[sfernald]

The more these e-book sellers depend on onerous drm, the more likely they are to push their potential customers over to the darknet. They will figure this out eventually. People don't want to pay for the same content twice. They will find a way around the system. If e-book drm becomes pervasive, then you can eventually count on drm cracking utilities to become pervasive as well, just as they are today for the music drm formats. Simple GUI utilities will exist that let you effortlessly convert Kindle format or Sony Reader format to useful drm-free formats. This is not speculation, but almost a certainty, if the e-book sellers continue to put restrictions on customers.

Customers are generally willing to pay, but not only must there not be restrictive drm, but it must be convenient to make a purchase. This is where the Kindle excels over the Sony Reader. It is easier to download a book from the Darknet than work with the awkward Sony software, navigate through the confusing Sony store, and actually make a purchase there.

The e-book store that provides the two, convenience and minimal restrictions, along with a reasonable price, should be quite successful. Of course, this probably won't happen for a few years until the e-book market matures to where the music market is right now.