Sony Reader Library Alternative (Mac)?

pasipple · 01-05-2010, 06:49 PM

I've spent the last hour reading posts on this forums and I can't seem to find a definitive answer on an alternate reader for the Sony Reader Library 3.1 (Mac).

I apologize if I missed the answer to my question somewhere in the forum...there are a lot of posts to go through.

I am currently using the Reader Library 3.q software for Mac and I would like to find a EPUB reader for the Mac that allows me more control over the format of my ebooks. Any suggests? Any alternates at all?

I do realize reading some of the forum threads that there are a lot of people dissatisfied with the Sony readers and the Reader Software for PCs.

Thanks...

WillAdams · 01-06-2010, 07:34 AM

To read epubs on your Mac you can use the Adobe Digital Editions Reader:

http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/

Not sure if it affords more control though --- what sort of control do you wish for?

To manage (non-DRM) files you can use Calibre:

http://calibre-ebook.com/

It's been a while since I used it --- it probably has an epub viewer in it as well.

William

chainring · 01-06-2010, 09:35 AM

Calibre will let you insert some extra CSS for the viewer portion of the program. Once viewing an ePub, click the hammer icon. At the bottom of the resulting dialog window will be a section for your custom CSS.

Disclaimer: I don't know the first thing about CSS, just sharing what I've read in the Calibre sub-forum.

pasipple · 01-06-2010, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillAdams

To read epubs on your Mac you can use the Adobe Digital Editions Reader:

http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/

Not sure if it affords more control though --- what sort of control do you wish for?

To manage (non-DRM) files you can use Calibre:

http://calibre-ebook.com/

It's been a while since I used it --- it probably has an epub viewer in it as well.

William

Good....Adobe essentials works. I give it a try.

Thanks....

pasipple · 01-06-2010, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chainring

Calibre will let you insert some extra CSS for the viewer portion of the program. Once viewing an ePub, click the hammer icon. At the bottom of the resulting dialog window will be a section for your custom CSS.

Disclaimer: I don't know the first thing about CSS, just sharing what I've read in the Calibre sub-forum.

I had no luck with viewing a Sony EPUB in Calibre. DRM'ed....

Thanks...

chainring · 01-06-2010, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasipple

I had no luck with viewing a Sony EPUB in Calibre. DRM'ed....

Thanks...

Oh yeah, DRM'ed ePub leaves you with the Sony software and Adobe Digital Editions.

new · 02-10-2010, 07:13 PM

I use Adobe Digital Reader to download library books and you can either transfer it to your reader or use your computer. I don't like to read books on the computer.

I use "preview" on Mac but that is for non-drm pdf books. You can't use it for epub books.

New subject:

Today I got a nag message to update to the new 1.7.2 Adobe Digital Reader when I opened my Adobe up. I don't want to and I keep getting nagged. Anyone else? Can you stop the nagging messages????

Jim Lester · 02-10-2010, 09:51 PM

With a Sony Reader on the Mac there are problems with using anything but the Sony Reader Library.

For Calibre as several people have already mentioned there is no DRM support, and the only other client that currently does DRM support is Adobe Digital Editions.

For ADE, the problem is that it doesn't recognize your Sony Reader, and so won't transfer files directly to it. While this is a minor annoyance for purchased content ( you can do this by copy files in the Finder ), this is a bigger problem for content that you get from a Library. For Library content (on the Mac) you must use Sony Reader Library to transfer your content or you will not be able to view it.

Jim Lester · 02-10-2010, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by new

Today I got a nag message to update to the new 1.7.2 Adobe Digital Reader when I opened my Adobe up. I don't want to and I keep getting nagged. Anyone else? Can you stop the nagging messages????

ADE has a forced upgrade. If you do not upgrade it will stop functioning. This is not a "feature" that we will drop.

We did however soften this in 1.7 to give you 45 days to decide when you want to do the upgrade. Prior to this, the nag dialog just gave you the choice of Upgrading or Quitting.

new · 02-11-2010, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Lester

ADE has a forced upgrade. If you do not upgrade it will stop functioning. This is not a "feature" that we will drop.

We did however soften this in 1.7 to give you 45 days to decide when you want to do the upgrade. Prior to this, the nag dialog just gave you the choice of Upgrading or Quitting.

I updated ADE to 1.7.2 as per it's nagging and since it said it is mandatory. So I get it updated and the .pdf instructions say to uninstall the old ADE. I go to where they say:

From your user directory, open the /Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/www.macromedia.com/bin/open folder.

Drag the digitaleditions1x5 folder to the Trash, and then empty the Trash.

Except I don't have digitaleditions1x5 folder. I have digitaleditions.

How do I know I am not deleting the new one? Where is the new one? I don't want to have to go through activating like I did the first time. That is why I despise updating software if I don't have to.

Can you help?

ChristopherTD · 02-12-2010, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Lester

ADE has a forced upgrade. If you do not upgrade it will stop functioning. This is not a "feature" that we will drop.

We did however soften this in 1.7 to give you 45 days to decide when you want to do the upgrade. Prior to this, the nag dialog just gave you the choice of Upgrading or Quitting.

Jim

Thanks for putting in that grace period. I eventually did upgrade last night and it took over an hour to download the update - not sure what was slowing it all down (the rest of my Internet connections were speedy). If that had been a forced update I would have been very cross!

Thanks again.

John F · 02-12-2010, 03:30 PM

If I don't upgrade ADE, will I be able to use the Sony Library software to authorize books. For example, if ADE expires, I have the Sony Library software installed, and I buy an ADE epub DRM book from kobobooks.com, will I be able to read it in the Sony software?

Thanks.

Jim Lester · 02-12-2010, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by new

I updated ADE to 1.7.2 as per it's nagging and since it said it is mandatory. So I get it updated and the .pdf instructions say to uninstall the old ADE. I go to where they say:...

Those instructions only apply if you are upgrading from 1.5 (which should be a vanishingly small number of people).

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnF

If I don't upgrade ADE, will I be able to use the Sony Library software to authorize books.

Yes, it's only if you want to continue using ADE that you'll need to upgrade ADE.

new · 02-12-2010, 10:04 PM

Thanks Jim; thank goodness I didn't delete it. So since I had 1.7.1 and updated to 1.7.2 do I have to delete anything? Does 1.7.2. get rid of the old 1.7.1. Just trying to keep my Mac clean

and tidy.

Jim Lester · 02-13-2010, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by new

Thanks Jim; thank goodness I didn't delete it. So since I had 1.7.1 and updated to 1.7.2 do I have to delete anything? Does 1.7.2. get rid of the old 1.7.1. Just trying to keep my Mac clean

and tidy.

No, nothing you need to do. One of the fun things I got to do for the 1.7 releases was to shift to a package based installer for Mac, that by default installs the Adobe Digital Edition app in you Applications folder. Subsquent installs will overwrite this application for you. (no need to look in odd places for the application - much more Mac like).

01-05-2010, 06:49 PM	#1
pasipple Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Sony Reader Library	Sony Reader Library Alternative (Mac)? I've spent the last hour reading posts on this forums and I can't seem to find a definitive answer on an alternate reader for the Sony Reader Library 3.1 (Mac). I apologize if I missed the answer to my question somewhere in the forum...there are a lot of posts to go through. I am currently using the Reader Library 3.q software for Mac and I would like to find a EPUB reader for the Mac that allows me more control over the format of my ebooks. Any suggests? Any alternates at all? I do realize reading some of the forum threads that there are a lot of people dissatisfied with the Sony readers and the Reader Software for PCs. Thanks...

02-10-2010, 07:13 PM	#7
new K3, K4B, KDX, KFHD, PW1&2 Posts: 704 Karma: 3000002 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: USA Device: K3, K4B, KDX3G, KFHD, PW1, PW2	Adobe Digital Reader or Preview I use Adobe Digital Reader to download library books and you can either transfer it to your reader or use your computer. I don't like to read books on the computer. I use "preview" on Mac but that is for non-drm pdf books. You can't use it for epub books. New subject: Today I got a nag message to update to the new 1.7.2 Adobe Digital Reader when I opened my Adobe up. I don't want to and I keep getting nagged. Anyone else? Can you stop the nagging messages????

02-12-2010, 10:04 PM	#14
new K3, K4B, KDX, KFHD, PW1&2 Posts: 704 Karma: 3000002 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: USA Device: K3, K4B, KDX3G, KFHD, PW1, PW2	Thanks Jim, so I don't delete an old version of ADE? Thanks Jim; thank goodness I didn't delete it. So since I had 1.7.1 and updated to 1.7.2 do I have to delete anything? Does 1.7.2. get rid of the old 1.7.1. Just trying to keep my Mac clean and tidy.

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01-06-2010, 07:34 AM	#2
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,258 Karma: 3439432 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	To read epubs on your Mac you can use the Adobe Digital Editions Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/ Not sure if it affords more control though --- what sort of control do you wish for? To manage (non-DRM) files you can use Calibre: http://calibre-ebook.com/ It's been a while since I used it --- it probably has an epub viewer in it as well. William

01-06-2010, 09:35 AM	#3
chainring Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 1000659 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Device: Kindle Voyage, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650 (black), Kindle 3G	Calibre will let you insert some extra CSS for the viewer portion of the program. Once viewing an ePub, click the hammer icon. At the bottom of the resulting dialog window will be a section for your custom CSS. Disclaimer: I don't know the first thing about CSS, just sharing what I've read in the Calibre sub-forum.

02-10-2010, 09:51 PM	#8
Jim Lester Evangelist Posts: 416 Karma: 14682 Join Date: May 2008 Location: SF Bay Area Device: Nook HD, Nook for Windows 8	With a Sony Reader on the Mac there are problems with using anything but the Sony Reader Library. For Calibre as several people have already mentioned there is no DRM support, and the only other client that currently does DRM support is Adobe Digital Editions. For ADE, the problem is that it doesn't recognize your Sony Reader, and so won't transfer files directly to it. While this is a minor annoyance for purchased content ( you can do this by copy files in the Finder ), this is a bigger problem for content that you get from a Library. For Library content (on the Mac) you must use Sony Reader Library to transfer your content or you will not be able to view it.

02-12-2010, 03:30 PM	#12
John F Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,838 Karma: 70000001 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Clara 2E	If I don't upgrade ADE, will I be able to use the Sony Library software to authorize books. For example, if ADE expires, I have the Sony Library software installed, and I buy an ADE epub DRM book from kobobooks.com, will I be able to read it in the Sony software? Thanks.

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