eBook Terms and Definitions

• Activation: Activation occurs when you establish yourself as the unique user of your particular installation of ebook reading software. With Adobe Digital Editions, this is done via an Adobe ID. For Microsoft Reader, it's done with your Microsoft Passport account.
• ActiveSync: ActiveSync is communications software that your Pocket PC uses to “talk” to your computer. You probably installed it when you first got your Pocket PC. If you didn't, or if you're not sure, review the documentation you received with your Pocket PC.
• ActiveX Control: ActiveX is a technology developed by Microsoft. With an ActiveX-enabled browser (i.e., Internet Explorer only), ActiveX controls can be downloaded as part of a web document to add functionality to the browser. Many applications require the ActiveX controls to be turned on, or else the applications won't work.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader: A computer program used for displaying PDF files, not encrypted eBook files.
• Adobe Digital Editions: Adobe Digital Editions is software designed just for reading DRM-protected eBooks.
• Adobe Forums: These are helpful sites to visit when you're stumped. You can find reference to just about any problem that you encounter. It may take a bit of detective work. In fact, the easiest way to get right to the heart of the matter is to Google your issue. Try to be as precise as possible, especially with error messages. Click here to visit the Adobe Forums.
• Application: A fancy word for a program that was designed to perform a specific function.
• Browser: Software that allows you to “surf” the Internet. Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari are examples of web browsers.
• Cookies: Small text files stored on your computer when visiting a website, cookies record preferences for that particular site's usage. Cookies are also common in shopping cart applications in order to remember visitors as they move throughout product pages.
• Download: To transfer a file or files from a remote computer to the user's computer.
• DRM: This acronym stands for Digital Rights Management, a technology used to protect digital products from copyright infringement. When you buy a DRM-protected eBook, the eBook is encrypted specifically for you. To view the eBook, you must activate your software, a process that verifies your identity and provides an electronic key for opening your eBooks.
• eBook: “eBook” is short for “electronic book.” Depending on the type of eBook, it can be read on your computer, your phone, or a dedicated reading device.
• ebx.etd file: When purchasing an Adobe Digital Edition, this is one of the transfer files that you may initially receive when you click on the download link that we provide to you. It contains the permissions necessary to view the document, but not the document itself. You should save the ebx.etd file and then double-click to open the book. The access codes in the ebx.etd file will allow the computer to connect to the host site and the book will begin to download.
• Encryption: A method used to translate digital information into a code that cannot be accessed without the necessary secret password or key that decrypts it.
• Firewall: A firewall is a hardware or software solution to enforce security policies. In the physical security analogy, a firewall is equivalent to a door lock on a perimeter door or on a door to a room inside of the building—it permits only authorized users such as those with a key or access card to enter. A firewall has built-in filters that can disallow unauthorized or potentially dangerous material from entering the system. It also logs attempted intrusions. Sometimes, a firewall might not allow eBook files though them, and you'll need to talk nicely to it.
• Flash Plug-in: Flash Plug-ins enable you to view documents that have been created using Flash software. This accessory is necessary to complete the download for Adobe Digital Editions. The plug-in can be downloaded free from Adobe.
• .LIT: Short for "Literature," .LIT is Microsoft's eBook format for its Microsoft Reader software. Microsoft Reader files will end with .lit.
• Microsoft Passport: Microsoft Passport is a “universal-login” service provided by Microsoft that allows users to log in to many websites using one account. Many of these websites are Microsoft services such as Hotmail, the .NET Messenger Service, or MSN subscriptions, but there are also several other companies affiliated with Microsoft that use it, such as RadioShack. Users of Hotmail or MSN are automatically assigned a Microsoft Passport that corresponds to their accounts.
• Microsoft Reader: Microsoft Reader is Microsoft's free software for reading eBooks. The software is available for computers running Microsoft's operating systems, as well as handheld devices that run Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system.
• Operating System: A computer program that controls the components of a computer system and facilitates the operation of applications. Windows Me, Windows XP, Linux, and MacOS are common operating systems.
• Palm Operating System: Palm OS is the type of operating system used by Palm/Handspring-type PDAs.
• PDA: “Personal Digital Assistant,” or PDA, is a term for any small, mobile handheld computer.
• PDF: Portable Document Format. An electronic document that must be read with the Adobe Acrobat computer program.
• Temporary Internet Files: Temporary Internet Files are the cache of websites you've visited through Internet Explorer. This means that when you load a web page with Internet Explorer, it is saved on your computer, so that if you later decide to open the same page again, it will open much faster. Temporary Internet Files improve speed of web browsing and also make possible so-called “off-line browsing,” which gives you the ability to open web pages from the cache even when you are not connected to the Internet.

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