'MS Reader Activation Server is Down' Error!

Tony Brookes · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

Now I am really getting angry with MS over their DRM policy and
implementation on e-books!

I have not been buying .lit books for a while due to the hash MS make
of DRM and all the garbage that attaches to it, however, there is a
book I want now that is only available in MS Reader format not Palm
Reader (my preferred choice).

OK I say, go with it and buy, strip off the DRM as you do with all your
MS Reader books so I can use them on whichever device I have to hand.

But MS have a different view of the world and I can't even download my
purchase as I don't have an activated copy of Reader on either my
desktop or PPC - what rubbish! Its my purchased item and I want to
download it!!

So I download Reader and try to activate - but no! MS Activation server
is unavailable or down! Been that way since yesterday. So not only can
I not download my purchase, I can't even activate the Reader so I can
download my purchase - AAAAARRRGH!!!

MS what are you trying to do to your customers?

I'll definitely be sticking with Palm Reader, the DRM is in the book
and you can download it and read it on any device you own as the DRM is
in the file and not dependent on the Reader Software, MS TAKE NOTE!

Christine, if you are reading, do you have any ideas on why the MS
Server is unavailable?

I've tried in both Vista Ultimate and XP SP2 to no avail.

--
Tony Brookes
TechNet Direct Subscriber

Archived from group: microsoft>public>pocketpc>ebooks

Daniel Crichton · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

Tony wrote on Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:03:46 +0100:

> Now I am really getting angry with MS over their DRM policy and
> implementation on e-books!

It's tne publishers that enforce it. Adobe, Palm, Mobipocket, they also have
DRM.

> I have not been buying .lit books for a while due to the hash MS make
> of DRM and all the garbage that attaches to it, however, there is a
> book I want now that is only available in MS Reader format not Palm
> Reader (my preferred choice).

The LIT format itself is pretty good - most books released in both PDF and
LIT format are smaller (often much smaller) in LIT format due to the
compression system used.

> OK I say, go with it and buy, strip off the DRM as you do with all your
> MS Reader books so I can use them on whichever device I have to hand.

> But MS have a different view of the world and I can't even download my
> purchase as I don't have an activated copy of Reader on either my
> desktop or PPC - what rubbish! Its my purchased item and I want to
> download it!!

If you don't have an activated Adobe Reader you get the same problems
downloading commercial PDF ebooks. And to make it more fun, Adobe's
detection system for activation doesn't always work so often eBook
distribution systems don't know if your reader is activated or not. The MS
detection system works fine though. And if you think MS Reader is awkward to
get working , try dealing with Adobe Reader 8 and Digital Editions - it's a
mess.

> So I download Reader and try to activate - but no! MS Activation server
> is unavailable or down! Been that way since yesterday. So not only can
> I not download my purchase, I can't even activate the Reader so I can
> download my purchase - AAAAARRRGH!!!

It's working right now, I just activated my PC. Try it again - if it still
doesn't work then it's not the MS activation server that's the issue, it's
something else.

> MS what are you trying to do to your customers?

> I'll definitely be sticking with Palm Reader, the DRM is in the book
> and you can download it and read it on any device you own as the DRM is
> in the file and not dependent on the Reader Software, MS TAKE NOTE!

While from a reader point of view it's a handy feature, there are some
things to consider. (1) You have to enter the name and credit card number
you used when buying the eBook to open the Palm book the first time. (2)
Retailers have to pay a DRM fee to Palm (I work for a retailer!). While I
can't give details of the fee, I can tell you it's the highest DRM fee we
have pay for the three formats we sell at present.

> Christine, if you are reading, do you have any ideas on why the MS
> Server is unavailable?

> I've tried in both Vista Ultimate and XP SP2 to no avail.

With Vista did you ensure you followed the additional instructions about
having to use UAC to run as administrator? In XP, were you using a limited
account or a full admin account?

Dan
http://www.ereadable.com/ad/NG

Tony Brookes · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

Dan, thanks for the response...

In article , Daniel Crichton wrote:

> It's tne publishers that enforce it. Adobe, Palm, Mobipocket, they also have
> DRM.

Fully understand and aware of that, Dan, its the implementation method I am
questioning - I've no experience of Adobe, I stay away from them and from your
comments below - I chose right! Smile

> The LIT format itself is pretty good - most books released in both PDF and
> LIT format are smaller (often much smaller) in LIT format due to the
> compression system used.

Agree again but Storage Cards now are so large another 50-100KB isn't an issue
hence my preference for Palm Reader format.

> If you don't have an activated Adobe Reader you get the same problems
> downloading commercial PDF ebooks. And to make it more fun, Adobe's
> detection system for activation doesn't always work so often eBook
> distribution systems don't know if your reader is activated or not. The MS
> detection system works fine though. And if you think MS Reader is awkward to
> get working , try dealing with Adobe Reader 8 and Digital Editions - it's a
> mess.

Phew, glad I avoided Adobe!

> It's working right now, I just activated my PC. Try it again - if it still
> doesn't work then it's not the MS activation server that's the issue, it's
> something else.

Thanks, just tried again and activated on my desktop so I have been able to
download the file now! Smile

> While from a reader point of view it's a handy feature, there are some
> things to consider. (1) You have to enter the name and credit card number
> you used when buying the eBook to open the Palm book the first time.

I personally do not have an issue with that as I use the same name and credit
card for all those purchases. The benefit is I don't have to wait to download,
I can even do it at work AND I can read it on more than one device. As a
reviewer of PPC hardware I regularly have more than one device on the go so MS
and their activation policy is a total non-starter for me!

> (2) Retailers have to pay a DRM fee to Palm (I work for a retailer!). While I
> can't give details of the fee, I can tell you it's the highest DRM fee we
> have pay for the three formats we sell at present.

Understand, never noticed if they then charge more for the Palm Reader version
but that wouldn't stop me if it was the price of convenience. Maybe that's why
its got a higher fee?

> With Vista did you ensure you followed the additional instructions about
> having to use UAC to run as administrator? In XP, were you using a limited
> account or a full admin account?

Yup, all details under Vista and XP adhered to, server was obviously
unavailable as now activated - see above.

--
Tony Brookes
TechNet Direct Subscriber

Daniel Crichton · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

Tony wrote on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:42:19 +0100:

> Dan, thanks for the response...

> Agree again but Storage Cards now are so large another 50-100KB isn't
> an issue hence my preference for Palm Reader format.

True, but some of these eBooks are huge ... I'm dealing with a customer
issue at the moment on a 189MB (yes, MB!) book that isn't downloading
properly.

> Phew, glad I avoided Adobe!

7.0.9 is fine - it's just with 8 Adobe stripped out all the eBook
capabilities and another division had to write a plug-in from scratch, and
it's a mess. No PDA integration (so you get your eBook to your PC, and then
can't copy it to your PDA to read!), no Read Aloud, often doesn't start
downloading eBooks until you close and reopen it, often doesn't activate
properly (so you then downgrade to 7.0.9 and find you can't open the eBooks
you'd bought when using 8, go back to 8 and you still can't open them!), has
a Flash based interface (ugh!), and is a long way from being finished.

> I personally do not have an issue with that as I use the same name and
> credit card for all those purchases. The benefit is I don't have to
> wait to download,

What happens when you change credit card and don't remember the old number?
Also there are a lot of paranoid people who think that they're card number
is then embedded in the Palm Reader file (I know it's not, it's hash that's
stored, but not everyone has the benefit of working with Palm's APIs).

Once MS Reader or Adobe Reader is activated you don't have to wait to
download either - the DRM is all automatically handled when you hit the
download link.

> I can even do it at work AND I can read it on more than one device. As
> a reviewer of PPC hardware I regularly have more than one device on
> the go so MS and their activation policy is a total non-starter for
> me!

You can read PDF and LIT on more than one device too - you can activate
multiple devices with a single Windows Live ID. I think with MS Reader it's
10, and Adobe it's 5. Do you have more than 5 devices?

>> (2) Retailers have to pay a DRM fee to Palm (I work for a retailer!).
>> While I can't give details of the fee, I can tell you it's the
>> highest DRM fee we have pay for the three formats we sell at
>> present.

> Understand, never noticed if they then charge more for the Palm Reader
> version but that wouldn't stop me if it was the price of convenience.
> Maybe that's why its got a higher fee?

We charge more for the Palm eBooks because of the fee - if we charged all
formats at the same price (where multiple formats exist for one book) then
we'd either be making more profit on the MS/Adobe files, or losing money on
the Palm files. Ideally we want to offer eBooks at the lowest price we can
based on our wholesale discount and our costs, so we price eBook formats
individually. I don't know how other retailers work.

>> With Vista did you ensure you followed the additional instructions
>> about having to use UAC to run as administrator? In XP, were you
>> using a limited account or a full admin account?

> Yup, all details under Vista and XP adhered to, server was obviously
> unavailable as now activated - see above.

Hope you have more luck with MS Reader now you're activated. Don't give up
on it just yet Smile

Dan

Tony Brookes · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

In article , Daniel Crichton wrote:

> True, but some of these eBooks are huge ... I'm dealing with a customer
> issue at the moment on a 189MB (yes, MB!) book that isn't downloading
> properly.

189MB! Wow, must be some manual with a lot of graphics!

Still 189MB doesn't take up much room on a 4GB card Wink

> What happens when you change credit card and don't remember the old number?

I have that card specifically for purchases and keep the details of it in a
wallet program on the PDA. Even if I stop using it, I'll have the details to
hand.... Just organised I suppose!

> Once MS Reader or Adobe Reader is activated you don't have to wait to
> download either - the DRM is all automatically handled when you hit the
> download link.

That's all well and good but as indicated, MS only allow six activations over
a period (six months I think) and as I can go through more than that with my
reviewing activities It doesn't suit me. The Palm Reader system gives me the
flexibility to have books on whichever device I happen to be
using/reviewing...

> Hope you have more luck with MS Reader now you're activated. Don't give up
> on it just yet Smile

I still use it Dan but just unactivated and I strip the DRM out of my
purchases. I know this is illegal but I resolutely never pass the books
around, it is only for my convenience with the amount of devices I may be
using. At the moment I am on three - HTC Universal, HTC Artemis, i-mate SP5m
and I have just returned a Asus Jupiter I was reviewing. Hence the reason for
my viewing the MS implementation as inflexible! Wink

Thanks for your thoughts and insights!

--
Tony Brookes
TechNet Direct Subscriber
Moderator & Reviewer 4WinMobile.com
http://www.4winmobile.com

Daniel Crichton · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

Tony wrote on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:41:41 +0100:

> In article , Daniel Crichton
> wrote:

>> True, but some of these eBooks are huge ... I'm dealing with a
>> customer issue at the moment on a 189MB (yes, MB!) book that isn't
>> downloading properly.

> 189MB! Wow, must be some manual with a lot of graphics!

It's a family tree book with over a 1000 illustrations and 65 charts, and
700 pages.

> Still 189MB doesn't take up much room on a 4GB card Wink

True, but not all devices handle 4GB cards Wink

>> What happens when you change credit card and don't remember the old
>> number?

> I have that card specifically for purchases and keep the details of it
> in a wallet program on the PDA. Even if I stop using it, I'll have the
> details to hand.... Just organised I suppose!

I hope you keep a backup somewhere else too Smile

>> Once MS Reader or Adobe Reader is activated you don't have to wait to
>> download either - the DRM is all automatically handled when you hit
>> the download link.

> That's all well and good but as indicated, MS only allow six
> activations over a period (six months I think) and as I can go through
> more than that with my reviewing activities It doesn't suit me. The
> Palm Reader system gives me the flexibility to have books on whichever
> device I happen to be using/reviewing...

For the average user it wouldn't be a problem, but I can see how that would
cause you issues.

>> Hope you have more luck with MS Reader now you're activated. Don't
>> give up on it just yet Smile

> I still use it Dan but just unactivated and I strip the DRM out of my
> purchases. I know this is illegal but I resolutely never pass the books
> around, it is only for my convenience with the amount of devices I may
> be using. At the moment I am on three - HTC Universal, HTC Artemis,
> i-mate SP5m and I have just returned a Asus Jupiter I was reviewing.
> Hence the reason for my viewing the MS implementation as inflexible!
> Wink

> Thanks for your thoughts and insights!

Glad to been of help. I've only been involved in eBooks for about 6 months
now (but my involvement in the retail and distribution side means I get to
see how much hassle it is in the back end, and I also help out with
technical issues on the customer service side of which almost all are
related to Adobe Reader activation issues and Adobe Digital Editions
problems), and I'm at the point where I see that the industry is a bit of a
mess. I don't actually read eBooks myself, I prefer paperbacks, and none of
the books I'm currently reading are available as eBooks anyway (and I only
ever get chance to read in the bath which isn't a healthy environment for a
PDA). The Open ebook standard format looks promising, but if the publishers
get their way (and the industry is driven by the publishers, so it's likely
they will) there will be no getting away from a restrictive protection
system. From what I've seen of Palm Reader format in our own database it
really doesn't have the market penetration to make much difference, and
despite the DRM being easier for the customer in some respects I've got a
feeling it won't be the basis of anything in the future Open standards.

--
Dan
IT Manager/Systems Architect
http://www.ereadable.com/ad/NG

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