DRM is something that will be with us as long as there are library ebooks for checking out so there is nothing inherently evil about it.
More, the vast majority of consumers really, really don't care about it either way.
Too busy reading to fret about it.
(Has anybody actually checked the d/l count on the latest tools? Low 5 digit range.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by BeccaPrice
clearly he hasn't visited torrent sites or pirate sites. Apparently lots of people scan books in and upload them.
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Yes, people do scan books in. They've done it for decades.
But I'm not sure that "lots" is a particularly big number. Especially these days. I'm think a few hundred or even a few thousand of those hobbyists aren't going to be making much of an impact in the flood of content coming to market.)
The scanner crews are still out there for the occasional Potterish release and working the backlist but most *english language* torrent listings I've seen (David Carnoy's infamous "2500 ebook Kindle books",
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-20033437-82.html, for example) seem to be composed of DeDRM'ed commercial titles. (I'm no expert in the darknets, though. Others might know better.)
And the publishers may talk big, anti-piracy-wise, but their (lack of deeds) suggest they really do see it as a nuisance factor. And, let's face it; their is more than enough good, legally free stuff around to keep most mainstream readers busy anyway.
I sort'of see a cool detente there; current ebook DRM is at most a mild annoyance to readers that care about it at all and piracy is just minor noise in the exploding ebook sales boom.
There are bigger issues afoot.