Are You Able to Read Microsoft's Free eBooks on Your Pocket PC? [Archive]

Crystal Eitle

07-05-2003, 02:00 AM

Yesterday I wrote a post about a <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=131681">summer promotion</a> by Microsoft Reader where they're giving away three eBooks a week for the next twenty weeks both to publicize eBooks and to entice Pocket PC users to upgrade to the newest version of Reader (which has enhanced DRM protections). However, judging by responses to the thread, it looks like people are having difficulty getting the books onto their Pocket PC and opening them.<br /><br />For eBooks to be successful, they have to be perceived as simple and enjoyable to use. It looks like Microsoft is doing its darndest to bollix that up. Additionally, it appears that users of PPC 2K devices may have a hard time installing the newest version of Reader; it requires a full installation, which takes up 2 MB of precious RAM. And what if you can't delete the previous version of Reader because it's in your machine's ROM? It would seem you have no recourse. This promotion seems to have been created only with users of Windows Mobile 2003 in mind; it may serve to bring new Pocket PC users to eBooks, but what about those of us with older devices (some of which aren't so old)?<br /><br />After installing the latest version of Reader on my Pocket PC, I was able to open the free eBooks. I did, however, have to activate it again. As a 1910 owner, the ROM/RAM issue was moot; I already had Reader in my device's RAM, so I just had to uninstall it and uninstall the new version. I'm curious to know how many Pocket PC Thoughts readers were able to take advantage of Microsoft's offer.

peterawest

07-05-2003, 02:08 AM

I was able to install it, after a little effort on my iPAQ 3630 that was previously upgraded to PPC 2002.

However, I was surprised that all of the books that I've made for myself are now messed up. None of the text shows up. Instead I have a large blue line that runs down the left side of the page. Not good.

I tried opening the same books in my desktop version (also updated) and everything worked fine. I don't know what's different, but I'm going to have to play around and find out.

Anyone else have trouble like this?

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 02:16 AM

If it's so wonderful, let them put it in the ROM in an upgrade.

Jeff Kirvin

07-05-2003, 02:20 AM

Frankly, I wouldn't go near this update with a ten foot pole. The only reason they're doing this is to get people to upgrade to the new DRM, and I like at least having the option to decompile books into HTML for long-term archival. If I've paid for something, I don't want to be at the mercy of Microsoft a year from now to make use of it.

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 02:42 AM

Reading something should be simple. This DRM nonsense is going to put lots of people off I think

jfreiman

07-05-2003, 02:47 AM

I wish I could activate Reader on my 3850. After I updated the ROM to 2002 last year I couldn't re-activate Reader and so the books I BOUGHT can't be used. :(

absolutVenky

07-05-2003, 03:09 AM

Palm Digital Media seems to have gotten it right. When you purchase the eBook it is coded with your name and credit card number and you use this to unlock the book. Of course with this scheme you won't "lend" your eBooks to friends but they can get their own!

It's very convenient for family sharing though and you don't have to worry about running into a 6 device limit as with MS Reader. I guess they assumed you'll never go through more than 6 devices in your lifetime - I remember somebody from that company saying 640KB out to be enough for everybody :wink:

miterb

07-05-2003, 03:13 AM

You need one more question - "Yes, I have installed the new Reader on my PPC 2002 and it does NOT work."

rosettaZ

07-05-2003, 03:19 AM

I'll jsut wait until some brilliant person post another updated "converter" thanks.

mcsouth

07-05-2003, 03:23 AM

I'd just like to know what the MS Reader folks were thinking - did they honestly expect that they weren't going to confuse people by telling them to uninstall an app that is in ROM, and therefore doesn't show up in the "remove programs" applet, or that people wouldn't mind giving up RAM (when the app is already in ROM) to install the "new and improved" version.

I am also still amazed that with the PPC2003 devices out for only two weeks, that these devices are also stuck doing an "upgrade" to their version of MS Reader that also (I suspect) installs in RAM - gee, they couldn't have gotten this into the PPC2003 upgrade BEFORE it launched?

Needless to say, I am not planning on doing this upgrade anytime soon, since I don't use Reader frequently enough to justify the loss of RAM - I'll stick with alternative readers, like Palm's, as a result - is this the result that MS expected to get?

This 'free e-book' thing just seems to me as being a poor cover for the inefficient handling of a reader upgrade..........

Warwick

07-05-2003, 03:26 AM

I installed the reader on my PPC 3870, I had little problems but had to download the books from my device as my desktop doesnt have reader on it and the site wouldnt let me download them.

I had to go to the options page in reader to stop it highlighting everything and other stuff. Havent tried to open any older books yet though.

Yeh the old books opened fine, although the load time was shockingly slow.

James Fee

07-05-2003, 03:42 AM

Ah yes, Microsoft proves once again how much I dislike their eBook format. Hmm, back to Palm Reader for me...

Paul Martin

07-05-2003, 03:59 AM

I just upgraded my M$ Reader for my Jornada 568. I had to re-activate the thing. I didn't realize that with it being open on my Jornada, it couldn't update the secrep.dll file. So, I closed out and reset the thing to be absolutely sure, then the re-activation went without a hitch. I don't think I have any DRM5 files on it...most is Public Domain stuff, but that opened just fine.

Here's what's weird: on MY device, the program operates FASTER. When I first opened it, I thought I was playing Wheel of Fortune, the hourglass spun around so many times. Now, it opens with 5 seconds. The books are still fairly slow, but overall, seems to be a slight improvement, :) at the cost of some RAM! :evil:

07-05-2003, 03:59 AM

Well I did download the Bill Bryson book because he used to live near me and I wanted to read it anyway.

Anyway, I also downloaded the updated Reader but only got as far as being asked to uninstall the old version which is in ROM.

I wasn't sure how to delete the program in ROM or even if I wanted to so I said bollocks to it! I guess I'll wait 'till I have my '03 upgrade in a few weeks.

Seems to me that MS had a good idea, but as usual are making it hard work for us to take advantage of it.

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 04:05 AM

I wish I could activate Reader on my 3850. After I updated the ROM to 2002 last year I couldn't re-activate Reader and so the books I BOUGHT can't be used. :(

I had the same problem.

Paul Martin

07-05-2003, 04:06 AM

Anyway, I also downloaded the updated Reader but only got as far as being asked to uninstall the old version which is in ROM.

When I ran the Pocket PC install, it only prompted me to overwrite files in ROM. I said, OK, and that was that. Works fine for me (for now!).

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 04:10 AM

Paul Martin

07-05-2003, 04:17 AM

Did you loose any RAM?

Sure did...it's all over the place now that I've set it loose! :wink:

Seriously, I didn't look closely, because I also copied over the Bryson book, but it seems about 2 meg of RAM is a good estimate.

jdhill

07-05-2003, 04:18 AM

I downloaded the books. I had to download an update to both my desktop version of Reader and to the Pocket PC 2003 version of Reader. Neither update was pain free.

The PPC 2003 update could have gone a lot smother if they had warned you to close Reader on the PPC before doing the update and also warned you that you would see a message about needing to update a file in ROM (they didn't really do that, they just put the same named file in RAM where the OS will check first).

I like Reader but I agree that this was WAY TOO HARD and that this DRM stuff is going to make the average user confused or mad. They'll either go to the competition (Palm Reader's DRM is much easier to work with) or they will pirate content and the authors will lose, or they'll just give up on eBooks entirely. :( :( :(

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 04:18 AM

Paul Martin

07-05-2003, 04:36 AM

Then do you really think it over wrote ROM files??

It's hard to say. I loaded up Total Commander and looked at the file properties. For the secrep files, NONE are listed as in ROM with the update...all now having today's date. Here's my uneducated theory, kind of like a CD-R that will allow you to copy over a new version of a file without removing the old one, I'm wondering if you copy over a new version of a file in ROM for certain files (i.e., one's Microsoft designed to be overwritten). Of course, why would you put activation files in ROM anyway? So, there goes THAT theory. 8O

Odd, I just did a search (using Tascal Search) of the Windows directory. The only files that appear to have today's date are the 4 secrep* files, the microsoft reader.unload file, and the microsoft activation.unload file.

There are a bunch that have a date of 5/23/03. (I waited to do the update until today.) Interesting...among the files is one labeled "ebookfx.dll" . Hmmm. OK, I selected all of the files in the \Windows directory with that date all they total 2.3+ M for 16 files (including fonts, various files, etc.) In looking at the properties for each file, none says "in ROM" so I guess that's your answer!

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 04:41 AM

Maybe the "overwrite" prompt is merely an installer thing. After that the files go where than can be copied. In this case...RAM

Janak Parekh

07-05-2003, 04:45 AM

Then do you really think it over wrote ROM files??
It definitely didn't overwrite the ROM. It did overwrite the Microsoft Reader shortcut in RAM (i.e., \Windows\Start Menu\Programs), and put the program files in \Program Files\Microsoft Reader (or \Storage Card\Microsoft Reader, which is where I put it).

--janak

Paul Martin

07-05-2003, 04:48 AM

Sound's plausible. I'm certainly no programmer.

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 04:51 AM

Well at this point I'm not impressed. I'm thinking about Palm reader. Set up a Poll here for opinions.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14549

07-05-2003, 04:55 AM

Well I went ahead and installed the upgrade.

I had to reactivate it, but everything seems to be OK. I checked a couple of my current books, public domain ones. Both opened OK, but one had lost the place that I was at, the other seems fine.

Hopefully MS is going to give us some nice books to dowmload during the summer.

I do think that if I start buying new books in larger quanties I might well go to the Palm Reader format which seems to be simpler than MS. Most books I have now are public domain so hasn't been an issue so far.

isilver

07-05-2003, 05:23 AM

I had a lot of problems when trying to download these free e-books. I did the pocket PC upgrade and reactivation (smooth as silk). However eveytime I tried to download the books it says that I had to active my device. I tried again and got the same results. I even tried to download it from my pocketpc when actively synced buy still no luck.

I broke down and installed the desktop version. It now let me download the lit file. Things were starting too look up. Until....

When I moved the lit file over to the pocket PC the Microsoft Reader sees the file but everytime I open it I get the message "Microsoft Reader is no longer able to access the book". I have tried moving it to other directories with no luck. .

I really wanted to read "A Short History of Nearly Everything". I guess I will just have to wait a few service packs down the line until I can read the lit books from my Pocket PC. I will need to use the desktop reader until then.

I hope this isn't Microsoft's way of trying to force me to use the desktop version.

szamot

07-05-2003, 05:40 AM

I just looked up BRUTAL in the dictionary this week and guess what I found as the first definition. 1. BRU-TAL - Microsoft's attempt to promote its new and improved ebook reader that is nothing but a pain in the arse to the end user.

What a hassle! I think I will head over to mirc and get them without the BS from MS site.

beq

07-05-2003, 05:57 AM

Man you can't actually download the books w/o having MS Reader already installed/activated? I'm always reluctant to mess w/ Passports since I can never remember the account info (I used to use 2, real one and fake one when I don't want to give out my info, but then it got confusing)... Can never remember if my Passports are off my main email or my Hotmail address either...

Will each week's free selections be taken down at the end of the week or will be available all summer long?

Ed Hansberry

07-05-2003, 06:14 AM

The only way MS could make MS Reader more of a hassle would be if they required you to go online and validate the client before letting you open a book every time you wanted to read it.

If it is DRM5, I just pass. :roll: I am glad they finally got rid of the "This device has not been activated" reminder in 2003 though. :way to go:

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 06:18 AM

The whole thing is just way below average. C-

bleeman

07-05-2003, 06:26 AM

I didn't have Reader installed on my desktop (Had just rebuilt it) but did have it on my 3835 w/PPC2K2. I went to the site, downloaded the Full version for the desktop and then downloaded the 3 books. Activated my desktop and then all the books opened fine.

I then copied them to my 3835 and tried to open them and received the "Microsoft Reader is no longer able to access the book" error. It then dawned on me (DUH!) that I needed to update my iPAQ. So I went back to the site and said Update. I got the screen where it asked if they could examine my system. First time I said yes and got the message I was current, since my desktop was. So I tried again and said NO. That brought up the screen where it asked me what type of device I wanted to update. I selected PocketPC and it "did it's thing". I went back to my iPAQ and opened the new books with no problem. I then opened several of my old (pre-update) books and they all opened without a hitch as well. I then opened up the book I'd currently been reading which was at page 2285 and was shocked. Prior to the update it's been taking 1 or 2 minutes to get up to my "most recent page". Now it takes between 3 and 5 seconds!

So overall I'm pleased, although their online instructions could have been a lot clearer as to how to update both my desktop and PPC.

T-Will

07-05-2003, 06:52 AM

I'm sticking with Palm Reader...I can't stand MS's copy protection scheme. Palm Reader's copy protection is perfect.

Jonathan1

07-05-2003, 07:38 AM

Two words....
Peanut Press.

You can deduce what selection I picked from there.

peppzilla

07-05-2003, 07:48 AM

I like MS Reader because it's in ROM (not the update). I like the UI ("library," big buttons rather than menu selections like in Palm Reader). But I can't stand how it works. I think I'm done with it. From now on it's Palm Reader or uBook (I need to look more at that reader, it seems really good). Luckily, I don't have a lot of ebooks yet.

g0097

07-05-2003, 07:55 AM

I dont know...but the update is not working on my PC at all. I downloaded a copy of reader this morning and when I try to download one of the ebooks it tells me that my software is outdated and I have to get an updated copy. I downloaded it again and its still tellling me the same thing. Reader works just fine right now on my 2215 and I dont think im going to mess with it an install any updates. If it does not work on my PC I am definately not taking a chance with my Pocket PC where I do most of my ebook reading anyway...

szamot

07-05-2003, 07:58 AM

This freaking MS Reader thing will just not work on my 5450. I am so pissed! It might as well be used toilet paper as far as I am concerned - what a mess ahgrrrr :evil:

JoshB

07-05-2003, 08:00 AM

I prefer to use Palm Reader, but I use MS reader at times, as well.

I installed the update on my iPAQ 1910, where it was already installed in RAM.

For some reason, I had about 4MB more storage RAM free after the install (23MB used before, 19MB used after)..

Maybe I'm halucinating, but if I'm not, this update was worth it just for freeing up some space! :wink:

Jonathan1

07-05-2003, 08:03 AM

This freaking MS Reader thing will just not work on my 5450. I am so pissed! It might as well be used toilet paper as far as I am concerned - what a mess ahgrrrr :evil:

*hands szamot a fortune cookie* *It reads: Frustration with e-books will soon end with www.peanutpress.com * :wink:

Christian

07-05-2003, 08:26 AM

Since it seems that few other people are having my problem, I must be doing something wrong...

I downloaded, installed and activated the newest version of Reader on both by PC and 2210. The online activation check is fine. When I download any of the books, they download to "Temporary Folder" and upon completion just launch Reader without adding the new book to my library. Performing a file search confirms that no new .lit file (or any other file of that approximate size) is anywhere on my computer. Reinstalling, reactivating and rebooting have no effect on this problem.

Does anyone have any ideas? After having wasted considerable time as it is and being irritated at having to update by two week old 2210, this problem certainly isn't helping. :helpme:

Kangaroo

07-05-2003, 11:04 AM

I installed the update into my iPAQ file store, authorised it and it didn't work. I kept getting a message like Reader is unable to open this book. I uninstalled it and reinstalled it into main memory. I then re-authorised it again. It now works fine.

Nice to see MS making this as easy as possible for people :roll:

Ah well, on with the reading.

Kenny

KAMware

07-05-2003, 11:44 AM

I have installed it on both my Tablet PC and my Pocket PC with no problems. I had to re-acitvate it on the Pocket PC but not on the Tablet PC.

All books open fine on both machines.

:)

JimDantin

07-05-2003, 12:20 PM

:roll: I had a number of the problems that others mentioned. I fixed all the problems and was finally able to download an read. I have an Axim, and it had a previously-activated Reader version on it. Here are my problems and their fixes:

1. PocketPC's activation needed updating to newer version of the Reader. I activated the PocketPC at work, under my work Passport. Automatic updates at home wouldn't work properly -- activation remained under work Passport and wouldn't uninstall.
FIX: Uninstall and then either delete or rename the following files (thanks JoshB!):
secrep.dat
secrep.dll
secrep.xml
secrepid.dat
Then, you can do a clean install and activation.

2. Similar to #1, Previous activation was done under a different Passport than what I am currently using on my home machine. Downloaded books will not open on PocketPC. I couldn't get the PocketPC reactivated under the old Passport. It appears that you MUST have desktop and PocketPC activated the with the same Passport, or you won't be able to download and read the books. Fiendishly logical, I guess, but a pain until you figure it out. I tried logging in under both Passports, but wasn't able to get the PocketPC properly read the downloaded files until I completely reinstalled the PocketPC under the same activation as my desktop.
FIX: Get desktop and PocketPC activated under the same Passport, or you'll have no end of problems!

3. Attempts to download books are unsuccessful -- they automatically download to a "Temporary Folder" but are nowhere to be found on your PC (Christian's problem). This is a documented Internet Explorer problem. I have been fighting it on a different machine that couldn't seem to download ZIP files -- they downloaded, Winzip opened, but nothing was there.
FIX: Here's the Microsoft Knowledge Base article http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308090
I'm running Windows 2000, but have the same problem as documented with XP. The fix is the same for .lit files:
Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Folder Options.
Click the File Types tab.
Scroll down to and click the .lit extension.
Click Advanced.
Verify that Confirm open after download is selected.

Bottom line -- a royal PITA to get some free books. But, what the heck, we're PocketPC users, right? We've already sold our soul to Microsoft, so what's one more indignity?

juni

07-05-2003, 12:41 PM

So where are those free e-books?? I can't find them anywhere. :(

Video11

07-05-2003, 01:15 PM

http://www.microsoft.com/reader/default.asp and click on the "Download FREE eBooks" link.

Video11

07-05-2003, 01:29 PM

Well, I was able to update the MS Reader on my Jornada 565 and was able to download and read the free books. I did it all from my PPC sitting in the cradle connected to the PC. I had to reactivate the Reader, but that went fairly smooth.

But when I discovered that the new Reader took almost 2MB of RAM in my Main Memory, I removed the new Reader and deleted the free books. The original MS Reader is still in ROM and is working, but of course wouldn't read the free ebooks. 2MB is way too much for the limited amount of RAM I have.

I may try loading the new Reader on a storage card and see how that works.

bleeman

07-05-2003, 01:31 PM

Paragon

07-05-2003, 01:33 PM

Ah, yes! It's threads like this that remind me why I hate M S Reader

MS we know you are trying to help promote ebooks. I think you could be msst helpful if you......,...stay out of it,
people will be less frustrated. :)

Dave

07-05-2003, 01:51 PM

Ah, yes! It's threads like this that remind me why I hate M S Reader

MS we know you are trying to help promote ebooks. I think you could be mosst helpful if you......,...stay out of it,
people will be less frustrated.

Dave
Yes MS do seem to be able to make simple things complicated.

When you consider the problems that people here have had, seems to me that a casual computer user would have no chance at all to get this working.

Paragon

07-05-2003, 02:06 PM

Yeah, you're right dh. As well most probably have no idea there are easier, and better readers out there to use either.

Dave

miterb

07-05-2003, 02:09 PM

I may try loading the new Reader on a storage card and see how that works.[/quote]

Been there, done that! Don't bother to try. Load time is excessive and when you do try to read one of the new books, the program loops. However, it appears that loading it in memory works OK. I have a dual-slot Toshiba e740 so most of my applications are on the SD card and I can afford to give up. Now that I have it installed in memory it seems to work fine with the new book.

Checking the program size with Resco Explorer shows only 1MB in size for MSReader.exe.

Brad

MRNUTTY

07-05-2003, 02:19 PM

i installed the new reader, on my pocket pc phone edition, and an old ipaq 3100 (yeah, the monochrome one) both running 2002. no problems!
free ebooks read without a hitch.
edit: i was even able to download the ebooks directly from PIE, and
that worked too!

Video11

07-05-2003, 02:20 PM

...Been there, done that! Don't bother to try.
Thanks for the heads up Brad. I won't waste my time trying to install to CF Card.
<snip>... Checking the program size with Resco Explorer shows only 1MB in size for MSReader.exe.
I checked my available Program Memory before installing the new Reader and had about 9.45MB used, after installing Reader had about 11.2MB used. Numbers are approximate, my memory ain't what it used to be. :)

bleeman

07-05-2003, 02:47 PM

For the most part I like Microsoft Reader as it's worked well for me. I started with it for the obvious reason that it came with my PPC :) Based on comments here on the forums I recently downloaded Palmreader and I like it as well.

My biggest "whine" about eBooks in general is no one seems interested in making eBook versions of all the computer reference manuals I have. I thought sure that at a minimum Microsoft would have released their Microsoft Press line in Reader format. I'd love to be able to carry all the books on my shelf on my PPC so that when I go to a client with no connectivity or a slow dial-up link I could use my library instead of a slow link to the web.

I talked with the MSPress people on the floor at Tech-Ed about releasing eBooks and was told they are definitely interested in doing it and there may be some releases (or at least an announcement) by the end of the year. The only bad thing was they said if they did it, there was a good probability they'd be in PDF format :( since it's what they see the most of in the market and they obviously want to sell their books to the largest audience.

urologyhealth

07-05-2003, 03:01 PM

I uninstalled old reader and did full install and update and activated again.My old books work,but new FREE book is not accessible??
Anyone else have similar experience?
I also have two HELP books

bremeski

07-05-2003, 03:17 PM

I really wanted to read "A Short History of Nearly Everything". I guess I will just have to wait a few service packs down the line until I can read the lit books from my Pocket PC.

I would not have let M$ stop me from reading one of the finest books to come out in a long time. Just get Palm Reader and go your own way--don't let M$ ruin your day. 8O

bobmay

07-05-2003, 03:27 PM

JimDantin thank you very much for the fix. Once I check marked verify open I was able to save the folder where I wanted to. The files work fine.
I did get the "can't be used with text to speech" message.

Jerry Raia

07-05-2003, 04:56 PM

No one should have to jump through all these hoops to get a silly reader to work. I'll go with the palm reader.

ddavtian

07-05-2003, 06:33 PM

I had to install Reader on my laptop (never read books on that, only on ipaq), activate it, then reinstall it on ipaq, activate again. Downloading books was easy, all three went to library folder.

Now I cannot read few old .lit files, they open fine, there is a table of contents, but no text.

I do want to read "A Short History ..." but after that I'm removing this new reader from my ipaq. I just hate to have it in RAM, taking a Mb space.

Back to Palm reader and ubook.

urologyhealth

07-05-2003, 07:00 PM

I previously wrote that I did all the updating and activation again and downloaded a "free" book that couldn't be accessed.

I uninstallec all I did as I had installed to an SD CARD. After uninstalling, MS Reader is still there-obviously in ROM and all my ebooks--which I download to SD card. The new book of course couldn't be read.

I then did FULL Install AND Update to Main Memory (not SD) and now all books including Free book are readable from SD card.

Hope this saga helps someone.

JoshB

07-05-2003, 07:05 PM

In the small print on the download page for Reader for the Pocket PC, there's a note stating that the "update" download is ONLY for Windows Mobile 2003 devices. All other devices, including PPC 2002, need a complete reinstall of the full Reader app.

Could this be the source of some of the problems people are seeing - installing the "update" version on a non-2003 device?

urologyhealth

07-05-2003, 07:08 PM

disconnected

07-05-2003, 07:09 PM

I voted for the relatively little hassle option, but I also did have to activate again.

Actually, the main reason that it went fairly smoothly is that I had read all the posts here before beginning. I think free ebooks is a great idea, but how would anyone buying a new PPC or even PC even find out about this? Is it advertised anywhere? Even if someone who has just bought a PPC did happen to hear about it, I think the procedure would be pretty confusing if they hadn't visited one of the forums to read about it. I know if I got a message asking if I wanted to overwrite Rom (and I hadn't read anything about it here), there's no way I would have continued.

Ebooks are important enough to me to put up with almost anything, but this can't be the way to market to more people.

JoshB

07-05-2003, 07:11 PM

I believe you are correct. I just had to do FULL Install and answer yes to replacing exisiting files and THEN do Update and Activation in main memory (not SD card) to get everything to work. I have PPCPE2002 unit.
When you say you had to do "Update and Activation" after installing the full version, did you install the "update" version after re-installing the full version?

You only need to install one - the update if you have a 2003 device, or the full version if you have a PPC 2002 or 2000 device.

urologyhealth

07-05-2003, 07:15 PM

I have PPC2002--so following their directions--I did full installation AND THEN the update and activation. Doing the update alone didn't allow me to read the new books they made available??

Crystal Eitle

07-05-2003, 07:36 PM

I think free ebooks is a great idea, but how would anyone buying a new PPC or even PC even find out about this? Is it advertised anywhere?
Microsoft doesn't really seem to be publicising it. I did a search for microsoft free ebooks on Google News and the only thing I came up with was Microsoft's own press release. I didn't see any other articles about it. I don't understand why they're not doing a better job of publicising this. Perhaps the only reason for this promo is to sweeten the bitter pill of tighter DRM.

urologyhealth

07-05-2003, 07:44 PM

TRY:

http://www.microsoft.com/reader/promotions/free_shop.asp

Christian

07-05-2003, 08:04 PM

Christian,

I'm not sure if this will help or not, but here's what I did.

I downloaded all three books one at a time (got the same copying to a Temporary Folder message) let them open up in Reader (on my PC) and then said NO to the message that I couldn't use the Text-To-Speech function on protected books (This may be a result of other software on my system so you may not have seen this message). I then exited Reader and looked in the "My Library" folder within the "My Documents" folder on my system (I'm running Windows XP) and there was the corresponding .lit file. I then downloaded the other two books the same way exiting Reader each time. I then copied all 3 .lit files from my PC to my iPAQ (3835) via the Explorer window within ActiveSync. Once there, I opened each one on my PPC just to confirm all went well (Which it did).

Prior to the first download I installed the full version Reader on my desktop (I recently rebuilt my system and hadn't re-installed Reader yet), activated it and then did the Reader update on my PPC.

This problem is rapidly just turning into a challenge. :evil: To clarify, I also downloaded them all one at a time. In each case, Reader opened on my PC and showed my library without the new book. I never saw the Text-to-Speech message. I'm also running Windows XP, but the new books are not in the My Library folder where they are supposed to be - or anywhere else on my computer for that matter. :?:

My PPC does not really factor into the problem at all, it only angers me since I installed the Reader update there as well. But at this point I'm just trying to get these files at all. Because of the DRM, I can't even have a friend download them for me.

Could it possibly be a network problem? I am currently on a hotel network and certain other services (such as AIM file transfer, some games, etc) don't work properly. Any other ideas?

qmrq

07-05-2003, 11:19 PM

We've already sold our soul to Microsoft, so what's one more indignity?

There are alternatives (http://familiar.handhelds.org/).

fireflyrsmr

07-05-2003, 11:56 PM

:evil: wow is this aggravating. - i haven't even tried to download and "free" books. if was to charge microsoft for the time i've spent on this this upgrade thing would cost them hundreds of dollars - as in i've screwed up my entire saturday with this.

i have a ipaq 3670 upgraded to os 2002.

from jimdantin

I had a number of the problems that others mentioned. I fixed all the problems and was finally able to download an read. I have an Axim, and it had a previously-activated Reader version on it. Here are my problems and their fixes:

1. PocketPC's activation needed updating to newer version of the Reader. I activated the PocketPC at work, under my work Passport. Automatic updates at home wouldn't work properly -- activation remained under work Passport and wouldn't uninstall.
FIX: Uninstall and then either delete or rename the following files (thanks JoshB!):
secrep.dat
secrep.dll
secrep.xml
secrepid.dat
Then, you can do a clean install and activation.

ok did that.
loaded reader into default location because putting it on the cf card got me a message that the program didn't load right and was missing files.
all books show up in library and i can even open some of them. maybe i should be happy with that :cry: they are the ms pocket dictionary and the republic of plato. none of Mattern's books from esspc work. they open but all i see is a page number.

now i've activated the reader. my email address has changed since the last time so i had to get a new passport id or whatever they call it. it worked for the desktop but it does not work for the ipaq. the two books i've bought will not open with a message that says i don't have the rights.

now i'm stuck. :cry:

Crystal Eitle

07-06-2003, 12:32 AM

chengster

07-06-2003, 01:00 AM

can anyone tell me where the free ebooks are? I have had no sucess locating anything on the reader home page - there is the promo press release but no apparent links!

Thanks!

07-06-2003, 01:09 AM

Here it is... (http://www.microsoft.com/reader/promotions/free_shop.asp)

Ja

chengster

07-06-2003, 01:22 AM

Sorry?

The links from the reader news section leads back to the home page but there's nothing there!

Steven Cedrone

07-06-2003, 02:13 AM

Click on any of the book titles and it should either take you through an upgrade process, or start to download the books...

Steve

fireflyrsmr

07-06-2003, 03:14 AM

one bottle of wine latter i'm even more ready to ... call bill gates up and tell him he is a wanker. yeah wanker! there is no justice in cutting off mattern's books. now it's time to sleep this aggravation off. :evil:

Paul Martin

07-06-2003, 03:19 AM

Now I cannot read few old .lit files, they open fine, there is a table of contents, but no text.
I can't read any of Ken Mattern's (http://esspc-ebooks.com/default.htm) eBooks!

Same here. There is the cover image and the table of contents, which seems to jump ahead when I tap on the link, but all I have are blank pages. Now, I'm going to test out my other "old" freebie books, but I can't remember where I got them all. So far, they seem to be working.

ctmagnus

07-06-2003, 03:23 AM

I haven't tried any of the three ebooks mentioned simply because I don't want to load reader on the desktop, but I did try upgrading reader on my 3670. It appeared to work except that the one book that worked fine with the previous version got the new version stuck in the little circle thing.

Steven Cedrone

07-06-2003, 03:33 AM

Now I cannot read few old .lit files, they open fine, there is a table of contents, but no text.
I can't read any of Ken Mattern's (http://esspc-ebooks.com/default.htm) eBooks! This is seriously pissing me off! They open, the cover image displays, but then the text doesn't display. Just page after page of white space with a page number at the bottom.

(Incidentally, they still display just fine on my desktop PC.)

This is not good. Ken's free eBooks are among the best on the Web, carefully chosen and formatted. I'm extremely upset that I can't read them now.

Ken! Help!

[EDIT: I want to be clear that I am pissed at Microsoft. I am in no way pissed at Ken Mattern, who has graciously put up a fine selection of free eBooks at his site.]

This may be a stupid question: If you tap anywhere in the white space where the story should be, does it bring up a menu like it normally would (say, if you were looking up a word, for instance). I'm thinking that for some reason it's doing white colored text on a white background (I've seen stranger things happen with new versions of software)...

Just curious...

Steve

Paul Martin

07-06-2003, 03:37 AM

Steve,

When I do as you suggest, the menu displays (add bookmark, add highlight, etc.) at the top left of the page and it selects a column, as if there were several columns on the page, and a thin column of selected blue is showing towards the left side of the screen. Actually, it appears there are 4 columns on the page the farthest left being tiny...they're not all equal in size. Wierd. 0X

Jeff Rutledge

07-06-2003, 03:56 AM

OK, this is stupid. After reading this thread, I didn't want to risk my PPC so I installed the Desktop version. I click the free book, it downloads and then launches Reader. Unfortunately, there's nothing in the Library except the Help file.

Oh well, it worked out for Bill Bryson. I said "screw it" (or something close to that :lol:) and ordered his book from Amazon.

:grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble:

Christian

07-06-2003, 05:16 AM

After trying nearly everything else, I've found a solution to the "can't find the .lit files on PC" problem I and some others were having. It turns out that the files were being opened instead of saved, hence downloading to a temporary folder. For some reason, Reader was then not opening the books correctly. The result was that the files were missing entirely.

The solution (or one solution anyway) is to delete the .lit file extension information so that Windows doesn't recognize the file type. Under XP, this is under tools->folder options->file types in explorer. When you try to download a .lit such as these, it then asks whether you would like to open or save the file. In this way, you can save the file anywhere you like and subsequently open it in Reader. Of course the file extension information can then be restored if you like.

It may be a stupid workaround, but at least it does work. :twisted:

beq

07-06-2003, 06:13 AM

Again I ask, how long will the free selections be made available, just one week or all summer? I haven't had time to activate my Readers and afraid to now...

jdhill

07-06-2003, 06:26 AM

Again I ask, how long will the free selections be made available, just one week or all summer? I haven't had time to activate my Readers and afraid to now...
The books will be available for only one week. The selections will change each week. You must have at least activated your desktop Reader to download them.

beq

07-06-2003, 09:44 AM

^ Thanks for the heads up!

Ken Mattern

07-06-2003, 04:20 PM

Guys,

I've been out of pocket for the past couple of days and just this morning I have heard about the problem with the new version of Microsoft Reader and my eBooks.

At the moment I do not have an answer but you can be assured that I will be looking into it. In fact I will be directly in touch with the head of the reader development team at Microsoft as he has worked with me in the past to help me commercialize Electric Quill.

I will also be in touch with OverDrive because surely they too are aware of the problem. After all it is their tool I use to make the final .LIT file.

It almost sounds like the reader is putting white text on a white background. The interesting thing, though, is that you should see the colored text for chapter titles and the drop cap at the beginning of each chapter.

This kind of pisses me off and it should really embarrass Microsoft as they have just published a CD with forty of my eBooks on it for k-12. It is part of a marketing scheme for Pocket PCs. It would really blow up in their faces if they give new Pocket PCs to the teachers and my eBooks.

I'll post a link on my site to keep you updated with what I discover.

Please feel free to drop me a line at [email protected] with your comments and if you discover anything that might help.

Thanks

Ken Mattern
esspc-ebooks.com

Nadine

07-06-2003, 09:17 PM

Try this it worked for me sometime ago. With Windows XP in the internet explorer go to Tools under Options a window will pop up. Half way down the page under Tempory Internet file click on Delete Files. Now retry your download all I can say is it worked for me. I have MS Picture It 2002 and it won't work if there are to many of these temp file. I got this from MS support. They make this stuff altogether too connected. I had the problem of not being able to get free ebook for a long time before I tried this.

willchap

07-06-2003, 09:42 PM

I too was having problems with the new reader. I went through the update/new install on my desktop as well as my ppc but continually received a download error message at the Microsoft Reader site. I called MS support and was able to talk to 2 techs and verify I did in fact have the latest versions installed and activated on both desktop and ppc. I was told by the MS tech and he too was receiving a "download error" message when he tried downloading the free books and I had him go to a different computer there to see if it worked, and it did not. He told me it must be a problem with the MS Reader site and he would let everyone there know about it and that hopefully it would be fixed by Monday. In the meantime I cradled my ppc (jornada 567) and opened PIE and went to the same Reader page to get the free books and I successfully downloaded the books and they installed and opened on my ppc without any problem. So if you can, you might try accessing the site directly downloading to your ppc.

ahintz

07-07-2003, 06:42 AM

Well, I downloaded the new version for my PPC 2002 Axim and installed it into my "Built-in Storage" (user-accessible ROM). I then had to manually recreate my shortcuts and re-activate, but it seems to be working fine. The free ebooks opened fine, and the Baen books I tested also opened OK.

However, a couple of issues with this new version:
1. No way to turn off visual guides!
2. Things seems to stay "highlighted" i.e. my first ebook is grey when I go to my library as if it was selected.
3. The check marks in Page 2 of the settings screen don't seem to quite work right.

Basically, it feels like I have beta software. But as long as I can open books I'll be happy. And since the primary thing I use MS Reader for is Baen eBooks, and almost everything else is Palm Reader, I'll be OK.

--Andrew

ahintz

07-07-2003, 06:43 AM

Off-topic: love the little description under my user id (at least when I had ony 1 post)! :D

--Andrew

beq

07-07-2003, 07:46 AM

Dunno if this happened to anyone else, I'm embarrassed to admit I was befuddled trying to find my old ebook files :)

I forget how it came to be, but somehow I had my existing ebooks in "My Documents\My eBooks" folder instead of "My Documents\My Library". Then after I installed Reader on this PC it couldn't find any of the ebooks (unless I specifically clicked to open each one from Windows Explorer). Took me awhile but I finally noticed the "My Library" folder, then everything fell into place :mrgreen: 'twas simple then to move the content of "My eBooks" to "My Library"...

P.S. Do others here find that the downloaded free ebooks that are placed in "My Library" have a "...[1].lit" added to the filename?

beq

07-07-2003, 07:53 AM

JimDantin

07-07-2003, 01:18 PM

To everyone who is having problems "finding" the .lit file after downloading -- read this Microsoft tech note:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308090
It discusses problems downloading ZIP files, but the same problem exists with the LIT files. Easy fix. Worked for me.

Mythos

07-07-2003, 04:18 PM

I had the "Microsoft Reader is no longer able to access the book" when I tried to read the free books. Then I discovered that the shortcut in programs pointed to the old reader in PPC2002 ROM, and not the one I just installed.
The new version was installed in Built-in storage, and if I started that file directly it worked. I than updated the shortcut, and all is OK.
When starting Reader you can see if you start the right program by checking the year in the copyright message on the splash screen. It should be 2003.
Hope this help others with the same problem that I had.

Birdman

07-07-2003, 07:08 PM

So does this mean that if I use the Reader which is installed in ROM of my XDA, I cannot access these free books (and just to be clear, that is exactly what is happening) whereas if I download the "new" version or Reader and waste valuable resource space by having it in RAM (or installing to my SD card), I will then be able to access these new free books?

If so, there is clearly a "cost" associated with it.

Kevin C. Tofel

07-07-2003, 08:47 PM

Crystal Eitle

07-07-2003, 09:05 PM

Kevin,

MS will only let you download the eBooks to a device that has Reader installed and activated. In other words, if you want to download to them to your desktop computer, you have to have Reader installed on your desktop.

If you can surf to the site on PIE with your Axim cradled, you may be able to download them directly to your Pocket PC. I think someone had success in doing this.

Kevin C. Tofel

07-07-2003, 09:18 PM

Thanks for the info....I was afraid that's what the answer was. It's a little disappointing.....I certainly support any initiatives that provide the authors & publishers with their revenue and protection of content, but the new Reader has just made it more inconvenient to get that content. :evil:

I used to be able to download the .lit file and copy it to my activated device but now I can't. I had some problems with my passthrough in AS some time ago and just let it go....looks like I'll need to investigate that approach again.

Thanks!

KCT

Birdman

07-08-2003, 02:28 PM

ignoring the Reader program in ROM, I downloaded the "new" Reader onto my SD card, activated the program and now it works. (I had to do it from my home computer as I was unable to Activate from work. Perhaps, firewall or lack of administrator priv. had something to do with it.)

The downsides are that I now need to use precious space for Reader when it was previously in ROM and I find that loading Reader from a memory card slows down overall performance of opening Reader titles.

Don't Panic!

07-08-2003, 04:43 PM

Dumb question of the day:

Is it required to download the free books directly from your PPC? I upgraded and reactivated Reader on my Axim with no issue, but when I try to download the books on my desktop, it states:

You'll need to install and activate the current version of Microsoft Reader before you can download these Owner-Exclusive titles.

My guess is that it's looking for reader on my desktop (which I don't have installed)......I just want to read the books on my PPC.

:?:

Thanks!
KCTDon't know if this applies but I have a new 2215 and I cannot directly download the titles to my PPC through the cradle or over bluetooth. Not only that after installing MS Reader on my PC activating it, downloading the titles and transfering them from My Documents/My Library to the PPC I get the Microsoft Reader is no longer able to access this book error message. Only Microsoft could... :roll:

Don't Panic!
Bobby

sjo

07-08-2003, 05:04 PM

One ebook that I just finished reading using the old version will not open with the new version. But another ebook that I had read with the old version does open with the new.

The new ebook I am reading with the new version ( I had to upgrade MSReader to be able to read it) - performance is much slower than I had experienced before when going to a bookmark.

Don't Panic!

07-08-2003, 05:10 PM

Even PocketPC2003 users have to update the brand new reader. I have to calm down.... If HP had distributed this an EUU I would have been happy.

Don't Panic!
Bobby

Ken Mattern

07-08-2003, 07:44 PM

Here's an update.

The Microsoft Reader development team is working on the issue of not being able to read my eBooks. They expect to roll out a new version of Microsoft Reader by the end of the week. I've been cautiously impressed with them and their response to me. It is fast, polite and reassuring.

Let's see what happens.

Ken
http://esspc-ebooks.com

fireflyrsmr

07-09-2003, 01:02 AM

:? Ken, did they know about the problem before you told them about it or did it sneak up on them? I don't have a clue about the guts of ebooks. is it too simplistic to think that all the *.lit files have the same code in them? It would seem that this kind of file would not have all the twists and turns of something like .... an OS for instance.

beq

07-09-2003, 01:24 AM

So another update to install then?

And say, isn't this a new week, where are the new free selections? :) I'm hoping for some good, juicy sci-fi instead of books about candy etc (which I've yet to read).

P.S. BTW copying the secrep*.* files as has been suggested apparently doesn't actually work for reading secure ebooks on other devices? I copied from an activated PPC to 2 other PPCs, and when I load the app it does say "activated for blah blah", but when I actually try to open a secure .lit it displays blocking message. I guess it wouldn't make sense if it did work...?

davidspalding

07-09-2003, 07:30 PM

Can't fill out the survey, my rsponse would be:

Yes, but I had to remove DRM5 from the .LIT file to read on my PPC.

Crystal Eitle

07-09-2003, 07:37 PM

I'm hoping for some good, juicy sci-fi instead of books about candy etc (which I've yet to read).

The Net is awash in free sci-fi. Have you checked out the Baen Free Library (http://www.baen.com/library/)? Also, Fictionwise (www.fictionwise.com) has numerous cheap and free sci-fi titles.

And say, isn't this a new week, where are the new free selections?

Since the first 3 free Microsoft eBooks came out Thursday the 4th, I'm guessing a new batch will be out tomorrow.

EDIT: I just remembered the 4th was a Friday. Whoops.

Theo

07-09-2003, 10:31 PM

I have an even more basic problem than you all. I can't even get the new version of the desktop s/ware to activate.

Everytime I try it logs me in and then returns to the "Sign in to Passport" screen. Reading the FAQ says delete some cookies and restart IE... but still doesn't work.

Anyone solved this one?

Cheers

Theo

beq

07-10-2003, 01:35 AM

The Net is awash in free sci-fi. Have you checked out the Baen Free Library (http://www.baen.com/library/)? Also, Fictionwise (www.fictionwise.com) has numerous cheap and free sci-fi titles.
I believe I'd read all Baen's freebies (unless they'd added new recently).. was also subbed for awhile but then lost touch. And I don't want to say how much I've bought/dl'ed from Fictionwise (I'm trying to resist each week's newsletter w/ new selections and promotions but usually can't resist) :) For some reason this genre's the best at holding my attention captive...

davidspalding

07-10-2003, 01:54 AM

topseeded

07-10-2003, 05:23 AM

Nothing but free ebooks on this site ====> http://esspc-ebooks.com

Also, this site has thousands of documents that are mostly free ====>
http://www.memoware.com/ Documents come in many different formats and some require specific databases, such as tomeraider. If you buy the tomeraider database, all the documents are free. I especially like the 'Internet Movie Database'. A slimmed down version of the one on the internet.

HP/Compaq is testing the h2215 in using the MS Reader. I talked to them today about the problem I'm having with the messed up formatting. They actually didn't have one onsite to test with so they had to get one. When I called back to let them know the ones in the store had the same problem, and this forum was reporting numerous complaints, they told me they were in the process of testing one at that moment. Hopefully they will excert some pressure it getting it fixed. This problem could really hurt sales.

davidspalding

07-11-2003, 04:55 AM

P.S. Do others here find that the downloaded free ebooks that are placed in "My Library" have a "...[1].lit" added to the filename?

Yes. I think it's an idiosyncracy of IE. You can take the [1] off after you download.

BTW, \my ebooks\ is a folder that Mobipocket's reader uses.

Don't Panic!

07-11-2003, 03:27 PM

Nothing but free ebooks on this site ====> http://esspc-ebooks.com
Ken's books don't work anymore. With either the native PPC2003 reader or the updated PPC2003 reader on my 2215.

Don't Panic!
Bobby

davidspalding

07-11-2003, 05:04 PM

Although Ken's been talking to MS, I suspect his issue is with the publishing tool he's using, specifically the developers of that tool.

I haven't read anything from people using Mobipocket's Publisher.... And, since I don't have a registered copy (to make secure .LIT files) or a PPC2003 unit to test with, I can only wonder if Microsoft has left some of the software developers in the lurch.

nborder

07-16-2003, 04:12 AM

I waited until today to reinstall the reader and it is still not working. So what happened to "within" a week said Microsoft to Ken?

tddisc

07-16-2003, 04:37 PM

Trying to activate MS Reader on my h5555 is irritating. I've finally got it activated but's such a hassle. I might read one of the free ebooks, but all the books that I buy (and have bought) will be for PalmReader.

TD

nborder

07-18-2003, 08:50 PM

I've been checking back everyday since the ebook with blank pages on the new Reader came out. Is there a fix yet? Has anyone heard anything?

neev

07-22-2003, 02:01 PM

Just wanted to say thanks for all the informative posts - finally got Reader working on Pocket PC2003 (Dell Axim x5) after installing the upgrade and reactivating. Its buggy but at least I can read the free books :D

Jimmy Dodd

07-22-2003, 02:34 PM

Crystal Eitle

07-22-2003, 04:35 PM

Do the free ebooks have a time limit before they are no longer readable? If so what is it? I ask because as of last night MS Reader refuses to open "A Short History..." It complains that the security ha been updated and must be reactivated.
:?
I just tried to open "A Short History" and I was able to open it. AFAIK, the books have no built-in expiration. I distinctly remember the press release for this promotion mentioning something about readers being able to "build a library," so it doesn't make sense that there would be a built-in expiration. (Not to mention the fact that I don't know anyone who has enough free time these days to read three books a week! I used to read 2-5 books a week, but that was before I had a full-time job!)

Have you made any changes to Reader or activated any other device? Perhaps you've bumped up against your activation limit. I would try re-installing or re-activating Reader and see if that works. If not, then contact Microsoft.

Jimmy Dodd

07-22-2003, 05:23 PM

davidspalding

07-23-2003, 02:51 AM

Do the free ebooks have a time limit before they are no longer readable? If so what is it? I ask because as of last night MS Reader refuses to open "A Short History..." It complains that the security ha been updated and must be reactivated.
:?

I wsn't aware that any secure .LIT books could incorporate a "time out." that would be b-a-d.

A lot of people on several sites are making a common mistake in running the "old Reader" in ROM, and getting the "cannot access" error, rather than running the new Reader (2.2.2, I think) in RAM. Apparently some of the PPC Reader updates do not remove or edit shortcuts on teh Start Menu to the new version.

Using Total Commander CE or Resco File Explorer or Pocket Explorer or any others, double-check the shortcut you're using. ;)

PromoGuy

08-28-2003, 10:00 PM

The Reader wasn't opening any of the free ebooks for me on my Axim.

Yet the MS web page said I had the most current version. Feh.

I knew the reader has some new DRM built-in (thus the free ebooks to bait me into updating). I thought maybe my Reader wasn't current after all.

So I found the full download on the MS Reader site, ran it, and installed it right over the old one. Said "yes" to all the prompts to overwrite existing files.

It told me to re-set but I ignored it, since the fonts it needed were already on my system.

Re-opened "A Civil Action" and Zaloom! It worked!

Maybe that will help someone.