Packt Pub does it right: kills DRM restrictions

Alexander Turcic · 03-06-2009, 04:38 AM

I just received this welcoming e-mail from the guys from Packt Publishing:

Quote:

Dear Alexander Turcic

I hope you don't mind this unscheduled e-mail; however the following news concerns all PacktPub.com account holders.

In December, we decided to enable the copy and paste feature on our eBooks. Following this announcement, we received a number of suggestions from customers who would like to see the password protection removed from our eBooks as well. With the increasing popularity of reading eBooks on portable devices, the password protection was proving to be an obstacle that prevented users from doing so.

Therefore, we have taken this feedback on board and decided to remove all password protection from our eBooks with immediate effect. If you own a Packt eBook, you can download it again from your account at www.PacktPub.com; this new copy will have no password protection. We would like to thank all customers who took the time to provide us with this feedback and we hope you are pleased with this outcome.

You're probably already aware of the fact that our eBooks are available as immediate downloads and are now more portable than ever. You may have our VirtualDub eBook, which we released as a free download last year. If you haven't yet experienced a Packt eBook then you'll be pleased to hear that you have another opportunity as we can exclusively reveal a second free eBook is being released today. Cameron Cooper's Building Websites with Plone was initially published in 2004 and was regarded as the definitive book on the Zope based Content Management System.

To download your free eBook, visit the book's page at www.PacktPub.com/plone/book and click on the 'Download eBook' button. You will then need to login to your account, where the Building Websites with Plone eBook will be available to download in the 'Free eBook' section. This eBook is available to anyone with a PacktPub.com account, so you're welcome to pass on the news to friends or colleagues.

If the Plone or VirtualDub eBooks aren't to your liking, then you might want to try another one of our eBooks. For the duration of March, we are offering a 30% discount off all eBooks or if you purchase two at the same time, you'll get 40% off both. Just visit www.PacktPub.com for more details.

With best wishes

zelda_pinwheel · 03-06-2009, 09:11 AM

excellent news ! it's great to see more and more publishers listening to their readers, and getting it right. i just hope the more generalist publishers will also follow this road soon. congratulations to Packt for being so forward-thinking.

GeoffC · 03-06-2009, 09:30 AM

hopefully the dominoes will now start to fall ....

TadW · 03-06-2009, 12:07 PM

Packt has some cool IT books. Alex, what book(s) did you buy there?

Alexander Turcic · 03-06-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

Packt has some cool IT books. Alex, what book(s) did you buy there?

That would be Lighttpd (978-1-847192-10-3) and OpenVPN (978-1-904811-85-5). Both excellent books!

Elsi · 03-06-2009, 12:25 PM

I wasn't even aware of this publisher, and I'm seeing some books that are very attractive (and pertinent to my current projects at work). Now that they've been convinced to take off the DRM, wonder if they can be convinced to release the books in any format other than PDF. Of course, I probably should buy a book and see how successful I might be in shifting the format from PDF to MobiPocket or ePub.

Alexander Turcic · 03-06-2009, 12:39 PM

Elsi, there appears to be no DRM; however, the PDF content is branded to your name (on every page, see attachment). Not that it would personally bother me.

pilotbob · 03-06-2009, 03:02 PM

No DRM!

PDF

BOb

(Yes a smiley is worth a thousand words)

pilotbob · 03-06-2009, 03:03 PM

BTW: Manning and Pragmatic ebooks are DRM free PDF also. They too have the "Owner Branding" in them.

BOb

thibaulthalpern · 03-07-2009, 02:33 AM

Well, that's good news!

I just acquired my first digital reader, a Sony PRS-700 which I don't have in had yet as it's being shipped to me. However, I do have an iPod touch and with the recent Kindle for iPod, I bought a book from Amazon Kindle Store and now want to find a way to strip the dang file of the DRM. I want to transport the file to my PRS-700 to read it when it comes.

DRM makes transferring files between one's own devices rather cumbersome. I own two laptops, an iPod touch, and soon a PRS-700. DRM is creating some havoc in allowing me to read the protected documents across these four devices. What a pain!

03-06-2009, 09:11 AM	#2
zelda_pinwheel WWHALD Posts: 24,577 Karma: 102009 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: ebookwise 1150	excellent news ! it's great to see more and more publishers listening to their readers, and getting it right. i just hope the more generalist publishers will also follow this road soon. congratulations to Packt for being so forward-thinking. __________________ blog.ex-elibris.fr : les liseuses, les ebooks, nos lectures, la technologie… I don't want none of that mischief on my eels! - pdurrant by popular demand (well, vr is sure demanding, at least), we bring you the next exciting avatar in zelda's wardrobe, by the inimitable Madam Broshkina.

03-06-2009, 09:30 AM	#3
GeoffC Chocci Manic Posts: 8,659 Karma: 41717 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Cybook Gen3	hopefully the dominoes will now start to fall .... __________________ The power of positive thoughts works. "That, my dear friend, is because you are not an anagram, but an acronym. Guzzles Extreme Overdoses of Fabulously Flavoursome Chocolate" ... Courtesy of LazyScot

03-06-2009, 12:07 PM	#4
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,476 Karma: 8172 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	Packt has some cool IT books. Alex, what book(s) did you buy there? __________________ "It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore." - Apple's Steve Jobs, Jan 15, 2008

03-06-2009, 12:25 PM	#6
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,380 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	I wasn't even aware of this publisher, and I'm seeing some books that are very attractive (and pertinent to my current projects at work). Now that they've been convinced to take off the DRM, wonder if they can be convinced to release the books in any format other than PDF. Of course, I probably should buy a book and see how successful I might be in shifting the format from PDF to MobiPocket or ePub. __________________ Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all. -- Henry David Thoreau Currently reading: *Kiln People* by David Brin (MM Paperback) ... *A Play of Isaac* by Margaret Frazer (Kindle) ... *Birthright* by Nora Roberts (Audio CD) Books read in 2009: 117

03-06-2009, 12:39 PM	#7
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 12,730 Karma: 71589 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Portable Reader	Elsi, there appears to be no DRM; however, the PDF content is branded to your name (on every page, see attachment). Not that it would personally bother me. Attached Thumbnails

03-06-2009, 03:02 PM	#8
pilotbob Grand Wizard Posts: 12,327 Karma: 38310 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Classic	No DRM! PDF BOb (Yes a smiley is worth a thousand words) __________________ It is desirable that we should have a supply of good books; we cannot have such a supply unless men of letters are liberally remunerated; and the least objectionable way of remunerating them is by means of copyright. -- Thomas Macaulay, 1841

03-06-2009, 03:03 PM	#9
pilotbob Grand Wizard Posts: 12,327 Karma: 38310 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Classic	BTW: Manning and Pragmatic ebooks are DRM free PDF also. They too have the "Owner Branding" in them. BOb __________________ It is desirable that we should have a supply of good books; we cannot have such a supply unless men of letters are liberally remunerated; and the least objectionable way of remunerating them is by means of copyright. -- Thomas Macaulay, 1841

03-07-2009, 02:33 AM	#10
thibaulthalpern Evangelist Posts: 477 Karma: 402 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: California, USA Device: my two eyes, KLiiK, Sony PRS-700	Well, that's good news! I just acquired my first digital reader, a Sony PRS-700 which I don't have in had yet as it's being shipped to me. However, I do have an iPod touch and with the recent Kindle for iPod, I bought a book from Amazon Kindle Store and now want to find a way to strip the dang file of the DRM. I want to transport the file to my PRS-700 to read it when it comes. DRM makes transferring files between one's own devices rather cumbersome. I own two laptops, an iPod touch, and soon a PRS-700. DRM is creating some havoc in allowing me to read the protected documents across these four devices. What a pain!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Gwyneth Jones PDF ARC of new novel Spirit - pub. Dec 08 UK - free	Liviu_5	Deals, Freebies, and Resources	3	09-30-2008 12:05 PM
Mnfg restrictions on online sales?	horseyride	Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505	2	11-14-2007 03:36 PM
Scribble merger kills bookmarks	Scifier	iLiad Troubleshooting	5	04-04-2007 05:59 PM
Ping flood kills Bluetooth	Colin Dunstan	Handhelds and Smartphones	0	06-17-2005 08:23 AM
Bypass Most Firewall Restrictions and Access the Internet Privately	Colin Dunstan	Lounge	0	08-06-2004 10:58 AM