6 ms·

Does Remarkable support Adobe DRM? If not, then the vast majority of places you can get ePubs either (a) won't be compatible, or (b) won't have the ebooks you c

Does Remarkable support Adobe DRM? If not, then the vast majority of places you can get ePubs either (a) won't be compatible, or (b) won't have the ebooks you care about (because publishers only sell them with DRM). So no, unless you're going out of your way to use a workflow that's unsupported and of questionable legality (DRM stripping), you probably can't read ebooks you care about on this device.

Spivak 5y ago
I don’t think there’s questionable legality of stripping DRM to read books you have a license to on your own device.
- meibo 5y ago
  There may not be, but it's a pain in the ass. To strip Kindle books, you need to use an outdated Kindle PC client that uses an old encryption and may or may not break at any point in time, stop it from updating, track down some shifty plugin for Calibre that handles like a house of cards, etc.
  - input_sh 5y ago
    Years ago, yeah. It took some time to figure out the new .kfx format. Now? If you're on a macOS/Windows no setup is necessary, provided you have the Kindle app installed. If you have a physical Kindle and you use Linux, the setup is as easy as looking up a serial number in settings and entering it into the plugin's settings. If you don't have a physical one and no access to a Windows machine, then it is a bit tricky, yeah. That said, I assume this doesn't apply to at least 70% of its users. As for the plugin's stability, I have yet to experience a problem after like 7-8 years of usage. I've upgraded from Calibre v4 to v5 before the plugin supported v5, but that's about it.
    - bmsleight_ 5y ago
      Appropriate any pointers, as I want to copy and paste from an book on the Kindle ended up camera photo to ocr. I am on Linux (Debian) and struggle to complete this task. Either I am not good a google or need to re-try.
- djbusby 5y ago
  You don't think that; publishers however think differently. If you think it's user-hostile, they think it's right way.
  - dheera 5y ago
    Well, the publishers aren't entitled to enter my house and check. If bits and bytes enter my home I can do anything I want with them within that private property.
- marcosdumay 5y ago
  AFAIK, It's not questionable, there is no gray area. On the US it's a crime, almost everywhere else it's perfectly legal.
  - e12e 5y ago
    Wasn't DeCSS held legal in the US for purposes of playing back DVDs you've purchased? Shouldn't consuming e-books fall under the same ruling?
    - marcosdumay 5y ago
      If I remember it correctly, CSS was deemed too weak for being considered copy protection. But I'm far from an expert. I'm not even from the US.
      - e12e 5y ago
        Actually, from skimming the linked white paper: https://www.eff.org/wp/unintended-consequences-16-years-under-dmca https://www.eff.org/wp/unintended-consequences-16-years-unde... It looks like there's no way to watch DVDs legally with FOSS (still) in the US? On the other hand the precedent for ebooks seem a bit better? https://www.eff.org/es/press/archives/2008/04/21 https://www.eff.org/es/press/archives/2008/04/21
    - bubblethink 5y ago
      No, it wasn't held legal. You can't play commercial dvds, blurays, etc. on vanilla fedora.
  - renewiltord 5y ago
    You’re right. It’s in the realm of not paying sales tax on stuff you buy out of state. No one keeps track of that shit but also it’s illegal to not do that.
    - CoastalCoder 5y ago
      I actually did do that until e-tailers started collecting state taxes. It was very frustrating, from a civics perspective, to have to choose between obeying democratically enacted laws or being a chump.
AQuantized 5y ago
To be frank I don't know if there's any serious 'workflow' involving ebooks that doesn't involve using calibre or equivalent software to ensure they're DRM free and in the format you want.
- squeaky-clean 5y ago
  On Kindle it's just clicking "buy now" and waiting 30 seconds for it to load on the device. I know that's not "drm free" or anything but I doubt 99% of ebook users actually care as long as their device can load it.
  - y4mi 5y ago
    If readers didn't care about anything besides comfort then they'd just download the DRM free epubs from z-library for free, which is even less hassle then dealing with amazon kindle. I still own a Kindle and buy books through it, but it's just false that this is the least hassle option.
    - bernulli 5y ago
      What's the legal side of this?
      - coldtea 5y ago
        Don't ask, don't tell
      - bigbillheck 5y ago
        Not relevant if the only metric is 'comfort'.
        ClumsyPilot 5y ago
        Surely not having to pay is wven more comfortable
amluto 5y ago
See https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-23311.pdf https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-23311.pdf Under III.A.3, it appears presently legal to use tools such as this: https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/ https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/ as long as you are using it for a purpose listed in the exemption.
- lelandfe 5y ago
  This carve out is for "persons who are blind, visually impaired, or have print disabilities," for the record. Wired did a nice write up on this: https://www.wired.com/story/ebooks-drm-blind-accessibility-dmca/ https://www.wired.com/story/ebooks-drm-blind-accessibility-d...
stewbrew 5y ago
I think things are beginning to change. My impression is more publishers sell watermarked but DRM free PDFs. BTW I personally find it odd the OP wants to reads epubs on the remarkable. The remarkable is good for reading PDFs. The epub experience is rather meh.
- nextos 5y ago
  Me too, I only read technical PDFs. I've tried Remarkable 1 for this and it was pretty decent. How is version 2?
breakfastduck 5y ago
I think its unfortunately accepted as standard that you have to use these kind of tools if you want to use these devices seriously.

Spivak 5y ago

I don’t think there’s questionable legality of stripping DRM to read books you have a license to on your own device.

meibo 5y ago
There may not be, but it's a pain in the ass. To strip Kindle books, you need to use an outdated Kindle PC client that uses an old encryption and may or may not break at any point in time, stop it from updating, track down some shifty plugin for Calibre that handles like a house of cards, etc.
- input_sh 5y ago
  Years ago, yeah. It took some time to figure out the new .kfx format. Now? If you're on a macOS/Windows no setup is necessary, provided you have the Kindle app installed. If you have a physical Kindle and you use Linux, the setup is as easy as looking up a serial number in settings and entering it into the plugin's settings. If you don't have a physical one and no access to a Windows machine, then it is a bit tricky, yeah. That said, I assume this doesn't apply to at least 70% of its users. As for the plugin's stability, I have yet to experience a problem after like 7-8 years of usage. I've upgraded from Calibre v4 to v5 before the plugin supported v5, but that's about it.
  - bmsleight_ 5y ago
    Appropriate any pointers, as I want to copy and paste from an book on the Kindle ended up camera photo to ocr. I am on Linux (Debian) and struggle to complete this task. Either I am not good a google or need to re-try.
djbusby 5y ago
You don't think that; publishers however think differently. If you think it's user-hostile, they think it's right way.
- dheera 5y ago
  Well, the publishers aren't entitled to enter my house and check. If bits and bytes enter my home I can do anything I want with them within that private property.
marcosdumay 5y ago
AFAIK, It's not questionable, there is no gray area. On the US it's a crime, almost everywhere else it's perfectly legal.
- e12e 5y ago
  Wasn't DeCSS held legal in the US for purposes of playing back DVDs you've purchased? Shouldn't consuming e-books fall under the same ruling?
  - marcosdumay 5y ago
    If I remember it correctly, CSS was deemed too weak for being considered copy protection. But I'm far from an expert. I'm not even from the US.
    - e12e 5y ago
      Actually, from skimming the linked white paper: https://www.eff.org/wp/unintended-consequences-16-years-under-dmca https://www.eff.org/wp/unintended-consequences-16-years-unde... It looks like there's no way to watch DVDs legally with FOSS (still) in the US? On the other hand the precedent for ebooks seem a bit better? https://www.eff.org/es/press/archives/2008/04/21 https://www.eff.org/es/press/archives/2008/04/21
  - bubblethink 5y ago
    No, it wasn't held legal. You can't play commercial dvds, blurays, etc. on vanilla fedora.
- renewiltord 5y ago
  You’re right. It’s in the realm of not paying sales tax on stuff you buy out of state. No one keeps track of that shit but also it’s illegal to not do that.
  - CoastalCoder 5y ago
    I actually did do that until e-tailers started collecting state taxes. It was very frustrating, from a civics perspective, to have to choose between obeying democratically enacted laws or being a chump.

AQuantized 5y ago

To be frank I don't know if there's any serious 'workflow' involving ebooks that doesn't involve using calibre or equivalent software to ensure they're DRM free and in the format you want.

squeaky-clean 5y ago
On Kindle it's just clicking "buy now" and waiting 30 seconds for it to load on the device. I know that's not "drm free" or anything but I doubt 99% of ebook users actually care as long as their device can load it.
- y4mi 5y ago
  If readers didn't care about anything besides comfort then they'd just download the DRM free epubs from z-library for free, which is even less hassle then dealing with amazon kindle. I still own a Kindle and buy books through it, but it's just false that this is the least hassle option.
  - bernulli 5y ago
    What's the legal side of this?
    - coldtea 5y ago
      Don't ask, don't tell
    - bigbillheck 5y ago
      Not relevant if the only metric is 'comfort'.
      - ClumsyPilot 5y ago
        Surely not having to pay is wven more comfortable

amluto 5y ago

See https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-23311.pdf https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-23311.pdf Under III.A.3, it appears presently legal to use tools such as this: https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/ https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/ as long as you are using it for a purpose listed in the exemption.

lelandfe 5y ago
This carve out is for "persons who are blind, visually impaired, or have print disabilities," for the record. Wired did a nice write up on this: https://www.wired.com/story/ebooks-drm-blind-accessibility-dmca/ https://www.wired.com/story/ebooks-drm-blind-accessibility-d...

stewbrew 5y ago

I think things are beginning to change. My impression is more publishers sell watermarked but DRM free PDFs. BTW I personally find it odd the OP wants to reads epubs on the remarkable. The remarkable is good for reading PDFs. The epub experience is rather meh.

nextos 5y ago
Me too, I only read technical PDFs. I've tried Remarkable 1 for this and it was pretty decent. How is version 2?

breakfastduck 5y ago

I think its unfortunately accepted as standard that you have to use these kind of tools if you want to use these devices seriously.