Beginning to think that Ereader DRM will not happen

cvkemp · 10-10-2009, 11:35 AM

It sure has been quit for a long time about the ereader DRM firmware and deals.
I wonder if it has been put down or just waiting because of B&Ns new ereader that has been reported

Chuck

Musicman · 10-10-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cvkemp

It sure has been quit for a long time about the ereader DRM firmware and deals.
I wonder if it has been put down or just waiting because of B&Ns new ereader that has been reported

Chuck

I've been wondering myself....

It has been too quiet about E-Reader DRM, so I'm feeling like it might be a dead issue for us here.

I am curious about the IREX that was annnounced. They said it would be availabe soon at Best Buy, but the one nearest me here in NY only has Sonys.

6charlong · 10-10-2009, 07:25 PM

I'm getting frustrated waiting too, but it's hard to imagine a company as big as B&N making a mistake on something this important. eReader is a legacy product. B&N doesn't need to have "tech savvy" to understand what that means; surely they've been around long enough to understand.

There are rumors of at least two new ebook readers with eReader support being released before the holidays. On B&N's own WEB site one of their most used threads is a pleading from many customers for eReader support for Linux. There seems to be a critical mass building up.

One would think that nobody needs to remind B&N that selling books is what they do. Copying Amazon, a department store that sells all sorts of products, is a snipe hunt for B&N. In a future where ebooks are increasingly how books are published, getting as many readers needing books in the hands of as many customers needing content as possible has to be the key to profit in B&N's market.

In the meantime my own wishlist at B&N keeps growing while I wait for content I can read on a real screen. And in the meantime innovators like ShortCovers, which sells ePub editions with their own iPod app so I can read their product on my iPod, Sony or PPro, are taking market share that B&N may not be able to get back. The longer B&N delays the more serious challenges like that to their real core business there will be. They have to realize this as well as we can. On the other hand, Keynes's "animal spirits" seem to rule the business world at the moment.

Faenad · 10-10-2009, 07:48 PM

B&N have a big press event planned for the 20th of October. They will probably present theirs readers and theirs ebooks plan.

bbusybookworm · 10-10-2009, 08:14 PM

I agree its a bit frustrating as most of the Books I buy are also in the eReader format.

However, as RobertB has always been pretty open about suff like this I'll assume that if it was not happening, it'll have been mentioned. Thought he mentioned recently, his company is not very happy with him being a little too open at times so he's probably not going to tell us much about ongoing negotiation and development.

Still the takeover of eReader by B&N, and the fact that no other dedicated device supports eReader at present probably means that a lot more work has to be done to develop device specific support, while taking care to ensure that the core code is easily portable to new devices as they come along.

Also keep in mind that eReader was talking about moving to ePUB as well, but with their own DRM, you have nice recipe for slowing things down.

Musicman · 10-11-2009, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

Thought he mentioned recently, his company is not very happy with him being a little too open at times so he's probably not going to tell us much about ongoing negotiation and development.

Still the takeover of eReader by B&N, and the fact that no other dedicated device supports eReader at present probably means that a lot more work has to be done to develop device specific support, while taking care to ensure that the core code is easily portable to new devices as they come along.

Also keep in mind that eReader was talking about moving to ePUB as well, but with their own DRM, you have nice recipe for slowing things down.

As I understand it, the only issue that was left was the licensing agreement.

I noticed that Eslick also hasn't gotten approval for E-reader support.

Hopefully, B&N is not being restrictive in their licensing...

cvkemp · 10-11-2009, 09:41 AM

What I am hopeing is that when B&N annouces their ereader that will free things up for the other ereaders to get it too.
I can not see B&N being like Amazon because every time I am in B&N I hear over and over that we will not be like Amazon from the management.

Chuck

cvkemp · 10-13-2009, 09:14 AM

Sorry Robert but I have 5 kids and 10 grandkids so I know how to stir up a pot.

Chuck

Musicman · 10-13-2009, 12:08 PM

Could be Robertb's silence means its not a dead issue...

If it were a dead issue, I would think he would let us know.

JSWolf · 10-13-2009, 12:12 PM

To be honest, I'm hoping it is a dead issue as eReader is an obsolete format.

emoorman · 10-13-2009, 02:13 PM

The eReader site says they are working toward this in the near future?, whatever this is.

I have over 130 ereader books already and would like to port them over to something with a larger and better screen than a Palm or Windows Mobile phone.

nomad · 10-13-2009, 02:35 PM

I did ask Robert B about eReader support and I was told:

***
We are working every day on getting a final contract from Barnes & Noble that is acceptable. I am under an NDA so cannot say much... but we want it very badly and are praying for something acceptable daily!
***

Regards,

Michal

Robertb · 10-13-2009, 02:42 PM

Dear All:

We share your enthusiasm for getting eReader onto our devices. Every day we are working towards this.

The hold up is getting an acceptable contract from Barnes & Noble (who now owns Fictionwise). The NDA we have prevents me from providing much info. If I do, it would violate the NDA and we would lose eReader. So, I keep quiet pressing and pressing my contact at Fictionwise who is working furiously to make this happen.

In a nutshell, the issue is not cost... it is exclusivity! We want to put BOTH formats on the same device. Adobe is fine with this; but Barnes & Noble needs to approve of this idea. We hear that a decision is finally close.

I wish I could tell you more and have a letter writing campaign to bring this about. I cannot. The issue is anything but dead, the resolve is still there, and every day we are working on getting something accomplished towards the goal! This is still on our front burner!!

cvkemp · 10-13-2009, 03:04 PM

Thanks Robert I believe I said earlier that I felt that it was delayed due to B&N getting ready to annouce their ereader

Thanks again

Chuck

AnemicOak · 10-13-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

In a nutshell, the issue is not cost... it is exclusivity! We want to put BOTH formats on the same device. Adobe is fine with this; but Barnes & Noble needs to approve of this idea. We hear that a decision is finally close.

That's weird. The new I-Rex device is supposed to have both ADE and eReader on it when it comes out later this month.

10-10-2009, 11:35 AM	#1
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,412 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 5,iPhone 13, IPad, MacBook Air	Beginning to think that Ereader DRM will not happen It sure has been quit for a long time about the ereader DRM firmware and deals. I wonder if it has been put down or just waiting because of B&Ns new ereader that has been reported Chuck

10-13-2009, 09:14 AM	#8
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,412 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 5,iPhone 13, IPad, MacBook Air	Have you noticed how Robert B is not making any comments Sorry Robert but I have 5 kids and 10 grandkids so I know how to stir up a pot. Chuck

10-13-2009, 02:35 PM	#12
nomad Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: EZ Reader	eReader I did ask Robert B about eReader support and I was told: * We are working every day on getting a final contract from Barnes & Noble that is acceptable. I am under an NDA so cannot say much... but we want it very badly and are praying for something acceptable daily! * Regards, Michal

10-13-2009, 02:42 PM	#13
Robertb Astak Director, Bus. Devl Posts: 2,560 Karma: 2500000 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Astak Pocket PRO	Not at all a "dead issue"!! Dear All: We share your enthusiasm for getting eReader onto our devices. Every day we are working towards this. The hold up is getting an acceptable contract from Barnes & Noble (who now owns Fictionwise). The NDA we have prevents me from providing much info. If I do, it would violate the NDA and we would lose eReader. So, I keep quiet pressing and pressing my contact at Fictionwise who is working furiously to make this happen. In a nutshell, the issue is not cost... it is exclusivity! We want to put BOTH formats on the same device. Adobe is fine with this; but Barnes & Noble needs to approve of this idea. We hear that a decision is finally close. I wish I could tell you more and have a letter writing campaign to bring this about. I cannot. The issue is anything but dead, the resolve is still there, and every day we are working on getting something accomplished towards the goal! This is still on our front burner!!

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10-10-2009, 07:25 PM	#3
6charlong friendly lurker Posts: 896 Karma: 2436026 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: US Device: Kindle, nook, Apple and Kobo	I'm getting frustrated waiting too, but it's hard to imagine a company as big as B&N making a mistake on something this important. eReader is a legacy product. B&N doesn't need to have "tech savvy" to understand what that means; surely they've been around long enough to understand. There are rumors of at least two new ebook readers with eReader support being released before the holidays. On B&N's own WEB site one of their most used threads is a pleading from many customers for eReader support for Linux. There seems to be a critical mass building up. One would think that nobody needs to remind B&N that selling books is what they do. Copying Amazon, a department store that sells all sorts of products, is a snipe hunt for B&N. In a future where ebooks are increasingly how books are published, getting as many readers needing books in the hands of as many customers needing content as possible has to be the key to profit in B&N's market. In the meantime my own wishlist at B&N keeps growing while I wait for content I can read on a real screen. And in the meantime innovators like ShortCovers, which sells ePub editions with their own iPod app so I can read their product on my iPod, Sony or PPro, are taking market share that B&N may not be able to get back. The longer B&N delays the more serious challenges like that to their real core business there will be. They have to realize this as well as we can. On the other hand, Keynes's "animal spirits" seem to rule the business world at the moment.

10-10-2009, 07:48 PM	#4
Faenad Ad astra per aspera Posts: 347 Karma: 724 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Mexico Device: PRS-505, PRS-300 & HTC HD2	B&N have a big press event planned for the 20th of October. They will probably present theirs readers and theirs ebooks plan.

10-10-2009, 08:14 PM	#5
bbusybookworm Tech Junkie Posts: 1,027 Karma: 10080 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Earth Device: iPad, MotoXStyle, OnePlusOne	I agree its a bit frustrating as most of the Books I buy are also in the eReader format. However, as RobertB has always been pretty open about suff like this I'll assume that if it was not happening, it'll have been mentioned. Thought he mentioned recently, his company is not very happy with him being a little too open at times so he's probably not going to tell us much about ongoing negotiation and development. Still the takeover of eReader by B&N, and the fact that no other dedicated device supports eReader at present probably means that a lot more work has to be done to develop device specific support, while taking care to ensure that the core code is easily portable to new devices as they come along. Also keep in mind that eReader was talking about moving to ePUB as well, but with their own DRM, you have nice recipe for slowing things down.

10-11-2009, 09:41 AM	#7
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,412 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 5,iPhone 13, IPad, MacBook Air	What I am hopeing is that when B&N annouces their ereader that will free things up for the other ereaders to get it too. I can not see B&N being like Amazon because every time I am in B&N I hear over and over that we will not be like Amazon from the management. Chuck

10-13-2009, 12:08 PM	#9
Musicman Evangelist Posts: 440 Karma: 364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: New York Device: EZ-Reader - Samsung Nook's- Nook S/T w/Glow - Kindle Fire - Nova 2	Could be Robertb's silence means its not a dead issue... If it were a dead issue, I would think he would let us know.

10-13-2009, 12:12 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,938 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	To be honest, I'm hoping it is a dead issue as eReader is an obsolete format.

10-13-2009, 02:13 PM	#11
emoorman Obsessive Reader Posts: 74 Karma: 515292 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Shalimar, FL (in the panhandle) Device: Kindle PW, Nokia 1520	The eReader site says they are working toward this in the near future?, whatever this is. I have over 130 ereader books already and would like to port them over to something with a larger and better screen than a Palm or Windows Mobile phone.

10-13-2009, 03:04 PM	#14
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,412 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 5,iPhone 13, IPad, MacBook Air	Thanks Robert I believe I said earlier that I felt that it was delayed due to B&N getting ready to annouce their ereader Thanks again Chuck