Is Kobo getting rid of DRM? - Page 2

SF&F Reader · 12-17-2011, 10:12 AM

Did you follow my link? If that's not working, have you tried searching with quotes around his name?

Barbara1955 · 12-17-2011, 11:45 AM

Why worry about what OP has Just go to Kobo.com & see the books You want!

digiSara · 12-17-2011, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SF&F Reader

Did you follow my link? If that's not working, have you tried searching with quotes around his name?

Yes, also searched for the specific book titles. Am in Canadian store.

Quote:

Why worry about what OP has Just go to Kobo.com & see the books You want!

Because I was curious about the DRM free books and was trying to follow the topic...it's not important. But I find it strange that another poster in Toronto found the books, but I'm in the same store and can't.

robko · 12-17-2011, 12:19 PM

Interesting. When I went into the on-line Library section of my Kobo account about 1 in 4 of the books now have "download e-pub" and the others still have "adobe DRM epub". As someone else mentioned the "download e-pub" still downloads an ascm link, so I'm not sure it really is any different.

SF&F Reader · 12-17-2011, 07:23 PM

Well, I can't find them now either. Any of them. Very strange.

Luckily, I did add a couple of free ones to my library last night and their pages still show. You can try this link, but it may stop working eventually. At any rate, I did click the button - both last night and just now - the file I get is: smashwords-epub-cf7fdd7f-58fd-4c13-9795-5c2499d9f208.epub

The link itself is: http://www.kobobooks.com/handlers/Ep...r0S6CrQ6ywJWVw

This whole situation reminds me of something that happened a little more than a week ago. I was browsing the store and tried searching for "Michael Crichton" and found that Kobo had a free version of Timeline (sorry, link no longer available). Yeah, I did a double take, but I figured that the author may have donated the rights in his will or something so I tried it out. It wouldn't sync with the reader or the desktop so I tried the 'download' button. It redirected me to archive.org where a message said that the book had been removed due to its content. So that's twice now that the store has linked me outside their own domain.

spindlegirl · 12-17-2011, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SF&F Reader

Search for "John H. Carroll"

It took a bit of scrolling through to see the ones that said DRM free, but I found one and downloaded THIS one straight onto my computer!

Woohoo, way to go, DRM free is always a major plus with me.

rashkae · 12-17-2011, 09:07 PM

It's nice to see DRM biting the dust on the self-pub indies. I thought it would be interesting to see what was being done about the established publishers that don't require DRM, and natually thought to look up Baen titles. But here I find that absolutely none of the Baen titles are included in the Kobo catalogue. What's up with that?

taming · 12-18-2011, 08:32 AM

Baen would have to have an agreement with Kobo for that to happen. I guess they don't.

rashkae · 12-18-2011, 09:57 AM

I don't think you understand. I wan't saying that the DRM hadn't been removed. I mean, the Baen book sare not being sold by Kobo at all.

taming · 12-18-2011, 10:45 AM

Actually, I do understand. Kobo and Baen would have to have an agreement. Once in place, the Baen books could be uploaded to the Kobo servers and sold via the Kobo website.

rashkae · 12-18-2011, 11:24 AM

Oh, of course,, when you put it that way, the oversight doesn't seem strange in the least.

caheaton · 12-19-2011, 05:20 PM

I'm having problems with John's books too. I was able to bring up the list following his link, but if I click on a book to see the details, it jumps to another page of books (not free). If I try to click "add book to library", it jumps to a screen giving "Search Results for “"John H. Carroll"”, with the lead book being "Borderwork in Multicultural Australia" by Bob Hodge & John O'Carroll?!?

I've just about had it with Kobo's bookstore, as it's not the first time their search engine has been seriously screwed up (to put it politely). I tried doing a search on John H. Carroll and it brought me the list of books written by Lewis Carroll. If I ask it to search for free books by John H. Carroll (using quotes), I receive:
"Sorry, we could not find results for ""john h. carroll"" in any category."

Amazon has no problem searching for these books. I guess I'll just have to get them in Kindle format...which is a shame as I was hoping to share some with my sister's Nook. (I guess I could try searching on B&N's site...)

Thank you for the tip on the new author...these books look like a fun read!
Craig

As an example of other search problems, I discovered that they offer many of the titles in the "Best in Tent Camping" series. The other day I went to search for them, and they could not be found. As an example, if you type in "The Best in Tent Camping: Texas" (Kobo even completes the title for you, indicating it's in the collection), it loads a page of books led by a Harlequin romance entitled "The Best Man in Texas". If you limit your search to travel titles, it leads the list with "Tent Life in Siberia" (laughable compared to Texas actually!). Yet, I just happened to save this book for later purchase in my library, from which I was able to purchase the book and add it to my library! Very strange and an example of just how messed up their website and search engine is. In this day and age, there's no excuse for such sloppy coding. If the other bookstores can get it right, why can't Kobo!

John Carroll · 12-19-2011, 05:37 PM

I so, so, so, so, so did not mean for this to turn into self promotion.

Gah. I was expecting other authors to check their work and readers to check their favorite authors.

As far as I can tell, Kobo is doing some serious retooling on this. There are duplicates and missing covers on some of the books and navigation is sketchy at best.

I do think they could do a better job and I'm willing to give Kobo the benefit of the doubt. They've come out with new readers and made contracts with WH Smith and FNAC. Right now, I believe they're identifying the bugs and getting overwhelm . . . I mean figuring out solutions for them.

Seeing how they've been working over the last year, I'm going to guesstimate that they'll have the major bugs worked out by February or March and perhaps begin shipping ebooks to their partners around that time too.

The thing that makes me the happiest is that it appears as though DRM Free is something they are working towards.

12-19-2011, 05:20 PM	#27
caheaton Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 12944 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: SW Ohio, USA Device: Kobo & Kindle apps (PC, Android), Aura HD, Kindle Touch	I'm having problems with John's books too. I was able to bring up the list following his link, but if I click on a book to see the details, it jumps to another page of books (not free). If I try to click "add book to library", it jumps to a screen giving "Search Results for “"John H. Carroll"”, with the lead book being "Borderwork in Multicultural Australia" by Bob Hodge & John O'Carroll?!? I've just about had it with Kobo's bookstore, as it's not the first time their search engine has been seriously screwed up (to put it politely). I tried doing a search on John H. Carroll and it brought me the list of books written by Lewis Carroll. If I ask it to search for free books by John H. Carroll (using quotes), I receive: "Sorry, we could not find results for ""john h. carroll"" in any category." Amazon has no problem searching for these books. I guess I'll just have to get them in Kindle format...which is a shame as I was hoping to share some with my sister's Nook. (I guess I could try searching on B&N's site...) Thank you for the tip on the new author...these books look like a fun read! Craig As an example of other search problems, I discovered that they offer many of the titles in the "Best in Tent Camping" series. The other day I went to search for them, and they could not be found. As an example, if you type in "The Best in Tent Camping: Texas" (Kobo even completes the title for you, indicating it's in the collection), it loads a page of books led by a Harlequin romance entitled "The Best Man in Texas". If you limit your search to travel titles, it leads the list with "Tent Life in Siberia" (laughable compared to Texas actually!). Yet, I just happened to save this book for later purchase in my library, from which I was able to purchase the book and add it to my library! Very strange and an example of just how messed up their website and search engine is. In this day and age, there's no excuse for such sloppy coding. If the other bookstores can get it right, why can't Kobo! Last edited by caheaton; 12-19-2011 at 05:29 PM.

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12-17-2011, 10:12 AM	#16
SF&F Reader Groupie Posts: 150 Karma: 100855 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Blackberry Playbook, Samsung Galaxy SII HD LTE	Did you follow my link? If that's not working, have you tried searching with quotes around his name?

12-17-2011, 11:45 AM	#17
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,454 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	Why worry about what OP has Just go to Kobo.com & see the books You want!

12-17-2011, 12:19 PM	#19
robko Wizard Posts: 2,454 Karma: 5469320 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	Interesting. When I went into the on-line Library section of my Kobo account about 1 in 4 of the books now have "download e-pub" and the others still have "adobe DRM epub". As someone else mentioned the "download e-pub" still downloads an ascm link, so I'm not sure it really is any different.

12-17-2011, 07:23 PM	#20
SF&F Reader Groupie Posts: 150 Karma: 100855 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Blackberry Playbook, Samsung Galaxy SII HD LTE	Well, I can't find them now either. Any of them. Very strange. Luckily, I did add a couple of free ones to my library last night and their pages still show. You can try this link, but it may stop working eventually. At any rate, I did click the button - both last night and just now - the file I get is: smashwords-epub-cf7fdd7f-58fd-4c13-9795-5c2499d9f208.epub The link itself is: http://www.kobobooks.com/handlers/Ep...r0S6CrQ6ywJWVw This whole situation reminds me of something that happened a little more than a week ago. I was browsing the store and tried searching for "Michael Crichton" and found that Kobo had a free version of Timeline (sorry, link no longer available). Yeah, I did a double take, but I figured that the author may have donated the rights in his will or something so I tried it out. It wouldn't sync with the reader or the desktop so I tried the 'download' button. It redirected me to archive.org where a message said that the book had been removed due to its content. So that's twice now that the store has linked me outside their own domain.

12-17-2011, 09:07 PM	#22
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,142 Karma: 5061953 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	It's nice to see DRM biting the dust on the self-pub indies. I thought it would be interesting to see what was being done about the established publishers that don't require DRM, and natually thought to look up Baen titles. But here I find that absolutely none of the Baen titles are included in the Kobo catalogue. What's up with that?

12-18-2011, 08:32 AM	#23
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Baen would have to have an agreement with Kobo for that to happen. I guess they don't.

12-18-2011, 09:57 AM	#24
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,142 Karma: 5061953 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	I don't think you understand. I wan't saying that the DRM hadn't been removed. I mean, the Baen book sare not being sold by Kobo at all.

12-18-2011, 10:45 AM	#25
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Actually, I do understand. Kobo and Baen would have to have an agreement. Once in place, the Baen books could be uploaded to the Kobo servers and sold via the Kobo website.

12-18-2011, 11:24 AM	#26
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,142 Karma: 5061953 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	Oh, of course,, when you put it that way, the oversight doesn't seem strange in the least.

12-19-2011, 05:37 PM	#28
John Carroll kookoo Posts: 1,461 Karma: 7772454 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Colorado Springs Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Nook, LG4	I so, so, so, so, so did not mean for this to turn into self promotion. Gah. I was expecting other authors to check their work and readers to check their favorite authors. As far as I can tell, Kobo is doing some serious retooling on this. There are duplicates and missing covers on some of the books and navigation is sketchy at best. I do think they could do a better job and I'm willing to give Kobo the benefit of the doubt. They've come out with new readers and made contracts with WH Smith and FNAC. Right now, I believe they're identifying the bugs and getting overwhelm . . . I mean figuring out solutions for them. Seeing how they've been working over the last year, I'm going to guesstimate that they'll have the major bugs worked out by February or March and perhaps begin shipping ebooks to their partners around that time too. The thing that makes me the happiest is that it appears as though DRM Free is something they are working towards.