Princeton University goes digital - the wrong way

[basschick]

so a student can't study on both his/her desktop and laptop or ereader, which pretty much sucks. i guess the university is trying to keep students from sharing, but in reality there are still ways to pirate the ebooks just like there are with the books - and now students will be limited to studying on only one computer. students who want to pirate can still screencap all the pages in the book.

and if certain books are only good for a few months, will they cost significantly less than an ebook that will allow reference and study for many years to come?

sounds like having a couple people who actually read ebooks help design this program might have been useful. while i realize that princeton had good intentions, it doesn't seem like they've actually made things easier - or more useful - for students.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

2) yes, the textbook will be locked to a single computer. that software, however, does allow for backups and unlimited printing (with a few exceptions). also, in the case of crashes, technical support will be available for those that have purchased these ebooks to allow for a second download.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

4) the five month activation only applies to specific books which are being discontinued and no longer published. some ebooks, at the publishers request again, are set to a minimum of 5 months activation.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

just to clarify a bit:

1) drm was requested by the publishers for protection of their intellectual property. these publishers were invited to participate in the pilot program developed by mbs.

2) yes, the textbook will be locked to a single computer. that software, however, does allow for backups and unlimited printing (with a few exceptions). also, in the case of crashes, technical support will be available for those that have purchased these ebooks to allow for a second download.

3) yes, drm will prevent copying to secondary saving devices or tools as requested by the publishers.

4) the five month activation only applies to specific books which are being discontinued and no longer published. some ebooks, at the publishers request again, are set to a minimum of 5 months activation.

5) true, ebooks will not be returnable.

6) again, yes, no buybacks. think about it for a second. if you decide to purchase a book for full price at $50.00, that's what you pay. the ebook would only run you $33.50. if you're short on cash, that seems like a good option. you can use the $16.50 for food or whatever you like. at the end of the semester, you'd be lucky to get 50% of what you paid anyway, and sure, there are bookstores that offer that. still, for most students, you get anywhere from 25-50% of the full purchased price. some, people lose some money, others benefit from it.

i think what most people are forgetting is that students have a choice now. for those that have the laptops and prefer ebooks, well, you have the choice to buy ebooks instead at a much lower cost. if you prefer to buy the actual book, well, go right ahead, they will still be there.

Hey ... clarify all you want. I love ebooks, but I would never in a million years waste my money on a textbook that limits my use of it. And, a textbook that expires?? No way, no how, not ever.

Don't be surprised if the pilot program doesn't succeed as wildly as people might hope. Princeton students are not a bunch of complete idiots ... no matter what the folks at Yale and Harvard might say.

[daffy4u]

The original post that started this thread is nearly 3 years old. In light of Princeton Press now making textbooks for the Kindle, things may have changed since Kindle formatted content cannot be shared with other Kindles (... as far as we know).

[igorsk]

Yay for thread necromancy.

[RickyMaveety]

Well now ... y'all just shut my mouth and call me an armadillo!! It never occurred to me to look at the post date.

[Over]

I ressurected it because it was linked in the news and because I was curious about that study results. But it seems it fell in oblivion.

Or are there any news about this project?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Well now ... y'all just shut my mouth and call me an armadillo!! It never occurred to me to look at the post date.

you armadillo !!!

[TheJohnNewton]

@Daffy4u, You can share Kindle content with other Kindles (up to 6) registered on the same account.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

you armadillo !!!

Notice the new avatar????????

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Notice the new avatar????????

oh, YAY !!!!

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by TheJohnNewton

@Daffy4u, You can share Kindle content with other Kindles (up to 6) registered on the same account.

You're right, of course and I knew that but I was thinking in the context of students sharing with other.

[Dean]

In spite of the best before date having gone stale on the original post, the idea of a marriage between text book manufacturers and courses seems relatively simple. If each student had included in their fees the cost of their course package, or required courses, at a truly reduced rate, then the idea of piracy loses currency.

Of course I immediately thought of a fly in the ointment with the above idea. For example if an English course requires me to read The Faerie Queen, and such public domain titles, why should I be required to pay for texts I can get for free? Anyone want to do a cost-benefit analysis?

Dean Verger