Microsoft Reader, What the fuck.

[adiment]

Few nights ago I had to type up a paper and didn't have enough sources, so I went on amazon and get some ebook for like $10. Well, once I downloaded it, I didn't see no "download" button in firefox. I fire up IE. Turns out I need "Microsoft Reader", then need to activate it, then put in a .NET password.

What the hell happend to normal PDF ebooks? or maybe they could use some other software? Microsoft Reader is the only way I was able to open this... and it's buggy as fuck, I'm still on windows, but I haven't seen programs made by MS be this buggy since WindowsME.:rolleyes:

[Aloone_Jonez]

Complain to amazon - you shouldn't need any "special" software to read their ebooks, they should be written in a standard format.

[adiment]

Seems as though a lot of e-tailers aren't jumping on the MS Reader bandwagaon. http://www.microsoft.com/reader/us/shop/default.asp

[Aloone_Jonez]

Looks like a PDF killer to me. :eek:

Oh well you the consumer have a choice to boycot M$ Reader.

[adiment]

I sent an email to complain. The thing is, I thought I was buying a normal ebook... it's not a PDF killer, it's complete shit. Adobe Acrobat and other programs work for PDF's. For MS Reader nothing else works, and it's like windows, you have to "activate" it.

[Orethrius]

I sent an email to complain. The thing is, I thought I was buying a normal ebook... it's not a PDF killer, it's complete shit. Adobe Acrobat and other programs work for PDF's. For MS Reader nothing else works, and it's like windows, you have to "activate" it.

 Actually, there's a convert-LIT program out there (I have it for my own reasons), but I've yet to find out if it will work on "protected" documents.  My only complaint with it is that it won't run on anything but Windows (though I haven't tried it through Wine).

[Aloone_Jonez]

I imagine that some publishers might prefer MS Reader because it has built-in copyright protection.

[WMD]

PDF has that already.

[Calum]

Complain to amazon - you shouldn't need any "special" software to read their ebooks, they should be written in a standard format.

pdf is not a standard format. it is a closed proprietary format, which changes irregularly between versions, and is administered by a company, Adobe.

standard formats are open and clients can be written by anybody to read and write them without any reverse engineering required in order to do so.

[mobrien_12]

pdf is not a standard format. it is a closed proprietary format, which changes irregularly between versions, and is administered by a company, Adobe.

standard formats are open and clients can be written by anybody to read and write them without any reverse engineering required in order to do so.

You are mistaken.  While it is true that Adobe owns the spec, and only they may make changes, pdf is an open,fully documented format.  Anyone can use it to read or write to them without any reverse engineering.

[worker201]

pdf is not a standard format. it is a closed proprietary format, which changes irregularly between versions, and is administered by a company, Adobe.

Since the PDF specifications are readily available to whoever wants them, I don't know if this qualifies as a closed format.  Yes, it is owned by Adobe, and it does change for unclear reasons.  But aside from the licensing restrictions, anybody who wants to can design a program that produces or reads PDFs.  No need to reverse engineer anything.  Now the licensing thing is weird - I think you have to give all this credit all over the place, and you probably can't sell a PDF tool.  So it's kind of a halfway point between open and closed.

In fact, I think the PDF model should be the model for all proprietary standards.  The company maintains all rights to the standard, but it is readily available to anyone who wants it.  This would maximize compatibility between applications and platforms without jeopardizing a company's "right to profit" from the standard.

[H_TeXMeX_H]

On the question of why Adobe's PDF format meets the definition of "open format", state officials said it was a "grey area" but that Adobe's legal and licensing terms were deemed sufficiently open.

 from: ZDNet
This is from the article on Massachusets swithing to OpenOffice format.


As for M$ reader ... There must be other sites that offer e-books in standard pdf format ... if M$ Reader is as buggy as you say it is there is a good chance that sites that use it will take a big hit ... I mean hopefully there will be enough problems with it that people will complain heavily or move to other sites.