Comments on: Mac owners vs. the Sony Reader’s eBabel: The horrors and some partial fixes http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:01:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Eiriks forfatterblogg :: E-sommerlektyre via Adobe Digital Editions - en guide http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-1095070 Eiriks forfatterblogg :: E-sommerlektyre via Adobe Digital Editions - en guide Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:50:10 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-1095070 [...] versjon ikke lar deg koble til og overføre filer til Sony Reader (man kan fÃ¥ det til, men løsningen er ganske kluntete per idag). NÃ¥r ADE er installert blir PCen din automatisk godkjent for lesing [...] [...] versjon ikke lar deg koble til og overføre filer til Sony Reader (man kan fÃ¥ det til, men løsningen er ganske kluntete per idag). NÃ¥r ADE er installert blir PCen din automatisk godkjent for lesing [...]

]]> By: Leslie Johnson http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-967267 Leslie Johnson Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:31:43 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-967267 I just tried this with my PRS-505 but still got the Protected Page logo on the reader. I will double check to make sure everything is authorized correctly, but I haven't been able to get this to work. I just tried this with my PRS-505 but still got the Protected Page logo on the reader. I will double check to make sure everything is authorized correctly, but I haven’t been able to get this to work.

]]> By: Jim Lester http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-871698 Jim Lester Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:10:22 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-871698 @Mike There is of course the much easier answer which is not to deal with DRM at all. Transfering content I purchased on Baen or got on Feedbooks to my 505 is a relatively straightforward and easy process no matter what platform I'm on :) However if you want to ask Sony for something - ask them for a driver for the 505 on Mac. The thought of putting my account/password into a public kiosk gives me the shudders. @Mike
There is of course the much easier answer which is not to deal with DRM at all. Transfering content I purchased on Baen or got on Feedbooks to my 505 is a relatively straightforward and easy process no matter what platform I’m on :)

However if you want to ask Sony for something – ask them for a driver for the 505 on Mac. The thought of putting my account/password into a public kiosk gives me the shudders.

]]> By: Mike Cane http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-871626 Mike Cane Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:54:21 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-871626 @ Jim Lester: Well bugger that! I'll soon be through with Windows and won't have it polluting my Mac via emulation or anything else. Now I'm beginning to wonder why Sony doesn't offer such free authorization for Mac owners in their SonyStyle stores. That'd help. @ Jim Lester: Well bugger that! I’ll soon be through with Windows and won’t have it polluting my Mac via emulation or anything else.

Now I’m beginning to wonder why Sony doesn’t offer such free authorization for Mac owners in their SonyStyle stores. That’d help.

]]> By: Jim Lester http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-871576 Jim Lester Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:28:25 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-871576 Hmmm... I need to get this up as an FAQ. Here's the current workaround for Mac users of the 505 (and unfortunately it involves a PC, or at least a copy of Parallels/Fusion). You don't have access to the Sony Connect store, but you do have access to any other store or library that uses Adobe DRM (on PDF or ePub). The Firmware update is Windows only, but you really want to update your firmware however. After you update the firmware, on that same Windows system you want to "Authorize" your 505 with your Adobe ID. You do this by installing Digital Editions on that and (very important) Authorize it when asked with your Adobe ID. Plug in your 505 (you may need to unplug and replug to get ADE to recognize it the first time) while DE is running and it will recognize your reader and bring up a dialog asking if you want to Authorize it - accept this dialog. After this is done, on your Mac (if you haven't already), install ADE, and authorize with the same Adobe ID. The Sony Reader 505 appears as a USB Mass Storage Device (geek speak for looks like a USB Drive), and using the Finder you can copy files from your Digital Editions directory to your Sony Reader. Any content you can read in ADE, you will be able to view on your 505. It's not pretty, and it's not real Mac like. I would love to make it so that the 505 shows up in ADE, just like it does on Windows, but we are relying on the Sony Drivers in Windows to recognize and authorize the 505, and Sony hasn't released similar drivers for the Mac. Hmmm… I need to get this up as an FAQ.

Here’s the current workaround for Mac users of the 505 (and unfortunately it involves a PC, or at least a copy of Parallels/Fusion). You don’t have access to the Sony Connect store, but you do have access to any other store or library that uses Adobe DRM (on PDF or ePub).

The Firmware update is Windows only, but you really want to update your firmware however. After you update the firmware, on that same Windows system you want to “Authorize” your 505 with your Adobe ID. You do this by installing Digital Editions on that and (very important) Authorize it when asked with your Adobe ID. Plug in your 505 (you may need to unplug and replug to get ADE to recognize it the first time) while DE is running and it will recognize your reader and bring up a dialog asking if you want to Authorize it – accept this dialog.

After this is done, on your Mac (if you haven’t already), install ADE, and authorize with the same Adobe ID. The Sony Reader 505 appears as a USB Mass Storage Device (geek speak for looks like a USB Drive), and using the Finder you can copy files from your Digital Editions directory to your Sony Reader. Any content you can read in ADE, you will be able to view on your 505.

It’s not pretty, and it’s not real Mac like. I would love to make it so that the 505 shows up in ADE, just like it does on Windows, but we are relying on the Sony Drivers in Windows to recognize and authorize the 505, and Sony hasn’t released similar drivers for the Mac.

]]> By: Andrew http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-195297 Andrew Sat, 20 Jan 2007 20:10:22 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-195297 Hi, I was wondering whether anyone could shed some light on the phrase "Reader-adapted memory card" in the article above. I got a Sony Reader (and the extra memory card) a few weeks ago, and used my old PC to transfer books to it. But then, about a week ago I bought a new MacBook and left the country for the next few months, and therefore don't have access to my old PC. Can I just use the Reader's memory card in something like a flash drive? (And could you recommend what sort to buy?) I don't want to begin experimenting until I'm sure I won't lose what's already on the card. I need to buy a flash drive anyways and am hoping I can knock off two birds with one stone. Thanks! Andrew in South America PS- The Reader so far is great. There are, obviously, some issues I have with it: 1) You can't rename files easily in the Connect Software, nor can you create folders/indices on the memory card--this is especially irritating if you're reading essays/documents rather than full books, and have to scroll through dozens of pages to find what you're looking for; 2) Some pdf's are nearly impossible to read; 3) all my bookmarks were at one point erased without warning, which caused me to lose not only my place in the several books I was reading, but also passages I'd marked for later reference. But other than those glitches, I really have to say that this has made reading while traveling a thousand times easier. Hi, I was wondering whether anyone could shed some light on the phrase “Reader-adapted memory card” in the article above. I got a Sony Reader (and the extra memory card) a few weeks ago, and used my old PC to transfer books to it. But then, about a week ago I bought a new MacBook and left the country for the next few months, and therefore don’t have access to my old PC.

Can I just use the Reader’s memory card in something like a flash drive? (And could you recommend what sort to buy?) I don’t want to begin experimenting until I’m sure I won’t lose what’s already on the card. I need to buy a flash drive anyways and am hoping I can knock off two birds with one stone.

Thanks!
Andrew in South America

PS- The Reader so far is great. There are, obviously, some issues I have with it: 1) You can’t rename files easily in the Connect Software, nor can you create folders/indices on the memory card–this is especially irritating if you’re reading essays/documents rather than full books, and have to scroll through dozens of pages to find what you’re looking for; 2) Some pdf’s are nearly impossible to read; 3) all my bookmarks were at one point erased without warning, which caused me to lose not only my place in the several books I was reading, but also passages I’d marked for later reference. But other than those glitches, I really have to say that this has made reading while traveling a thousand times easier.

]]> By: Kovid Goyal http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-181083 Kovid Goyal Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:55:45 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-181083 You can transfer books to/from the reader in OSX using libprs500, a reverse engineered library I wrote. http://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net. You can transfer books to/from the reader in OSX using libprs500, a reverse engineered library I wrote.

http://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net.

]]> By: MobileRead Networks - Play news catch-up with TeleRead http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-179346 MobileRead Networks - Play news catch-up with TeleRead Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:31:32 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-179346 [...] Play news catch-up with TeleRead Our friends over at TeleRead have been very active with a lot of coverage of e-book news these days. In case you were absent from your computer due to heavy-duty holiday relaxing, make sure to catch up with these TeleRead highlights that David prepared for us. Some of my favorite recent TeleRead articles:TeleRead’s e-book wish list for ‘07—from hardware to formatsBaen Bar to sell e-book hardware next year? With E Ink or another advanced display?Mac owners vs. the Sony Reader’s eBabel: The horrors and some partial fixesOpenReader as an eBabel-fighter: Three ‘musts’ if the standard is to survive Jon Noring’s new ties with DigitalPulp and related: A reply to the ‘Three Musteteers’ and OpenReader, victorious [...]

]]> By: J. Jordan http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-167831 J. Jordan Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:46:34 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-167831 Sony is quite possibly the most proprietary, monolithic company in history. I never bothered to look at their eBook reader because my immediate assumption was that it would not be compatible with anything. Vaio computers are carefully designed to force you to use Sony peripherals usually costing several times as much as fair-market alternatives. A company that comes up with a proprietary memory card format and refuses to use even a standard earphone connection on many of its devices should be boycotted and never allowed to play with decent people. Sony is quite possibly the most proprietary, monolithic company in history. I never bothered to look at their eBook reader because my immediate assumption was that it would not be compatible with anything. Vaio computers are carefully designed to force you to use Sony peripherals usually costing several times as much as fair-market alternatives.
A company that comes up with a proprietary memory card format and refuses to use even a standard earphone connection on many of its devices should be boycotted and never allowed to play with decent people.

]]> By: Richard http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-167524 Richard Fri, 29 Dec 2006 05:25:31 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-167524 I am a Mac user myself, but the spec sheets for the Sony Reader I saw do state that Windows is required for the support software. The first assumption any Mac owner must make is that software that does not explicitly state it supports OS X will not. That said, Parallels is a good solution for many such issues and is a near-mandatory purchase for many people. Now that USB 2.0 support is built into the next release beta, the future should improve. I can't accuse Sony of "contempt" for their customers on the OS X issue; the Mac install base is not their customer, the untold millions of Windows users are their customers. They are going after the same people they sell their Vaios to. The fact that their format remains closed and that end-user tools to create files in their format are not available from Sony is a bigger issue to me. I am a Mac user myself, but the spec sheets for the Sony Reader I saw do state that Windows is required for the support software. The first assumption any Mac owner must make is that software that does not explicitly state it supports OS X will not.

That said, Parallels is a good solution for many such issues and is a near-mandatory purchase for many people. Now that USB 2.0 support is built into the next release beta, the future should improve.

I can’t accuse Sony of “contempt” for their customers on the OS X issue; the Mac install base is not their customer, the untold millions of Windows users are their customers. They are going after the same people they sell their Vaios to. The fact that their format remains closed and that end-user tools to create files in their format are not available from Sony is a bigger issue to me.

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-164606 David Rothman Wed, 27 Dec 2006 00:37:22 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-164606 > I understand the IDPF is working on an open e-book format, so that should make even you happy. The catch is the inevitable proprietary DRM---at least in the case of best-sellers, etc. David > I understand the IDPF is working on an open e-book format, so that should make even you happy.

The catch is the inevitable proprietary DRM—at least in the case of best-sellers, etc.

David

]]> By: Branko Collin http://www.teleread.org/2006/12/26/how-to-copy-e-books-from-the-mac-to-the-sony-reader/comment-page-1/#comment-164153 Branko Collin Tue, 26 Dec 2006 15:44:07 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5976#comment-164153 "<i>As long as proprietary e-book formats exist, either directly or through proprietary DRM, such problems will occur.</i>" Examples are know of formats that are proprietary, yet widespread. The problem is in the DRM and in the lack of documentation of proprietary formats, not in the fact that formats are proprietary. PDF and RTF are proprietary formats, yet they are widely supported by third party reader makers. Perhaps one day Adobe will hide the PDF specifications, and it will then profit from a certain inertia among users who won't easily switch readers and formats. But in such a case, PDF would eventually cease to exist. Anyway, I understand the IDPF is working on an <a href="http://www.idpf.org/specs.htm" rel="nofollow">open e-book format</a>, so that should make even you happy. “As long as proprietary e-book formats exist, either directly or through proprietary DRM, such problems will occur.”

Examples are know of formats that are proprietary, yet widespread. The problem is in the DRM and in the lack of documentation of proprietary formats, not in the fact that formats are proprietary. PDF and RTF are proprietary formats, yet they are widely supported by third party reader makers.

Perhaps one day Adobe will hide the PDF specifications, and it will then profit from a certain inertia among users who won’t easily switch readers and formats. But in such a case, PDF would eventually cease to exist.

Anyway, I understand the IDPF is working on an open e-book format, so that should make even you happy.

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