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The Calibre Content Server

manual.calibre-ebook.com

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Re: The Calibre Content Server

#111

Post by JetSpiegel »

bykovich2 wrote: post #106
criddell wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because their quest for control works only when it restricts the things I've always been able to do with paper books. When I buy books I can give them away, I can resell them, I can loan them to you, I can leave them to my kids in my will, and I can read them in any country that I want. I want to be able to do the same things with digital books. I remove the DRM from every book that I buy and I feel no guilt over doi…

Perhaps that's just the price you pay for access to ebooks at all -- particularly via an incredibly convenient system like Kindle? (Also, loaning -- the most pressing concern here -- is supported.) Authors need to get paid. I completely understand the irritation DRM presents, but if you want to be able to resell your books or pass them down through the generations, maybe paper copies are the way to go under our prese…

I wished people thought so high of my code that they actively tried to use it,even through illegal means.

Re: The Calibre Content Server

#112

Post by e12e »

bykovich2 wrote: post #91
criddell wrote: post #4

I've always just used Calibre because it's a nice way for me to strip DRM and then archive my books. I've never really used it any kind of active way. Since I buy pretty much everything from Amazon, I already effectively have a content server. Does anybody have a link to an online server (with public domain books)? I'm curious to see what the presentation is like. What's the typography like? Does the screen dim after…

Why are you guys so concerned about authors trying to control the profitless distribution of their product? I'm being serious -- what's the issue?

The other day I walked past a few used book stores. I'm quite sure many of the publishers are out of business - yet the books can be read.

Books only available behind solid DRM will dissappear along with those who operate the drm system. Never mind the fact that they allow for virtual book burning by taking control over the DRM.

See Microsoft zune, yahoo music. Consider that we still read books that are 100s of years old, and ask yourself if you believe DRM will help or hinder the spread of books. Add to this the possibility of "banning" books in certain regions (as with Netflix, Amazon video) - the role of DRM in ensuring corporate profit (author rights and profits are hardly their raison d'être) - puts the world at unacceptable risk.

Re: The Calibre Content Server

#113

Post by bykovich2 »

criddell wrote: post #108
bykovich2 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps that's just the price you pay for access to ebooks at all -- particularly via an incredibly convenient system like Kindle? (Also, loaning -- the most pressing concern here -- is supported.) Authors need to get paid. I completely understand the irritation DRM presents, but if you want to be able to resell your books or pass them down through the generations, maybe paper copies are the way to go under our prese…

Loaning is supported as long as the other person is also using a Kindle. I think if there were a non-proprietary DRM system where I could give my books away or loan them to friends reading on non-Amazon devices, I would feel a lot better about it. Having access to your library when you travel is also a pretty big deal. You suggest sticking with paper books, but the accessibility benefits (ie large typefaces or screen…

Open source software is fantastic -- but is that how we're making our livings? From what I can tell, OSS is either a) a labor of love, in addition to a separate full-time job, b) supported by a nonprofit that pays you a salary out of grants and donations, or c) supported by a corporation that pays you a salary out of EE sales or support revenue. (There may be exceptions, but they seem few.) Only (a) bears any resemblance to the business model for authors.

Some authors certainly receive nonprofit monies, but funding for the arts is notoriously thin. If you were able to create a corporation that sells support contracts for literature or an enterprise edition for scholarship -- and payed out to authors regardless of how well their product performed -- then there might be a comparison.

Re: The Calibre Content Server

#114

Post by CaptSpify »

Having tried to set this up, it's a neat idea, but needs a lot more work before it's ready. Can't logout users, poor interface design, a bunch of JS errors when just trying to load a book (immediate request timeouts, incorrect paths, trying to access missing objects, non-working buttons, etc).

I hope it gets better though, because it's a great concept

EDIT: also, the forums aren't letting me register due to an error in their captcha being broken, so I can't discuss/submit my bugs there.

EDIT2: I was able submit a bug report to lanuchpad.

Re: The Calibre Content Server

#117

Post by michaelmrose »

projectorlochsa wrote: post #116

Calibre is unfortunately a big mess of spaghetti code. I had a problem with speeds when a book is being added. Couldn't get myself out of the soup to fix it.

Is this a function of the number of existing books in the library? Basically does this appear only with large libraries? Might be worth filing a bug I have found the author to be pretty quick in responding.

Re: The Calibre Content Server

#118

Post by JeremyBanks »

oridecon wrote: post #89
roryisok wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how many people do this and if it over inflates piracy figures or physical book readership

Does it even matter when the people using these numbers will distort the facts anyway? (this may not apply that much to books but most types of content are usually filled with DRM garbage, region restrictions, usually have worse quality and distribution methods, and they pretend to not understand why people choose to pirate it)

If you think most people who pirate are aware of region restrictions or notice the quality difference, I think you're mistaken. That's a rationale that some idealists use, but most people would just rather not pay.

Streaming video piracy sites are becoming more popular than downloading, and that's usually poorer quality and worse interfaces than the official sources.

Re: The Calibre Content Server

#119

Post by jpindar »

StavrosK wrote: post #56
jpindar wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. But I occasionally find files with names like foo(username's conflicted copy).db. I do the Keepass thing too, and this has happened with it's files as well, but that doesn't seem to cause any problems.

Those aren't corrupted databases, it just can't merge so it leaves you to pick the version you want. Just pick one and keep using it, at most you'll lose some recent changes from the other computer.

I should have known not to use language imprecisely on HN. :)

To the layman, any situation that results in having Calibre show books which are not in fact there, or having books in the library which are not shown in Calibre, or having Calibre's check library function report that there are "invalid titles", "missing formats" etc., could be casually described as "corruption".

Re: The Calibre Content Server

#120

Post by mahyarm »

I personally just use iBooks as my personal content server / ebook reader. Get your epubs somehow and drag & drop to iBooks. It syncs with all of your devices whiles using your iCloud account. It's very easy, and I've found iBooks the nicest ebook reader yet.

I like it better than amazon's kindle apps and you can use an open format.

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