Log in

View Full Version : No escape from MS Reader woes!


dh
07-23-2004, 08:36 PM
Since I use a Linux device as my mobile computer, one would think I was free of the problems of MS, their Reader app and their nasty DRM. No such luck.

For the Zaurus there are a couple of great eBook readers, but neither can read secure books. I get over this little problem by buying MS Reader .lit books and converting them to unsecure Mobipocket format - works great.

So today I scoot over to Fictionwise and buy the .lit version of Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. All is well until I go to download it when it seems I don't have an activated version of Reader on my PC. I remember seeing that there was a Reader update so I go to the site and download the new file.

After I install it, I go to the activate link only to be told I can't activate because I'm not using MS Internet Explorer. Bugger, I much prefer FireFox, but I know IE is still around here somewhere.

OK, installed, activated, now I can go and get my book. (I could have read half of it by now). By this time I'm back in FireFox and I still get the message that I don't have Reader activated. Hmmm..... back to IE and try to download. Seems OK, but instead of asking me where I want the file to go it just downloads and then opens Reader.

Right, Start/Search look for Quicksilver - ah, there it is. Quick cut and paste and it's in the proper place.

Now for a quick conversion, into Command Prompt and off to ConvertLit. Usual commands, dammit it doesn't work!

Hmmm, I know I have the newest version of ConvertLit, what's going on? Aha, what's this little ReaderKeyRecoveryTool in aid of? Click on this, mess about a bit and it finally works.

Open Mobipocket Publisher, build the book, great finally finished. Send the file to the Zaurus and it's ready to read.

What a pain, I just hope the book is as good as Cryptonomicon. I also wonder if this entire problem was caused by the fact that MS Reader messes up book downloads if they are done in FireFox?

Jorgen
07-24-2004, 08:08 AM
I also wonder if this entire problem was caused by the fact that MS Reader messes up book downloads if they are done in FireFox?

I don't know the answer to that but I seem to remember that Netscape messed them up, probably by converting LF to CR/LF. This is years ago so I may be wrong. But you could for the fun of it (and for our education) try to run it through a filter that converts the CR/LF's to LF's.

Jorgen