10-10-2005, 11:00 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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WM5 Pocket PCs Cannot Read DRMed MS Reader eBooks
A reader submitted the following disturbing "news" tidbit to us:
Quote: I think it's important that you make your readers aware that all secure MS-Reader ebooks are impossible to read on WM5 Phone Edition devices, due to a DRM issue. This was confirmed by me and several of my friends who purchased WM5 PPC phones...
I made a couple of inquiries, and yes, this is apparently an issue (non-phone WM5 devices as well, apparently, according to comments in the thread). Simple moral of the story? I would not buy MS Reader ebooks in the immediate future. If you've got DRMed ebooks, well, I can't offer any legal recourse at this time.
:soapbox: Complex moral? Ed's ranted about this before, and I will too. It seems like Microsoft Reader is an afterthought at this point. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised. Reader isn't the responsibility of the Mobile Devices team -- it's a completely separate group within Microsoft -- and with the lukewarm reception of ebooks (due to publisher reticence, DRM complications, and a number of other factors), I wouldn't be surprised if it just stops being maintained completely some day. I had high hopes for Reader -- of all the ebook tools out there I liked its typography the best -- but as soon as I saw Reader not present in 2003SE's ROM I stopped using it, and now primarily use MobiPocket (the fact that MobiPocket has a Smartphone reader also helped my decision), and buy from Fictionwise, which offers ebooks in multiple formats. Ed is a big fan of eReader, and I can see why: very simple DRM that's not tied to the device or to an online login system. I've used eReader too, and if you don't need a Smartphone reader app, it's a great choice. All of these companies live and die by their ebook sales, so you know they're going to try their best to make ebooks work. In comparison, I would not buy .LIT files at this point even if I were reimbursed 100% of their cost -- the hassle is simply not worth it.
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10-10-2005, 11:37 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 367
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It's not just Phone Edition devices. Before I removed the WM 5 upgrade from my hx2415, I had loaded MS Reader and tried to activate it (although I don' t actually have any DRM'd books). MS Activation told me I had too low a version of WM on my device and refused to activate!
Incredible that MS hasn't even made their own program WM 5 compatible.
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XBox 360 S, 16GB iPhone 4S, iPod Classic 160 GB, Dell Inspiron Mini 1018; Macs: Mac Mini 2.4 GHz 6 GB RAM; Macbook 2.0 GHz 3 GB RAM; MacBook Air 11", 24" Cinema Display
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10-10-2005, 11:49 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Any DRM that ties content to a device rather than a user, to quote Macbeth, "doth sucketh mightily. Forsooth, why, then, doeth thou needest to bindeth thine content with mine device, 'nere to easily transfer betwixt and between all mine electronics? A pox on thy DRM servers, thy cabling connecting thine servers, and all electrical outlets thine servers hadst mated with. May thy day be large with angst, and mine large with mirth as I seeketh content allied with mine ideas, for thou didst kill the MS Reader market and doest have 'ner a soul to blame but thineself."
Act IV, Scene 4. (The so called "lost scene.")
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10-10-2005, 11:53 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 779
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I wish more people read ebooks, so there would be a whole lot of bad publicity about this.
There's another poll going on about how much we've spent for PPC software. I've spent a lot on software, but I've spent way more on ebooks, and that sometimes bothers me; I expect software to become obsolete at some point, but ebooks shouldn't. The concept of ebooks is great -- no physical space required to store the books or carry them around -- but the DRM is worrisome. I'm not totally opposed to some sort of DRM (ereader's, in particular, is not too cumbersome), and I don't think all books want to be free (although I think pricing could be more realistic), but the thought of losing all of my ebooks at some point infuriates me. I wish Congress would spend as much time worrying about consumer rights as they do about producer rights. Microsoft reader, Mobipocket, and/or Ereader could all stop providing software at any time, and shortly thereafter my whole library would be inaccessable. There ought to be some way of guaranteeing future access to my legally purchased ebooks, without my resorting to illegal software.
In the long run, I guess music consumers (a much larger group) will be the ones to force some change of laws.
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10-11-2005, 12:09 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by crimsonsky
It's not just Phone Edition devices. Before I removed the WM 5 upgrade from my hx2415, I had loaded MS Reader and tried to activate it (although I don' t actually have any DRM'd books). MS Activation told me I had too low a version of WM on my device and refused to activate!
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Thanks.  I'll edit my post.
--janak
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10-11-2005, 12:15 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Disconnected
I wish more people read ebooks, so there would be a whole lot of bad publicity about this.
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All good points, Disconnected. Alas, we're all in the minority. I bet you most average Pocket PC owners don't even realize that they can read ebooks on their device.
--janak
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10-11-2005, 12:18 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 307
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by crimsonsky
Incredible that MS hasn't even made their own program WM 5 compatible.
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That really is ridiculous. "Left hand, meet right hand." :roll:
P.S. Ed, that was hysterical! Outstanding!
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10-11-2005, 12:19 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by BugDude10
That really is ridiculous. "Left hand, meet right hand." :roll:
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Not quite. Microsoft has something like 10 or 15 hands. "Hand #3, meet hand #8." 
Quote:
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P.S. Ed, that was hysterical! Outstanding!
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Agreed. 
--janak
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10-11-2005, 12:34 AM
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Magi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,124
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All hail eReader 
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10-11-2005, 01:04 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 367
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by PetiteFlower
All hail eReader |
Agreed - all the paid for e-books I have are in eReader format. It's the least odious out there and I can read the same e-books on both my Pocket PCs and my Palm T5.
BUT - the point has been often raised - what happens if eReader goes out of business or changes their DRM scheme? I say a pox on all DRM.
Don
__________________
XBox 360 S, 16GB iPhone 4S, iPod Classic 160 GB, Dell Inspiron Mini 1018; Macs: Mac Mini 2.4 GHz 6 GB RAM; Macbook 2.0 GHz 3 GB RAM; MacBook Air 11", 24" Cinema Display
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Linear Mode
