Microsoft Reader

[JamesH5100]

Does anyone know if Microsoft is planning on updating Reader anytime? Or has it been abandoned?

[hamishmacdonald]

Hear hear! I just found a stash of books that I'd bought which are completely useless to me, because I'd upgraded to a new Windows Mobile device, except WM5.0 wasn't properly supported, so the bits needed to register the app had to be copied over by hand, and then activation didn't take anyway. So the files are useless wastes of money.

Everyone join in another chorus of "I will never buy another DRMed e-book"...

[juni]

I'd like to know if they are planning a smartphone version of it. Ereader has had a working version for quite some time and luckily I found a way to convert lits to pdbs, but still - I always liked the Microsoft Reader better. :)

[ChristopherTD]

Juni

How did you convert your MS Reader files to PDB? I have a number of MS Reader titles that I would rather read in eReader because it supports VGA much better than MS Reader.


eReader is also much, much quicker to load and get to the page you are up to.

[juni]

Do a google search on ABC lit converter. :)
(I don't know if it converts DRM'ed lits though)

[ChristopherTD]

Thanks for that Juni - I looked at that a long time ago and it didn't convert to PDB.

Now it does! hooray!

I don't have any DRM MS Reader ebooks left - after having to beg MS too many times to release an activation, because of hard-reset or device upgrade, or because it was a wet Wednesday in August, I stripped off the DRM and stopped buying MS Reader format, sticking to ereader instead.

[JamesH5100]

I've been converting all of my .lits to html and zipping them. I then use GowerPoint's uBook to reader them on my laptop and PPC.

[McDeHack]

I have an Ipaq 3870. Old I know but it does me for my ebook reading. I am useing MS Reader and the ebooks are .lit. Like others I am now having problems converting my books to .lit in Office 2007.
So what else can I use to read my books on my Ipaq. I have tried Mobipocket but no success.

[susie4964]

I normally use e-reader, but there were a couple of books in Microsoft Reader format that I wanted to read, so I downloaded Microsoft Reader 2.4.1 for my pocket PC, which allegedly works with Windows Mobile 5.0. When I try to activate it on my pocket PC, I get this message:

You have an older version of Pocket PC which does not support Activation. Activation requires Pocket PC 2002 or later.

This is obviously rubbish, but I can't see what I'm doing wrong - I've got Windows Mobile 5.0 on my machine, why doesn't it work?!! I've also downloaded Microsoft Reader to my PC, and that works OK.

Does Microsoft Reader work on a Windows Mobile 5.0 system, and how can I activate it? And if not, is there anything else I can read lit files on?

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Does Microsoft Reader work on a Windows Mobile 5.0 system, and how can I activate it? And if not, is there anything else I can read lit files on?

There's a very long thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44561) in this forum that explains the problem and potential solutions.

[Jorgen]

There's a very long thread in this forum

So, one of the most powerful software companies in the world got entangled in their own DRM and have still not managed to get out of it? Unbelievable!

[susie4964]

Does Microsoft Reader work on a Windows Mobile 5.0 system, and how can I activate it? And if not, is there anything else I can read lit files on?

There's a very long thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44561) in this forum that explains the problem and potential solutions.

Thank you for your advice - problem solved at last! I was missing the OEMinfo.xml file on my iPAQ, and a web search brought me to the HP download site, where I was able to get a patch to correct the problem - from HP, of course, not Microsoft! The URL is http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=0&prodSeriesId=421420&prodNameId=421421&swItem=PSG_I23528-108665&swEnvOid=2067&swLang=8&taskId=135&mode=5 if anyone else needs it.