An expensive (newbie) mistake to make

BooksOnBowser · 06-19-2010, 09:00 AM

Just bought a PRS300 and I'm generally loving it.

Based in the UK, have bought books from Waterstones, WhSmith as well as BooksOnBoard and Ebooks.com.

My issue is that I bought several books before my reader arrived; some I have found out where actually PDF's and not EPUB which means on the small font size it is barely readable and blowing up to medium doesn't format properly including broken words.

Just a warning to other newbies, if you are buying books with DRM (and I personally have no problem with that) steer clear of PDF's if you want them to look good on the pocket edition.

For the record the book was The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. The Digital Editions version was from ebooks.com, the EPUB version from WhSmith

Worldwalker · 06-19-2010, 11:43 AM

And you've demonstrated a very good reason not to buy DRM-restricted ebooks. Also, for that matter, for buying from companies that only offer, or limit you to, one format.

If I buy a book from Baen, or O'Reilly, or BVC, I can go back any time and download it in a different format. If I replace my ebook reader with one that uses .mobi, for instance, and I'm too lazy to run my purchased ebooks through calibre to convert them, nice shiny copies in my preferred format are waiting for me on their websites. (well, at least except in the case of some O'Reilly books which are limited to pdf, probably because of layout)

neilmarr · 06-19-2010, 12:39 PM

Be careful, BoB ... VERY careful. Good to have your company. Best wishes. Neil

BooksOnBowser · 06-19-2010, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

And you've demonstrated a very good reason not to buy DRM-restricted ebooks. Also, for that matter, for buying from companies that only offer, or limit you to, one format.

Thanks for that. I personally have no issues with DRM, as long as the restrictions are spelt out i.e only printing x number of pages or no printing allowed.

It is my own inexperience and naivety that led me to believe that EPUB secured by Adobe DE and a PDF secured by Adobe DE where in essence the same thing and would render the same. As I said expensive mistake to make!

As someone who is a self confessed gadget geek, I can only wonder how complex this whole issue appears to the outside world, the clear answer from a consumer point of view is buy from Waterstones or WhSmith (or the equivalent in your part of the world) as you know you'll get a good file.

I love my reader and i've had it two days. I don't read books, or should that be, until now I have not been a big reader but I find the choice of books, being able to switch at a moment is great.

banjobama · 06-19-2010, 06:14 PM

I feel the same way about PDFs on my Sony Touch Edition. Before I got it I considered its ability to read PDFs an advantage but now a PDF file is my absolute last choice for downloading and reading.

Worldwalker · 06-19-2010, 06:31 PM

Remember that PDF's whole purpose is to present a page in exactly the same form no matter what it's viewed/printed on. Most of the time, that's a good thing; when you're transferring documents, you don't want them going and reformatting themselves because they think your monitor is a bit too tight around the collar. When you're trying to read that document on a PRS-300, or something even smaller, it becomes a bad thing. A Really Bad Thing. It's like looking through the wrong end of the telescope, and very few ebook devices can handle PDFs at all well. Sony's readers are most definitely not any of them.

I usually download my O'Reilly books in both epub and pdf. The former is for my 505, the latter is for my computer. That way, I get the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, probably due to the tight formatting (tables, etc.) of many technical books, not all of them are available in epub. But I'm still hoping ... and since I bought my books from a bookseller who considers me their customer, not their enemy, if they do convert those holdout pdfs to epub, I can just go grab the format I need.

It's not which DRM a file is locked in that makes the difference -- it's the native format of the file. If you're reading something on your desktop, or even your laptop, PDF is ideal (though, of course, since it's DRM-locked, you're pretty restricted in what you can actually read it on). But if you're going to be reading it on a 5" device, or even a 6" device like the 505, 600, etc., epub is the way to go. Actually, for anything where exact layout isn't an issue (most fiction, for instance) it's probably safer to avoid pdf just out of paranoia -- it doesn't reflow, or reflow well, at the best of times.

dorino · 06-21-2010, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

I feel the same way about PDFs on my Sony Touch Edition. Before I got it I considered its ability to read PDFs an advantage but now a PDF file is my absolute last choice for downloading and reading.

I agree, it's the last option. Much easier to get epub/lrf, anyway!

06-19-2010, 09:00 AM	#1
BooksOnBowser Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 2020 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo Libra h2o	An expensive (newbie) mistake to make Just bought a PRS300 and I'm generally loving it. Based in the UK, have bought books from Waterstones, WhSmith as well as BooksOnBoard and Ebooks.com. My issue is that I bought several books before my reader arrived; some I have found out where actually PDF's and not EPUB which means on the small font size it is barely readable and blowing up to medium doesn't format properly including broken words. Just a warning to other newbies, if you are buying books with DRM (and I personally have no problem with that) steer clear of PDF's if you want them to look good on the pocket edition. For the record the book was The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. The Digital Editions version was from ebooks.com, the EPUB version from WhSmith

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06-19-2010, 11:43 AM	#2
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	And you've demonstrated a very good reason not to buy DRM-restricted ebooks. Also, for that matter, for buying from companies that only offer, or limit you to, one format. If I buy a book from Baen, or O'Reilly, or BVC, I can go back any time and download it in a different format. If I replace my ebook reader with one that uses .mobi, for instance, and I'm too lazy to run my purchased ebooks through calibre to convert them, nice shiny copies in my preferred format are waiting for me on their websites. (well, at least except in the case of some O'Reilly books which are limited to pdf, probably because of layout)

06-19-2010, 12:39 PM	#3
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Be careful, BoB ... VERY careful. Good to have your company. Best wishes. Neil

06-19-2010, 06:14 PM	#5
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	I feel the same way about PDFs on my Sony Touch Edition. Before I got it I considered its ability to read PDFs an advantage but now a PDF file is my absolute last choice for downloading and reading.

06-19-2010, 06:31 PM	#6
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	Remember that PDF's whole purpose is to present a page in exactly the same form no matter what it's viewed/printed on. Most of the time, that's a good thing; when you're transferring documents, you don't want them going and reformatting themselves because they think your monitor is a bit too tight around the collar. When you're trying to read that document on a PRS-300, or something even smaller, it becomes a bad thing. A Really Bad Thing. It's like looking through the wrong end of the telescope, and very few ebook devices can handle PDFs at all well. Sony's readers are most definitely not any of them. I usually download my O'Reilly books in both epub and pdf. The former is for my 505, the latter is for my computer. That way, I get the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, probably due to the tight formatting (tables, etc.) of many technical books, not all of them are available in epub. But I'm still hoping ... and since I bought my books from a bookseller who considers me their customer, not their enemy, if they do convert those holdout pdfs to epub, I can just go grab the format I need. It's not which DRM a file is locked in that makes the difference -- it's the native format of the file. If you're reading something on your desktop, or even your laptop, PDF is ideal (though, of course, since it's DRM-locked, you're pretty restricted in what you can actually read it on). But if you're going to be reading it on a 5" device, or even a 6" device like the 505, 600, etc., epub is the way to go. Actually, for anything where exact layout isn't an issue (most fiction, for instance) it's probably safer to avoid pdf just out of paranoia -- it doesn't reflow, or reflow well, at the best of times.

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