e-text readers, encryption Best answer on the web

  • I have a desktop pc with an attached PDA (which I never use). For some reason I can't get either the "Micorosoft Reader" or the Adobe
    E-reader thing to install properly. Help?
    Please note that I don't mind reading on my desktop machine, and that I have succesfully "installed" both progs; they just won't synchronize or something. ((Who I am: Jim Baen of Baen Books. Believe it or not I sell etexts! (on Baen.com(UNencrypted))


  • Jim, I understand your frustration, and in the words of WSJ tech columnist Mossberg, 'the real dummies are the people who, though technically expert, couldn't design hardware and software that's usable by normal consumers if their lives depended upon it...'
    Now, I believe you have to sign up for the Passport thingy at the Activation website before you can continue..maybe you can try that first...


  • Hello. Sorry I failed to mention that it's a Casio BE300, which I plan on using as a test-bed for my own unencrypted offerings on Baen.com. It's been hanging of my XP desktop for several months and I must admit I had forgotten its presence until this came up. As for how many books I've tried it on, the answer is _none_. It just doesn't get that far in the install process. The Microsoft Reader keeps telling me to "Activate" as if I've just arrived, and the Acrobat etext reader thing hangs the system when I try to run it from File Manager (whatever it's called now... I use Powerdesk.)This is all very frustrating, but I must say it gives me a delicious case of the warm-fuzzies when I contemplate the fact that all my competitors _use_ this crap and think it is required. :)


  • Strangely enough, though I sell unencrypted ebooks, I don't know that much about the other kind. What I did was go to Amazon, "buy" an ebook, and get this to me unintelligible gibberish about how to download it, ("Downloading is easy!" the messages all start.) As far as I can tell, I'm supposed to download their software, and somehow authenticate it. The thing is, without running software it seems I can't download anything anyway, even though they (Amazon) have been gracious enough to take my money. I have now managed to download the MSereader, but it just nags me to "activate." Which I do, at which point it nags me to "activate," which I do ...n. About the attached PDA: since the behavior of this software seems insane, I'm figuring I am "responsible," and the only way my configuration might be different from the mass is that I have a Casio BE300 attached to my system, where it has been sitting for quite a while waiting to be used as a test-bed for running a test reader I'm hoping to make the basis for a "Baen Reader." Go to Baen.com to read great fat blogs on the minus value of encryption in purveying e-text, btw. I hope this helps, cause I'm sinking fast. :\
    Sorry for the incoherence.
    Jim Baen


  • Hi. Been there, done that. I've figured it out though. (Not the solution, just the problem.:) The thing is, I was using -- all unknown, ahem, to myself, an unregistered, "informal" copy of XP. The MSReader won't activate, and Adobe seems to be in cahoots: thier silly reader just reboots the system when invoked.
    Sorry for the wild goose chase. Look, give me an answer to this and we'll call it a satisfactory ****, billable response.


  • I feel really guilty getting a response like this for $15.00. Well done!


  • Hi Jim,

    Could you clarify what you mean by "attached PDA"? What brand? What model?
    You have MS Reader and Adobe E-reader installed on your desktop and they work fine except for synchronizing with the handheld? Is there an error message that comes up? Have you tried more than one e-book on each program, in case there's some problem there?


  • The Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader may not work properly with an unregistered copy of Windows XP. Several courses of action are available to someone in your position.
    1. Purchase and register a copy of Windows XP.

    2. Find a friend who owns a registered copy of Windows XP, and read the eBook on his computer.
    3. Downgrade from XP to an older version of Windows, such as 98 or 95, that does not require registration.
    4. Defeat the eBook encryption.

    I do not recommend the last option. Even if you have purchased an eBook and believe that you have the right to unfettered personal use of its literary content, there are controversial legal questions regarding the manner in which you may handle the data encoding that content.
    A programmer named Dmitry Sklyarov was held by U.S. authorities, and released only recently, over allegations that his document decryption software performed a criminal function. If you're interested in the legal questions, you may wish to read a summary of the Sklyarov case.
    Electronic Frontier Foundation
    Sklyarov/ElcomSoft FAQ
    http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Elcomsoft/us_v_elcomsoft_faq.html

    Sklyarov's software, called the Advanced eBook Processor, allowed users to convert an eBook into PDF format. A PDF file can be opened with the plain Acrobat Reader, but also with free software such as gv and xpdf. You may like to read about a columnist's experience with eBook decryption.
    Electronic Book Web
    Removing Those Pesky Passwords
    http://www.ebookweb.org/opinion/roger.sperberg.20010712.aebpr.htm

    For a comprehensive description of methods that have been used to bypass eBook security, you may consult a website authored by David Touretzky, the computer scientist who is known as a leader in the movement against DVD encryption and digital rights management in general.
    David Touretzky, Carnegie Mellon University
    Gallery of Adobe Remedies
    http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Adobe/Gallery/

    Keywords used:
    defeat ebook encryption

    Regards,

    leapinglizard


  • I'm unsure whether your BE300 can actually run the software since the latest version supports PPC 2000 and yours only support the Pocket Manager platform .
    Where did you get your version of MS Reader?

    Anyhow for the meantime, maybe you can try the activation process described at http://das.microsoft.com/activate/en-us/default.asp? and see how it goes...



    http://www.casio.com/personalpcs/product.cfm?section=175&market=0&product=3980









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    Posted in photoshopcsiso.com on July 31st, 2010 | edit