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Well, CommanderROR, I can respect a counterargument. I have more counterarguments for your counterargument, but I think we can both agree that we shouldn't stray too far from the topical issue of DRM (as I've likely done already). I mostly just wanted to make the point that DRM has most likely allowed publishers to dare to edge their way into the market of electronic books. It was the market that came up with the DRM approach and I think that the government mandating these sorts of decisions and telling companies how to do business in the electronic realm, will hamper the sort of innovativeness that it takes to push electronic mediums forward. For me, even from its inception, DRM was never the kind of idea I expected to last. Its designers may have intended it to last, but from the perspective of a consumer, the idea is just laughable. Now here we are, years later, and companies involved with DRM are starting to realize more and more why the technology is hurting their products more than helping. I'm not worried about DRM. The people on this board are passionate about e-reading. We know how to get the most out of our products through third party programs and firmware hacks. We have higher expectations than the average consumer in this market and we should probably take that into account. A much larger portion of the population has to get used to the idea of ebooks before a larger outcry against DRM will be heard. In fact, most of the target audience is likely not to really notice DRM. Most people just want to download a book, load it onto their reader, and start reading. Give it some time like the music market and I'm sure we'll see big changes.
msundman: If you're really wondering what to do, I recommend buying the physical book and then finding some place to download it. I've already explained why I think this is ethical and legal. I actually hope to have my own library in the future in which there is a computer with the digitized versions of all the books I own. Then I could search through them with ease to find quotes and subject material. It's my beautiful vision for the future. It brings tears to my eyes, haha. I really hope Google puts their scanning project to good use and gets into the ebook game soon.
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