Stone and Anvil Bonus CD ebooks?

[bfollowell]

I'd been out of the ST book scene for several years until I started reading them again on my Kindle. Most of them are older ones I've had to convert from Microsoft Reader format but they convert well.

I noticed that the first edition hardcover of New Frontier: Stone and Anvil came with a CD of the first 16 books/stories in ebook form. I was excited as I didn't have most of these and I was actually able to find a copy that supposedly has the original bonus disc with it.

Does anyone out there have this? If so, what can you tell me about it? I'd assumed that the ebooks were in Microsoft Reader lit format, one of the most popular of the time. Since first reading of this bonus though, I've read that these may not be proper ebooks in the normal sense and may just be pdf files, with or without covers, etc. Can anyone confirm the format of these ebooks?

Also, is anyone aware of Pocket Books doing anything like this before or since?

Thanks in advance to anyone that might be able to help me.

Sincerely,
- Byron Followell

 

[Defcon]

I'm working from memory here, so take these information with a grain of salt:

They're are pdfs, have covers, but some of them will only work properly if you use a (very) old version of the Adobe reader (version 5.something IIIRC), if you use a newer version parts of the text are missing.

ETA: Seems as if those problems with the missing text has been solved by one of the newer Adobe Reader versions, I just checked several of the eBooks and no text was missing. (Or, since I can't remember which books had the problem, I was just checking the wrong books )

 

[JohnChod]

Yep - just pdfs.

 

[Christopher]

Not "just" pdfs in the sense the original poster meant. These are full-fledged "proper" e-books, as complete and professionally put together as any other e-books. They're just e-books that are in Adobe Reader format, aka .pdf files -- like many other e-books have been over the years.

 

[Thrawn]

Yeah. I copied/pasted all the text into word files, shrank the fonts, and printed like 8-page SUPER CONDENSED versions when they first came out. So it's not just image scans.

 

[bfollowell]

Thanks for the info guys. I really appreciate it. I would prefer a "true" ebook format that I could easily convert from one format to another with Calibre and read on my Kindle. I can do it with pdfs too but they typically take a whole lot more work. Even though the new Kindle 3 has pdf capability, it isn't the greatest.

Still, beggars can't be choosers and they're giving these away for free so I'm not complaining.

I may give reading them in pdf on my Kindle a try and if I don't care for the results, maybe I'll try my hand at converting them to mobi format.

Anyway, thanks for the info guys.

- Byron

 

[Smitty]

I was wondering, how did you convert ms reader .lit files to kindle format?
Thanks

 

[bfollowell]

First of all, I had to remove the DRM from my lit files using ConvertLIT. Keep in mind that only the original purchaser can do this. I'll attach the link at the bottom.

There are several converters you can try. Just do a Google search if you want. In my experience though, the best one out there is Calibre. It's a sort of itunes for ebooks. One of the many features is that it allows you to convert between many different formats.

The conversion from lit to mobi is pretty straightforward.

I hope this helps

- Byron

http://www.convertlit.com/
http://calibre-ebook.com/

 

[Steve Roby]

First of all, I had to remove the DRM from my lit files using ConvertLIT. Keep in mind that only the original purchaser can do this.

And in many countries, including (I believe) the US, not even the original purchaser can do it legally.

 

[bfollowell]

What Steve says is technically true and I should've mentioned that. I've only ever done this on my own purchased lit files so that I can read them on something besides my desktop or laptop but that doesn't exactly make it legal so use my advice at your own risk and make certain never to ask me to "borrow" one of my books because I don't play that game either.

I do this for my personal use with my own purchased books because I feel it should fall under the fair use policies but what I think doesn't change what the law currently states. I definitely do not condone ebook piracy and don't want to give that impression.

Thanks for stepping in with that info Steve.

- Byron

 

[Steve Roby]

Personally, I hate DRM and avoid anything with it as much as possible, nor would I have any ethical concerns about breaking DRM on purchased products for personal use only. But it's important to be aware of the legal aspects of this kind of thing.

 

[Smitty]

Thanks for the info! Any by all means I would never remove DRM from anything I did not personally buy and if I did it would stay with me.

 

[bfollowell]

Hey guys, I'm still awaiting my copy of Stone and Anvil. Why does it always seem to take something forever to come in when you're anxiously waiting for it?! Bills seem to arrive overnight if you know they're coming.

I'm curious, on the ebook CD included with the book, how did they do the four original novellas that started the series? Were they four separate ebooks like the originals or did they include one of the omnibus version? Just curious.

Thanks guys and thanks for all the previous answers. Hopefully I'll have my copy by the end of the week or so.

- Byron

 

[Defcon]

I'm curious, on the ebook CD included with the book, how did they do the four original novellas that started the series? Were they four separate ebooks like the originals or did they include one of the omnibus version? Just curious.

It's an omnibus version of the first four books.