An answer from the author

I am the author of Activ E-Book Compiler (and for that matter CoverFactory).

I'll try and answer your questions as best I can.

Activ E-Book Compiler creates .EXE eBooks. .EXE files are Windows programs.
The ones created with our Compiler will run on computers with Windows 95, 98, NT4, 2000, Me, or XP, provided Internet Explorer 4 or later is installed (it doesn't have to be the default browser). That is basically all modern Windows PCs.

Basically what our compiler does it takes HTML and other content you supply, together with your options for things like whether you want toolbars, menus, passwords, etc., etc. and build a self-contained Windows program (EXE file) which when runs displays it. Of course, it can do rather a lot more too, but that summarizes the main function.

Regarding the Rebranding, you can set up fields ("variables") which have an initial value (set up by you as the author), and allow some or all of them to Rebrandable. These variables can each contain text or HTML, and can be placed within your own HTML code that you compile in the eBook.

- A common use is to allow others to distribute copies of your eBook, rebranded with their own affiliate ids or links to the web site.

- A more adventurous use is to allow people to insert vast chunks (like a whole page even) of content into your eBook. For example, some authors allow their their resellers/distributors to insert a page in the eBook describing the reseller's/distributor's business.

Anyway, if you enable Rebranding, the compile will generate your eBook, as well as a Rebrander (also an EXE) file. Unlike some other compilers (I believe), the Rebrander produced is specific to your eBook (in other words you can't rebrand an eBook unless you have a corresponding Rebrander). This is an important feature, as our system allows you as the author to choose which resellers/distributors to give your Rebrander too (with some competitors' compilers, I believe that you can use the same Rebrander on any eBook produced using their compiler - which means once a person has these competitors' rebrander, they could potentially going on a Rebranding-spree even of eBooks which they are not supposed to Rebrand).

I make no bones about it, but PDF really addresses a rather different market, user-base and set of needs from our compiler.

PDF is basically digital paper. It is rather good at producing documents which look like on-screen versions (and then optional printing them) of Paper documents. Yes there are some bells and whistles, like the option to include links to web sites, but if you have experience working with PDF documents, I think you will understand what I mean.

On the other hand, the eBooks produced by our compiler are, at minimum, web-sites wrapped up into a single easily-distributed file. If you want to re-use web content (HTML pages, or sections of pages, or JavaScripts, or HTML forms [like an email capture form linked to your site], or framing of web sites that you own to appear as if part of the eBook, etc.) then that is what our compiler can do. Similarly if you want to use web development methods, for example, you design nice looking web pages in HTML/CSS or whatever, with the intentt to distribute them as easily downloadable files, or on CD-ROMs, again this is the area our compiler addresses.

Finally in the last paragraph, I said "at minimum". To explain what I meant by that:

- first, we also add some features that are not part of a standard web site [unless you happen to write CGI scripts or whatever!] - like a Search function for example (a searrch function is in itself essential to some kinds of projects - have you ever tried searching a large reference web site [or for that matter PDF document] without a search function).

- second, we have various features which some of our more advanced users use, like scripting functions to process forms and store data, a programmer's API (for the real techies), an optional add-on for full screen video, etc. These types of features allow information to be presented interactively, and some users even use them to build "software" rather than "eBooks" (for example, I've seen many web-authoring utility programs that are actually created using our compiler).

I'll stop talking now, except to say a couple of things to sum-up:

1. Hopefully I explained what the compiler + rebrander does already, if not you can ask follow-ups, or visit our forum EBookFriends.com, or simply download the free trial version (which comes with the full Help file) and take a look for yourself. For an overview of the compiler, look at the Getting Started section of the Help, especially the Basic Concepts page. For a simple example of what the Rebrander does, look at the Rebrander Example in the Variables and Scripts section of the Help.

2. As I tried to explain in this post, PDF and our compiler, while both producing "eBooks" in the broad sense, but the types of eBooks produced, the users' needs addressed, and the methods by which they are produced by are all very different... but if you don't currently have a feel for just how different, you need to try viewing eBooks of both types.

I assume that you have some experience viewing PDF documents on your computer. If not, try downloading Adobe Acrobat, and then viewing and reading some PDFs for a few minutes or so.

Next I would suggest you download 3 eBooks made using our compiler. (1) the Help which comes with the trial download of Activ E-Book Compiler, (2) the Help which comes with the trial download of CoverFactory.com, and (3) the demo eBook from EBookPower.com. Spend a few minutes with each of these eBooks, and you will note they are all radically different in experience from reading a PDF, and also rather different from each other (even though all are produced with our compiler).

Hope this helps