DRM poll: How do you deal with it.

[bill_mchale]

Well, since a couple of the recent threads on here have ended up diverging from their original topics to be about DRM (And to a certain extent, that was my fault), I figured I would post a poll, just so we could get a better idea of how people deal with DRM. I am sure I missed some options, but then again, we can all add our own thoughts after we vote .

[HarryT]

Mobi DRM doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's sufficient flexible to handle the new machines that I buy and, should it prove troublesome in the future (eg a store going out of business) I have the reassurance of knowing that, as a last resort, it can be circumvented.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

I picked other, partly to reflect that at present I have a mix of DRMd books and free books, but also because having been here a while now I know that I'm not neccesarily limited to books with DRM and that for some of them it can be circumvented if needed.

[pilotbob]

OK... I think I might have hinted that I liberate ebooks.. but you want me to go on record with an official poll? My RIAA/MPAA warning horn is going off.

BOb

[zelda_pinwheel]

i sort of wish that this poll had been multiple choice because i hesitated between "i don't buy books with DRM" and "I buy books with DRM but remove the DRM later," but i suppose the first choice is not completely accurate anyway.

i try to avoid buying books with DRM when possible on principle as well as for practical reasons, but if there's a book i want enough which is only available with DRM, i'll buy it in LIT format and then immediately remove the DRM and save the html for archival purposes.

i must say though that the overwhelming majority of my books come from the free sources you listed in the last option (but you forgot to mention MobileRead !!!! that's where i get most of mine), and DRM is not a problem there.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

OK... I think I might have hinted that I liberate ebooks.. but you want me to go on record with an official poll? My RIAA/MPAA warning horn is going off.

BOb

"just because i'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me..."

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

"just because i'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me..."

Exactly!

BOb

[Slite]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i sort of wish that this poll had been multiple choice because i hesitated between "i don't buy books with DRM" and "I buy books with DRM but remove the DRM later," but i suppose the first choice is not completely accurate anyway.

i try to avoid buying books with DRM when possible on principle as well as for practical reasons, but if there's a book i want enough which is only available with DRM, i'll buy it in LIT format and then immediately remove the DRM and save the html for archival purposes.

i must say though that the overwhelming majority of my books come from the free sources you listed in the last option (but you forgot to mention MobileRead !!!! that's where i get most of mine), and DRM is not a problem there.

And there wasn't an option for "The blue one, next to the fish" either

[NatCh]

There are some titles I buy with DRM unhesitatingly -- they're ones I figure I'm not likely to ever want to re-read, so I'm less concerned if I can't get to them again in 5 years or so.

There are others that I will either buy without DRM (if I can) or "liberate" that I know I'm going to want access to indefinitely.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Mobi DRM doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's sufficient flexible to handle the new machines that I buy and, should it prove troublesome in the future (eg a store going out of business) I have the reassurance of knowing that, as a last resort, it can be circumvented.

Why not remove the DRM now? That way, you won't have to worry about changing PIDs or store going out of business. What if you didn't have the PID any longer? Then you could not strip the DRM. Best do it while you can and the DRM hassle is gone.

[HarryT]

I must say that there are DRM formats I wouldn't buy, such as Sony's LRX format, because they lock me into a specific manufacturer about whom I have little confidence of their long-term committment to the eBook business. As I've said before, the reason I like Mobi is that it gives me a very wide choice of devices on which to read, and I have every confidence that it will continue to be supported in the future.

[JSWolf]

The option that I wanted that was not on there would have been...
When I do buy books with DRM, I buy in a format I can strip the DRM and convert if need be.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why not remove the DRM now? That way, you won't have to worry about changing PIDs or store going out of business. What if you didn't have the PID any longer? Then you could not strip the DRM. Best do it while you can and the DRM hassle is gone.

Because to do so is illegal where I live, and I prefer not to break the law unless the need to do so is forced upon me.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I must say that there are DRM formats I wouldn't buy, such as Sony's LRX format, because they lock me into a specific manufacturer about whom I have little confidence of their long-term commitment to the eBook business. As I've said before, the reason I like Mobi is that it gives me a very wide choice of devices on which to read, and I have every confidence that it will continue to be supported in the future.

Would you buy from Amazon if you could not strip the DRM of most of their eBooks knowing their past history with eBooks?

[Steve Jordan]

I voted one, because I mostly don't buy DRM'd books. I admit I have bought a few Mobi books, though, and at least one from eReader. I have yet to DRM-strip. My mostly-avoidance of DRM is the main reason I haven't bought a Kindle or Sony reader.