MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

JSWolf · 10-09-2007, 09:19 AM

Take a paper book. As long as the book is in good enough condition to be read, I can always read it. Possibly I'll have it for the rest of my life if I treat it properly. So my investment can last the rest of my life. That a good deal there.

Now take an ebook. Let's use Mobi format. I purchase this ebook. I've given the PID(s). I've downloaded it and I have it. I can read it on the authorized devices. Now lets say the online shop I purchased it from is no longer in business. I have this ebook that when I bought it could be read on my computer & PDA. That's good. ok, I get a new computer and my PID's changed. I get a new PDA and my PID has changed. This ebook contains the PID(s) from the previous devices. How the heck do I then read it? I cannot unless I know how to break the DRM. The DRM makes this book a bad investment. If I want to own a copy of that book, I then have to go out and spend even more money. This is not the same as changing from VHS to DVD or LP to CD. This is the same book in mobi format that should be readable by a copy of the reader software. But DRM is causing it NOT to work.

Now if we make a big enough stink about the DRM issue, we could end up with people not buying readers because they will be afraid that at some point, they won't be able to read the ebooks they bought. I'm sorry, but DRM is possibly what will keep ebooks from being as popular as they should be.

And the tower of ebable does not help at all. When you have a device to read ebooks and find a book you want but then find it cannot be read by your device because it's not available in the format you need, that means you either have to purchase the paper edition or do without.

In terms of software, look at Lotus. When they had that horrible copy protection on 1-2-3, it did more harm to businesses trying to do it legally then it did good. You were even unable to back it up from your computer so that if it crashed, you could restore it.

The way I see it.. if you stick all kinds of restrictions on something and someone figures out how to remove those restrictions, that person is more likely to pirate that content then if it was free of restrictions in the first place. That is what the content providers fail to recognize.

10-09-2007, 09:19 AM	#124
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,940 Karma: 146918083 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Take a paper book. As long as the book is in good enough condition to be read, I can always read it. Possibly I'll have it for the rest of my life if I treat it properly. So my investment can last the rest of my life. That a good deal there. Now take an ebook. Let's use Mobi format. I purchase this ebook. I've given the PID(s). I've downloaded it and I have it. I can read it on the authorized devices. Now lets say the online shop I purchased it from is no longer in business. I have this ebook that when I bought it could be read on my computer & PDA. That's good. ok, I get a new computer and my PID's changed. I get a new PDA and my PID has changed. This ebook contains the PID(s) from the previous devices. How the heck do I then read it? I cannot unless I know how to break the DRM. The DRM makes this book a bad investment. If I want to own a copy of that book, I then have to go out and spend even more money. This is not the same as changing from VHS to DVD or LP to CD. This is the same book in mobi format that should be readable by a copy of the reader software. But DRM is causing it NOT to work. Now if we make a big enough stink about the DRM issue, we could end up with people not buying readers because they will be afraid that at some point, they won't be able to read the ebooks they bought. I'm sorry, but DRM is possibly what will keep ebooks from being as popular as they should be. And the tower of ebable does not help at all. When you have a device to read ebooks and find a book you want but then find it cannot be read by your device because it's not available in the format you need, that means you either have to purchase the paper edition or do without. In terms of software, look at Lotus. When they had that horrible copy protection on 1-2-3, it did more harm to businesses trying to do it legally then it did good. You were even unable to back it up from your computer so that if it crashed, you could restore it. The way I see it.. if you stick all kinds of restrictions on something and someone figures out how to remove those restrictions, that person is more likely to pirate that content then if it was free of restrictions in the first place. That is what the content providers fail to recognize.