eBooks - tell me about it...

[denbigh]

I have been living in a far-off corner of the galaxy for too long... what are eBooks, where and how do you get them? :?:

[tanalasta]

eBooks are simply books (e.g. novels, reference texts and so forth) which can be downloaded and viewed on a computer/ppc instead of the traditional hard copy. There are various versions depending on what type of "ebook reader" you have. www.fictionwise.com is a good place to start browsing... Microsoft reader comes free with most pda's (or you can download it) and they also have some free ebooks for you to download as well.

However, there are many disadvantages to ebooks that you ought to be aware about. Firstly, due to copyright protection it's very hard to share/lend (sometimes downright impossible) these books. Also you have to put up with the limitations of reading them on a screen of some sort.

[Intrinsic]

I just ordered my first e-book last week. It was a book in Microsoft's Reader format (.lit) and I ordered it from Amazon. This was a horrible experience and I will never order another ebook unless the state of the industry changes dramatically.

In trying to keep it short:
1) Amazon, although very quick to pull the funds out of my account, took 12+ hours to make the download available to me.
2) The Microsoft Reader software must be activated (think super-registration) with Microsoft before you can use the book you paid for.
3) The Activation server was down for 3 days, and neither Microsoft or Amazon would offer any help or solutions in granting me the ability to actually use the item I had paid for.
4) In the end, I had a meeting on Wed night for which I ordered an ebook on Sun night, thinking a 3-day lead time would surely grant me the couple hours worth of reading I needed to prepare. To get ready for the meeting, I had to borrow a friends paper book and do a quick thumb-through Wed afternoon.

Because the tech powers that be were SO worried about piracy, they went overboard on protections and dis-allowed an honest customer to simply use the product he had paid for.

Moral of the story: If you want to use ebooks for the advantages they offer, your best bet is to steal and pirate the digital content that either doesn't have copy protection or has had the protections removed. These are MUCH more relaible than anything you can go pay for.

(Gee, maybe that WASN'T so short!)

[pjtrader]

Many PPCT readers use Palm Digital Media books...and before you ignore this post because of the "Palm" word...read on.

Palm Digital Media http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/S=1aa996fe73ede5f0181c05473530e576P7kqasCoACYAAAtR6Mk9398158/home.cgi was originally known as Peanut Press and created ebook content for PPCs. Palm bought them out (what, about 2 years ago) but improved the free reader, offers a free desktop/laptop version and continues to produce some of the most varied and current content available today. They continue to maintain and provide the PPC based e-book reader, despite who owns it. LOL Content works on both regardless of platform.

Purchase is simple: log onto the site, create an account, pick out your books and pay for them. Content is immediately available for download from their site AND your books are retained in your personal "library" in case you need to download them again. (I've had an account with them for 4 years and can still access books I bought way back when.)

After you upload the book to the PPC, you'll "unlock" the content by using the name and credit card you purchased it with. This is a reasonable security feature and very easy to use. You can read the book simultaneously on all your readers...start it on your desktop and take it home on your PPC. The software doesn't care how many copies you move to your various devices.

Don't judge all e-books by one experience. Find a reader and format that works best for you and enjoy your books.

Cheers,
Pam

[Intrinsic]

That sounds like a nice set-up. Thanks for the pionter. Maybe once my ego lets go of the bitterness I'll give it a try. ;)

[spursdude]

Don't forget to check out the eBook forum for other great hints, links, etc...