TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for the ‘Adobe’ Category

By David Rothman

Ryan Naraine’s blog on ZDNet has the details. Could the Adobe Reader’s security problems be one more argument for ePub without any DRM—so you can easily change readers (lower case)? Hey, if Adobe gets its security act right, then people might switch to it. Let the market, not content-software links, settle these matters.

Related: Adobe Reader 8 and Acrobat 8: Security updates.

By David Rothman

Further details here. From Adobe (with download info): “Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 8.1.2 and earlier versions. These vulnerabilities would cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.”

By David Rothman

Any problems getting the latest Adobe Digital Editions update going? If so, check out an illustrated guide from BooksOnBoard. BoB’s Bob LiVolsi tells us:

"BooksOnBoard users are encountering some challenges in installing the new ADE 1.6 version. Our support team and customers are not happy about this. So we’ve created an illustrated install guide to help users get through this upgrade. There are a few tricks that new users and the less tech savvy—or those without the time to de-code the latest ebook reading software - need to know."

Related: BoB’s Adobe Digital Edition’s 1.6 eBook Install and Help Guide. Also see Adobe help section at Fictionwise. Same for other stores.

What comes through: The convoluted, Talmudic nature of even good documentation for products like Adobe—with DRM and eBabel among the complicating factors. Imagine having to absorb a mini-manual to be able to shop at Borders or Waterstone’s or read books from them. I’d welcome some thoughts from our friends at Adobe. Meanwhile the BoB installation guide has done a wonderful job of using hypertext to try to simplify the Rube Goldbergish tech. Now for a guide to using Digital Editions! Imagine the challenges of the current interface for nontechies. Mobipocket remains the overall simplicity champ even if it, too, is wanting.

By David Rothman

Info below is from Ric Wright at Adobe (slightly edited). Also see Google roundup and an earlier TeleBlog item on the Content Server 4. - D.R.

Adobe has released the newest version of Digital Editions, 1.6. You can get it here. Or you will be automatically upgraded the next time you launch Digital Editions. This version of DE does not appear much different on the surface. The real difference in this version is under the covers. Digital Editions 1.6 supports fulfillment from the new Adobe Content Server 4. You can read about Content Server here.

But what does fulfillment from Content Server mean to the end user, you might ask? The answer is that it provides e-book vendors with a modern, reliable system for protecting publishers books. This translates into more content from more publishers. Both in PDF and now in ePub. Up to now, although publishers have been strongly voicing their support for ePub, there hasn’t been a solution that would allow them to protect their books. The release of DE 1.6 and Content Server provides that solution. We are currently hard at work helping the publishers and ebook sellers to get their content ready for stores and libraries.

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By David Rothman

Moderator’s note: Adobe will ideally discover the joys of social DRM—talked up by the company’s own Bill McCoy—rather than simply going with the traditional variety alone. Meanwhile, with just slight editing, here’s news about Content Server 4, posted for TeleBlog readers who like the usual DRM. CS4 includes some wrinkles of special interest to libraries. And that should help spread around ePub, not just the usual PDF. - D.R.

Leading Publishers and Distributors Secure Digital Content With New Adobe Content Server 4

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sept. 9, 2008 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Content Server 4, a new server software solution that copy protects downloadable eBooks for Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe’s free client software for purchasing, managing and reading eBooks.

Adobe Content Server 4 enables publishers, retailers, libraries and other distributors to leverage hundreds of thousands of titles for sale or loan and was developed in concert with more than 30 industry partners worldwide (see separate quote sheet ), including Booxen Co. Ltd, Ciando, Ebooks Corporation, Hachette Livre, HarperCollins, Ingram Digital, Jouve, LibreDigital, NetLibrary, Overdrive, Random House, Value Chain International Ltd, and others.

Today, Adobe Digital Editions is popularizing the digital reading experience on both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh systems and emerging platforms, such as the Reader Digital Book by Sony®.

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