[Poll] eBook Format?

[CthulhuTheGuardian]

I am going to be making it either way for my own personal use, however, if you would like - and with the consent of Mark - I'd like to release them for free in the forums to people like me who read on their Kindle or other eReaders. They will be in .mobi format which is the standard for all eBooks, but if need be I could release them in other formats of your choices.

[Mark Arbour]

I actually all but the most current stories (Odyssey and Paternity) in e-book format, courtesy of Andy Q. They're posted on my yahoo group. Not sure how I'd post them here.

[CthulhuTheGuardian]

This is what I get for not going to your Yahoo group. I can make an organized thread with download links...

 

Edit: Is it ePub thats on there?

Edited July 26, 2012 by CthulhuTheGuardian

[Andrew Q Gordon]

Yes, the files I sent Mark were in ePub format, not .mobi. .mobi is not the default standard according to everything I've read, ePub is the standard. The only device that doesn't support ePub is Kindles. They support .mobi. Of course the kindle reader app is available for iPhones, iPad, laptops, androids, you name Amazon is making itself available on it. I've also heard that Kindle is working on or has released an ePub to .mobi convert so ePub docs can run on Kindles. Basically everyone, Sony, Nook, iBooks, Android devices, everything but Kindle has accepted ePub as the standard.

 

Not that you're old enough to remember this, but way back in the dark ages when there were VCRs instead of DVD, Sony tried to create it's own standard- Betamax - it was superior in most every way to VHS, but everyone else who made VCRs adopted the VHS standard rather than pay Sony royalties for betamax. Amazon is trying to make .mobi the default standard and everyone else has lined up against them. I suspect that much like sony capitulated and made VHS VCRs, so too will Amazon make Kindles work with ePub documents in the not too near future. I suspect that is why they are working on the converter app, so that when they finally make the switch, the older kindles will be able to run ePub docs which is probably all that will be available soon.

[centexhairysub]

I could take you anywhere Mark...

[CthulhuTheGuardian]

I actually do remember the dark days of VHS... I wore out my copies of Hercules and The Road to El Dorado pretty fast. But since Betamax was in the 70s - 80s, I didn't even know of those. All the eBooks I've seen are in .mobi format. I've seen ePubs floating around, but I didn't know the Kindle couldn't use them. On a related note, Poor Man's Son is not in the list of ePubs. It only goes to Millennium.

[methodwriter85]

I knew about Betamax because I am a historian, and the 1980's is one of my favorite decades.

Edited July 27, 2012 by methodwriter85

[colinian]

Yes, the files I sent Mark were in ePub format, not .mobi. .mobi is not the default standard according to everything I've read, ePub is the standard. The only device that doesn't support ePub is Kindles. They support .mobi. Of course the kindle reader app is available for iPhones, iPad, laptops, androids, you name Amazon is making itself available on it. I've also heard that Kindle is working on or has released an ePub to .mobi convert so ePub docs can run on Kindles. Basically everyone, Sony, Nook, iBooks, Android devices, everything but Kindle has accepted ePub as the standard.

 

Not that you're old enough to remember this, but way back in the dark ages when there were VCRs instead of DVD, Sony tried to create it's own standard- Betamax - it was superior in most every way to VHS, but everyone else who made VCRs adopted the VHS standard rather than pay Sony royalties for betamax. Amazon is trying to make .mobi the default standard and everyone else has lined up against them. I suspect that much like sony capitulated and made VHS VCRs, so too will Amazon make Kindles work with ePub documents in the not too near future. I suspect that is why they are working on the converter app, so that when they finally make the switch, the older kindles will be able to run ePub docs which is probably all that will be available soon.

There is already a free converter app, Calibre. It's free and it's wonderful. As long as the source document is not DRM protected, you can covert almost any format into almost any other format. Here's what it can convert from and to:

Input Formats: CBZ, CBR, CBC, CHM, DJVU, EPUB, FB2, HTML, HTMLZ, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PDF, PRC, PDB, PML, RB, RTF, SNB, TCR, TXT, TXTZ

Output Formats: AZW3, EPUB, FB2, OEB, LIT, LRF, MOBI, HTMLZ, PDB, PML, RB, PDF, RTF, SNB, TCR, TXT, TXTZ

 

Check it out at http://calibre-ebook.com/.

 

Colin

[Cia]

I work with Calibre myself. I've used that to convert some of my stories on here, with cover graphics, into ebooks as well. I have a kindle and it works quite well since I typically purchase my books in epub as well. Kindles also work with html files, if you email them to the person's 'kindle email' and they have their wifi on. I've found that the most popular format that people ask for ebooks in are epub, mobi, and pdf. I know Smashwords will host free ebooks and they convert to multiple formats but I haven't actually posted my ebooks for free online anywhere so I can't give any good ideas for places to post them for member downloads.

[Gene Splicer PHD]

Calibre rocks.

[Andy78]

I got calibre a while ago when I got my Kindle. A friend of mine had tons of books on his e-reader and we spent ages converting them over.

 

You can also connect you Kindle to your PC and simply drag and drop files onto your Kindle (though I think it only works with PDF files, I think Word docs have to either be sent to your Kindle e-mail for conversion, or you can convert them yourself into PDF files).

 

And I remember betamax. My uncle ran out to buy it as soon as it was released and it cost something like £400. Though I could never tell a difference in quality between betamax and VHS.

[dtothesecond]

I'm a member of your Yahoo group, Mark and from what I remember the ePub versions stop at "Millennium" and "Belvedira". Are there any plans to put subsequent installments in ePub format?

[Mark Arbour]

I'm a member of your Yahoo group, Mark and from what I remember the ePub versions stop at "Millennium" and "Belvedira". Are there any plans to put subsequent installments in ePub format?

 

That's my bad. I have the next two, I just need to post them.

 

Now posted.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Mark Arbour

[Andrew Q Gordon]

Mark you really shouldn't have told people I'm doing this for you - I mean why don't you go ahead and tattoo "Mark's Bitch" on my forehead while you're at it.

[Daddydavek]

Mark you really shouldn't have told people I'm doing this for you - I mean why don't you go ahead and tattoo "Mark's Bitch" on my forehead while you're at it.

 

Andy

 

You bragging or complaining?

[TalonRider]

I have some stories that I've converted from .doc and .docx formats to PDF format for my Nook. A couple of them included pictures that copied over just fine, some I had to resize to fit the page.

[Andrew Q Gordon]

Andy

 

You bragging or complaining?

 

Well I'm sure I'm doing either, just don't ask what I did that i'm doing this for him.

[Mark Arbour]

Mark you really shouldn't have told people I'm doing this for you - I mean why don't you go ahead and tattoo "Mark's Bitch" on my forehead while you're at it.

 

Baby, you so want that to be true.

[Andrew Q Gordon]

Mark,

 

I fairly certain the Fifth Anendment guarantees me the right to remain silent if answering a question would result in self-incrimination. I think I'm in a no win situation so I'm going to invoke my Constitutional rights and politely decline to answer the question.