The Kindle Chronicles discussion

Hi, everyone,

Today I received my Kobo Aura 6-inch e-ink reader, which I purchased so I could read the couple dozen Kobo books I've acquired over the years and more specifically so that I could download and transfer my Nook books (primarily B&N classics given away in promos) to a different platform in case B&N goes away.

I reasoned that since Kobo and Nook both use epub, I would have in my Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Aura just the tools needed to read books in either sector of the digital publishing universe.

Surprise! Turns out that while B&N uses Adobe DRM, it's a special KIND of Adobe DRM, and (unless it's stripped from the files), won't open on the Aura--even though both Kobo and Nook books open just fine in Adobe Digital Editions on my iMac.

Didn't know that before. The Nook DRM is every bit as restrictive as Amazon's walled garden. But it's not the same, really. Yes, only Amazon apps and devices can run azw files; but no epub reader, other than Nooks and Nook apps, can read B&N's peculiar version of epub DRM.

Well, you caught me in a moment of frustration. But the epub side of the world hardly seems more "open" than the azw side!

Maybe, one day, Amazon will extend BookMatch to B&N and Kobo folks--send us the invoice and we'll send you the Amazon version for 99 cents. :-)

Cheerily,

Dan

Dan,
I sideloaded the Kobo app to my Kindle Fire HD using Len's directions and read my Kobo loss leader books there. Won't solve your B&N problem, but gives a way to read Kobo books without another reader. Mary

Mary wrote: "Dan,
I sideloaded the Kobo app to my Kindle Fire HD using Len's directions and read my Kobo loss leader books there."

Hi, Mary,

Glad that worked for you. In my (different) situation, I don't see any way I can get Nook books onto my Kobo, despite the Aura being an epub reader, short of stripping out the DRM. I won't do that and besides, I can still read my B&N books on the Nook reader app for iPad and iPhone. Just can't use an e-Ink screen.

The Aura is fun; not a Paperwhite, but it's quite serviceable and I like taking advantage of some of Kobo's sales.

Cheerily,

Dan

It is not the Nook's ecosystem that is restrictive, but Kobo's. Kobo could easily implement the workflow that would allow B&N books to open on a Kobo device, as many other vendors licensing Adobe's RMSDK have done. All they need to do is to implement a dialog to prompt for B&N credentials (of the credit card on file when the .epub was downloaded). Most 3rd party epub reader apps that license Adobe RMSDK will do this (Bluefire, Aldiko, Mantano).

It baffles me why Kobo would not want to do this. Anyone who purchases a Kobo device is much more likely to buy from Kobo than B&N, so all Kobo is doing is frustrating their own customers.

Tom wrote: "It is not the Nook's ecosystem that is restrictive, but Kobo's. Kobo could easily implement the workflow that would allow B&N books to open on a Kobo device, as many other vendors licensing Adobe's..."

And just to be clear, B&N did not come up with the new DRM to lock people in, but to spare them the inconvenience of having to have an Adobe account, and use ADE to side-load books. Any licensee of Adobe's DRM solution is free to use so-called 'B&N DRM' and to interoperate with it.

Tom wrote: "Tom wrote: "It is not the Nook's ecosystem that is restrictive, but Kobo's."

Hi, Tom,

Wow! The plot thickens! Though I wouldn't mind just having the NOOK app on my iPad/iPhone, B&N the other day told customers that the apps may not work well with iOS7. Haven't tested it yet, but I'm concerned that the apps just won't be updated, or just a quick patch applied.

On the other hand, B&N does seem interested in bringing out new e-Ink readers and new tablets, if the rumor mill is correct (so the current ones are going at inventory reduction prices), but maybe I'll try sideloading the B&N files into Bluefire just in case.

One more technical question: Let's say B&N sells its NOOK division, and for some reason they turn off their DRM servers. Once my files are in Bluefire, or even downloaded to my iPad in the Nook app, would the books stop "working"?

Thanks for the clarification!

Let's say B&N sells its NOOK division, and for some reason they turn off their DRM servers. Once my files are in Bluefire, or even downloaded to my iPad in the Nook app, would the books stop "working"?

As long as you download the .ePub from your Nook library, and take note of the credit card information on file when you downloaded (account name and number), you would be able to open the book with any reading system that uses RMSDK and implements the "B&N" authorization workflow. It does not require a server to authorize. RMSDK computes a hash of the credentials supplied by the user with the hash stored in the book, and if they match, the book opens (and the hash is stored so that other books locked with the same credentials will open without prompting).

In the mean time perhaps if enough people ask Kobo to interoperate with the Adobe DRM B&N uses, perhaps they will add support. I would think it would be a selling point for them, as they could more easily convert B&N customers who are looking for options.

Hi, Tom,

You're amazing! Thanks!

Dan