Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
The key is whether it will be a truly open standard that other vendors can produce software to create and view, and not lock you into Adobe as your only option to work with it.
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Since ePub is based on open, non-proprietary XHTML, and can be created with simple text and HTML tools (and Winzip), the only way we might get locked into any SW company would be if Adobe begins to add "features" to the ePub package that can only be read by DE and only be created by an Adobe product. Even this won't be enough... everyone has to decide that they
must have that feature, and thereby shut out not only other ePub authoring tools, but other ePub readers.
This is how Microsoft won the Browser Wars, and seeing as how acquisitive and aggressive Adobe's been getting lately, it's not beyond the realm of possibility. On the other hand, absolutely any e-book reader could accomplish the same thing, given the right feature set and public demand for it.
The key is the public. Adobe, or any company, can add all the proprietary doodads they want, but it won't lock the public into anything if they don't accept it. So ePub's remaining an open-source format is strictly up to us.