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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: abhe8 on June 17, 2014, 07:15:18 PM

Title: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: abhe8 on June 17, 2014, 07:15:18 PM
Any very mustachian students out there? I need some help. I have a few large text books i need to be reading day and night. but my muscles are not that strong. i have a kindle. the books have an access code for the e version, its in a website. can i somehow get that e version website into a PDF so I can send it over to my kindle?

or any other suggestions?

thanks so much!!
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: arebelspy on June 17, 2014, 07:26:01 PM
Any very mustachian students out there? I need some help. I have a few large text books i need to be reading day and night. but my muscles are not that strong. i have a kindle. the books have an access code for the e version, its in a website. can i somehow get that e version website into a PDF so I can send it over to my kindle?

or any other suggestions?

thanks so much!!

A tablet should be able to access it, depending on what format it's in (i.e. it won't if it uses something like Silverlight, but otherwise probably could - it might use something funky though because of DRM issues), but probably no way for a Kindle to, unless you can somehow "print" the whole book, which is unlikely.
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: abhe8 on June 17, 2014, 07:51:23 PM
hmm...i don't know what silverlight or DRM is. any other ideas?
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: arebelspy on June 17, 2014, 07:57:16 PM
hmm...i don't know what silverlight or DRM is. any other ideas?

Not to be terse, but www.google.com (http://www.google.com)?

It's hard to offer specific advice to a generalized situation, and if you don't know what that is, and are unwilling to look it up, it's even harder.  :)

It would help if we knew more about the specific format your online textbook is in, so we could Google for you how to convert it, but without more information, the suggestions will be generic.  Sorry.  :)
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: Rural on June 17, 2014, 08:28:19 PM
Do you own a laptop? It's not as convenient as the kindle, but is likely better than the paper books.


Most online access codes give you a web-based ebook, so your chances of getting a .pdf are slim. A tablet, as arebelspy suggested, might do. Also, if you have a smart phone, you could try that; some of my students are able to get their books on their phones (turn off data and use wifi if you do this or you'll burn through your data).
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: abhe8 on June 17, 2014, 10:10:31 PM
oh, ok. sure. here is the book:

http://solution.lww.com/synopsisofpsychiatry#tab_174188

I do have a laptop, but its big, heavy and old. not any improvement over the book. i have an older Republic Wireless phone (defy, i think) with absolutely no memory and a pretty small screen. i know i could easily get a fancy phone or shiney new tablet to read the book on (i have the paper copy and access code for the web based e text), but just trying to see if i can make it work on my kindle. its pretty old too...not fire or paperwhite, has a tiny keyboard at the bottom.

oh, and i checked my computers list of programs...i do have Silverlight. would that help?
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: abhe8 on June 17, 2014, 10:12:56 PM
eta: i have tried google...but mostly get suspicious looking websites wanting me to download a bunch of crap that will then "give me a free copy" of the text. im not so sure that won't come with a bunch of malware.
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: arebelspy on June 17, 2014, 10:55:36 PM
oh, and i checked my computers list of programs...i do have Silverlight. would that help?

I was using that as an example of a program sometimes used to access DRM (copyright protected material) that would stop access via a tablet, since they don't support it. If it doesn't use something like that, you may be able to access it via a tablet.
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: taekvideo on June 17, 2014, 11:25:45 PM
oh, ok. sure. here is the book:

http://solution.lww.com/synopsisofpsychiatry#tab_174188

I do have a laptop, but its big, heavy and old. not any improvement over the book. i have an older Republic Wireless phone (defy, i think) with absolutely no memory and a pretty small screen. i know i could easily get a fancy phone or shiney new tablet to read the book on (i have the paper copy and access code for the web based e text), but just trying to see if i can make it work on my kindle. its pretty old too...not fire or paperwhite, has a tiny keyboard at the bottom.

oh, and i checked my computers list of programs...i do have Silverlight. would that help?

From what I found, your book is probably in the proprietary .ORB format.
If that's right then there's some info here about converting it to a pdf:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211934

Also there's an app that claims to do it easily but it costs money:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/orb-reader/id792352984?ls=1&mt=12
Title: Re: help with e text books, please !!
Post by: phred on June 18, 2014, 12:27:21 PM
can you buy used copies of your texts for real cheap?  Rip out the chapters and carry a chapter at a time with you.