Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemurion
Pardon the snippage.
I really think format control is more of a factor than locking out the competition. If all they wanted to do was make it impossible for the Kindle to read books from other sellers, all they needed to do was limit it to DRM-infected books and it would be done.
The big advantage of format control is the ability to introduce the features they want when they want them. With a standards-based format they have to wait for the committee to approve features.
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No problem with the snippage.
I really can't totally agree on this one. Sure they can add their own features to their own format, but are there that many crucial features missing from the epub format and some of these 'features' can be added on the reader to existing epubs. Like the chapter numbers instead of page numbers that Kobo is so enamoured of. Or their reading life.
Not saying I know every feature out there and some I might consider indispensable if I had them. Perhaps you can point out a few really important ones that are strictly file format based and have nothing to do with the ereader being used and are totally undoable with epub?
And what happens if someone adds a feature not supported by the committee. Are they chastised and locked in the basement for a week? Are there thousands of books unpublished because the author or publisher is waiting for the epub 3 standard?
I understand Apple and Amazon enforcing strict standards on the books format but unfortunately Amazon at least does not enforce the same strict standards on the book being adequately proofread or in some instances being the legal property of the seller. Apple may do better in this regard.
I still think it is mostly about control and not very much about making the book full of features.
Helen