RE: Kobo or Kindle
> Regarding the usage experience of those ereaders on the caput, what
> you find more compatible do Debian?
>
> I know both of them don't have software specifically for linux. I also
> know I can read Kindle cloud books using a browser. I don't know for
> Kobo.
>
> Also, to use them as an author, what would be the one I would not need
> windows/mac to use?
>
> I see Kobo has Adobe DRM and to share a book I would need to install
> this software. Adobe page shows me they only offer windows/mac
> software.
>
> And finally, what is the role Calibre would play?
>
> I'm completely new to the ereader experience. I'm buying 2, one for
> me, one for my father. I've never used one before in my life.
>
> I wish to accomplish:
> * Install PDF books, and other formats I already have in my computer HD.
> * Buy a ebook on computer and save it on ereader.
> * Being able to move a book from one to another ereader (remotely).
> * Install a new book remotely when my father asks (he lives in another city).
> * Write and publish some ebooks. (Using Kile? Calibre? Openoffice?)
>
> Thanks any guidance!
>
> Beco
Kindles are competent, if dull, ereaders, but they do not read books in epub format, which has emerged as the leading standard. Almost any ereader will do, if you can find the book you want to read in its native format.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to strip DRM from the book. Doing so would allow you to convert it to any format, and Calibre is good at doing these conversions. However, stripping the DRM may be illegal in your jurisdiction, so beware of that. Calibre is a very good program, and allows you to manage a large library of ebooks. It has plugins, which you can acquire or create yourself. (There are [highly unofficial] plugins for stripping DRM. Do so at your own risk.)
The chief advantage of Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and so on (the larger outfits) is that they allow shopping for and downloading of books from the device itself, getting the books from the cloud. Smaller readers may be cheaper or have nifty features, but they require you to get your book from some source and then transfer it to the device, which can be tedious.
Calibre is a big help there. Any reader that uses Adobe Digital Editions for DRM is at least compatible with a standard. Note: Some forms of DRM are Adobe epubs, but with a non-standard variation of it. An example of this is B&N Nook. Adobe Digital Editions requires Windows. Debian users may be able to use Wine, but I have not tried this myself, so I cannot give advice.
Calibre runs well on Debian, and I highly recommend it. The official Debian packages are chronically behind the times and out-of-date. However, the author of Calibre has done a fine job of packaging it for Linux, and installing the latest version directly from the website is safe and recommended. Uninstalling is mainly a matter of deleting the Calibre directory.
Creating eBooks from manuscripts is a process. The ebook must be formatted in a generic way, and saved as an HTML document. CSS can be used for formatting, but keep it simple. Then, a publishing converter takes the HTML and generates another HTML document, zipped into a .zip file, with metadata and other resources such as a cover .jpeg. The zipped HTML file can be further converted into an epub or .mobi (Kindle) or other format.
Moving ebooks around remotely, if I understand your question, is possible with Calibre. It can act as a server, and you can open a port and make it available on the internet. There are Android apps that work with Calibre server. I am not too familiar with this, since I don't use this feature.
What reader would I recommend? Consider an app such fbReader running on a tablet. Get a Google Nexus 7. The 16 GB model is $199. A little steep for an ereader, but it can do a whole lot more. You can always use the Kindle app, or the Kobo app, etc.
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