Here’s my horror story with DRM (Digital Rights Management):
I have a Sony Reader for ebooks. One of the things I like about it is that it uses the ePub format, which is emerging as the common open standard. I wouldn’t buy a Kindle (from Amazon) or a Nook (from Barnes & Noble) because their propriety formats require you to buy books just from their stores. I wanted a reader that could read books from many sources.
So the other day, I bought a book from Barnes and Nobel in ePub format, assuming that it would work on my Sony Reader. It was the right format, but the Barnes and Noble ePub file also comes with DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection. No problem, I thought. DRM is intended to ensure that only the purchaser can use it–so you don’t make 10 copies and sell or give them to your friends.
But, guess what? The DRM also ensures that you won’t read the book on any e-reader except Barnes and Noble’s Nook. It took me about 2 hours to figure this out, since neither Sony nor Barnes and Noble readily admit this anywhere. I spent hours trying to ensure that I had the Adobe® Digital Editions software installed correctly and that my Sony Reader was properly authorized. After all that, and calling customer support, I finally figured out that the Barnes and Noble ePub books cannot be read on anything but their Nook or their proprietary readers for the PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and iPhone/iPad. So, I’ll have to read this book I bought on my PC.
Lesson learned: DRM does more than just protect the digital rights of the book–it can also be used by the publishers to ensure you have to buy their hardware to read their products.
Actually, I own a Nook, and you can buy books from anywhere. You can even put your own homemade documents in. I’ve bought from Deseret Book, added books from LDS.org, and purchased from people who made their own ebooks. It was the reason I bought the Nook in the first place,
Or you could speak with your wallet and return the product refusing to pay for their DRM. Buy it somewhere that will let you use it as you please.
Kindle does not import ePub, but it works with more than just books from the Kindle store. It also uses Mobipocket, text, topaz, and pdf. Amazon will convert Word or HTML for you. Or you can get Calibre to convert other formats (such as ePub). It also plays audio books, Audible or mp3 format.
If you are looking for LDS books for your Kindle, here are the Mobipocket books available:
http://www.lds.org/handheld/newarchive/0,18495,344-1-81-2,00.html
This is a perfect example of why we should heed wise advice. Fight fire with fire, I say.
Actually, Kindle and nook both read ePub books. Or at least those ePub books without incompatible DRM. I’ve put a ton of ePub books from Gutenberg.org on my nook. The thing is, for nook (and probably for Kindle, too), you can’t download them wirelessly. But if you download the ePub book to your computer and attach your e-book reader by USB cable, you can drag the ePub book over and read it. Same with Google Books that are downloadable in ePub format.
That said, I’m not a big fan of DRM.
Terrie, Yes, the Nook is capable of reading books from other sources, but if you buy a book from B&N, their DRM won’t let the book be read on anything except the Nook (and a few other proprietary readers they have).
Should have read post first – was led to believe by B&N website that epub format could be read on my Sony PRS-505 – relied on “implication”, bought book, got scammed. Now asking for my money back, let’s see what happens.
I experienced the same thing! I’d just figured it out the hard way knowing that it could be extremely difficult for me to deal with. I’d just bought many eBooks from Barnes And Noble online as well as two Sony Readers (one for me and the other my mother) from Amazon.com. I just don’t want to waste more money than usual, so I wanted a software that could remove DRM so that these eBooks (in epub file format) can be readable in any electronic reader even the Sony Reader.
Any more advice or experience concerning this matter? Please do so!
I’ll be glad to hear from you.
Take care!
Ozem, I’m not aware of a way to remove the DRM from the Barnes and Noble books. Sorry.
That’s frustrating. I had the same problem with Barnes and Noble books. But it does make sense that they want to protect their books. They would make no profit whatsoever if everyone copied them.
I have a Nook, and I really want to be able to put eBooks from Deseret Book on it, but I can’t figure out how to do it. Terrie, you said it worked for you—how did you do it?
Another lesson I learned today about Barnes and Noble, Nook, and DRM:
In October, I removed the credit card from my Nook account to ensure that my elementary-age students could not possibly download additional apps and ebooks. The thirty apps and books on the Nook worked fine until yesterday, January 30. When I tried to open most of the apps, a message popped up that there was a problem. When I contacted BN, I was told that it was due to DRM. They locked my purchased apps and ebooks almost four months after the credit card was removed.