OverDrive Media Console Now Available on Linux (kinda, sorta, more or less)
Overdrive has released new information that will allow Linux users to use the official Media Console via Wine. This is basically a translator that will allow native Windows apps to run in a pure Linux environment. When OverDrive Media Console is installed on a Linux PC using Wine, you will gain the capability of playing OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks, and even returning them through the software. On the other hand, some features are not available, including support for WMA Audiobooks and WMV Videos. This is mainly attributed to the Windows Media Codecs not being a part of your Linux build.
Your overall reading experience with ebooks checked out from the library should work, as long as you have a Linux e-reading app. I would recommend using the HTML5 app, Overdrive Read. You gain most of the reading functionality through this app, and it will work in any major web-browser. You can also use the Kindle Cloud Reader for the ebooks that you check out for the Kindle. Currently, Overdrive is the only library system that allows patrons to borrow ebooks directly to their Amazon account.
Michael Sauers is currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
View all posts by Michael Sauers
Overdrive has released new information that will allow Linux users to use the official Media Console via Wine. This is basically a translator that will allow native Windows apps to run in a pure Linux environment. When OverDrive Media Console is installed on a Linux PC using Wine, you will gain the capability of playing OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks, and even returning them through the software. On the other hand, some features are not available, including support for WMA Audiobooks and WMV Videos. This is mainly attributed to the Windows Media Codecs not being a part of your Linux build.
