks to your account. Note that the Nook also has WiFi, so you may be able to download directly to the device even if the web site is blocked (it depends on how the blocking is done and how the Reader downloads ebooks).

For the existing Adobe ePub DRM (which the Nook may also be using), your AdobeID can have 6 devices registered to it. If your friend's PC is one of the 6 devices then I think the .epub file can be emailed to you and it will work. I have never tried this though. Note that this effectively means that you are sharing the ebooks - which again is perfectly ok so long as you stay within the 6 device limit.

[oncdoc]

que --- thats the one to wait for.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by user_none

Even (my wife is going to kill me for saying this) if I have to buy one to make these statements true.

It would be a tragedy if you were forced to buy one. Will you not be participating in the JSWolf's i-don't-think-it-will-be-adobe-DRM-so-I-think-no-one-should-buy-it-not-that-it-will-make-a-spit-of-difference-club?

BOb

[CleverClothe]

Originally Posted by kennyc

but fictionwise IS B&N and the multiformat is only eReader format.

This is incorrect. "Multiformat" includes 11 formats (I don't count duplicates like "Kindle" vs "MobiPocket").

http://www.fictionwise.com/help/eBook-Formats-FAQ.htm

[Jim Lester]

The Adobe/B&N joint press release is here:
http://newsblaze.com/story/200910201.../topstory.html

The summary is this:
B&N will be using their current flavor of DRM (content locked to a user name/CC#) for selling ePubs from their store.

B&N has licensed this scheme to Adobe for inclusion in the RMSDK (Reader Mobile SDK – it’s the ePub/PDF engine we license to device manufacturers) and ACS (Adobe Content Server).

Adobe in turn has licensed the RMSDK (that includes this method as well as our current method) to B&N, who is using it to implement ePub/PDF rendering on the Nook.

Other RMSDK customers will get this as part of the 9.1 release of the RMSDK (early 2010). When those customers choose to include it on devices/firmware upgrades will be up to them.

ADE 1.7.1 (the current version) does not support the new DRM format, but we do plan on releasing a version that does (and no there is no publicly released date for that version of ADE available yet).

This will cause confusion in the short term about what will work where as we get everyone (including us) ramped up, but the long/medium term goal is that from a customer perspective – it’ll just work.


Some additional notes:

Yes the Nook does look nice.

Yes you can sideload (via USB) current ACS4 protected content (both PDF and ePub) - as well as unprotected PDF and ePub.

I can't comment on how PDF looks on it yet, as I've only gotten to see the Nook at B&N, and we don't have the devices here at Adobe yet to test.