Quote:
Originally Posted by GntlmnBndt
The ePUB format does have lots of advantages, and it is my preferred format, but =X='s question was specifically about DRM-protected ePUB, which is a rather different beast.
As much as I like ePUB, it could be as open and standard as ASCII text (or HTML, per your comparison), but wrapping it in a proprietary DRM pretty well strips it of any advantage of an open format for the consumer. It is not an end to ebabel, but just another way to build the tower. Yes, Adobe intends to make DE available on several platforms, but according to them Acrobat is cross-platform, yet lots of people still cannot read protected acrobat files either (in fact, the ability to do so depends not just on having Acrobat, but having the right version). Applications like FBReader and Stanza, which have implemented ePUB support, will not be able to read these 'open' ePUB files.
We almost need a different name for protected ePUB files, because to consumers they really are a separate format. Even if we can get wide-spread implementation of ePUB support, can you imagine all the people buying 'ePUB' books for their ePUB-enabled reader (from whatever maker), only to find that they still cannot read the books? Reminds me of all the people that purchased the early eInk readers which supported PDF format, and wanted to know why all their PDFs were illegible.
The Bandit
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sorry, you're right, the original question was more about drm than epub. i was more specifically reacting to harry's post in fact. as far as drm goes i must agree with you, but then i try to avoid buying *any* drm files when possible (nasty, horrid plague !).
hopefully, adobe's drm will be cracked sooner rather than later or (even better) publishers will finally see the light and abandon drm (where there's life, there's hope, right ?).
in the meantime, though, a few publishers *are* offering drm-free epub files. i'm hoping a lot more will catch on and do the same.
