MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - How much purchased content is locked up in proprietary e-book formats?

Bob Russell · 06-22-2006, 01:43 PM

Even with the exciting recent developments in e-book standards, we have some hurdles to overcome before we see true interoperability across the board for e-books.

I wonder how much e-book content is at risk in the e-book libraries of Mobileread readers. In other words, among us as e-book fans, how many e-books are in proprietary formats that will likely be unreadable as the technology shifts?

There is always the possibility that eReader, MS Lit or MobiPocket files might be supported by a majority of e-book hardware and software in the long run, but I'm not sure the odds are all that good. Especially, when you consider that even in their current prime of life, they are not widely supported by reader hardware and software.

I have stuck mostly to non-DRM'd books exactly for this reason. What a wonderful library of public domain classics we can get for free! There are so many books I would have purchased, but when push comes to shove, it's just way too expensive for a book that I consider to be essentially a throw-away, except for the occassional impulse buy. There's one set of about 20 novels in a series that I would buy today if there was a decent price on the set and no DRM, but with DRM it just doesn't make sense. Unfortunately, what sellers can do to sell e-books to me might not be what is in their (perceived) best interest for the marketplace in general.

As a result, the content I have purchased is mostly some eReader books, plus some Bible and Bible resources for which I paid way too much. I like the eReader DRM because it's not tied to a device, but future support of the format on new devices worries me. The eReader store also allows you to re-download your books if you lose the files, which I think is not hard to do unless you are a very diligent individual with regard to backups. But updates of the eReader software even on PalmOS and Windows Mobile devices seem to be rare, so it doesn't give a warm and gushy feeling about future support.

What about you? Have you been hesitant to buy DRM'd e-books even though you would, in general, like to shell out some money for e-books? Do you have a lot of content that may not be supported in the next generation of devices? Did you realize at purchase time that the content was at-risk, or do you feel a bit shafted now that you realize you might not be able to read the e-books in the future? How much money do you have tied up the books that are at-risk? Are you reading more and better quality classic public domain books because of DRM?

This is a hot topic, maybe I should say painful topic, but we'd love to hear your thoughts. As always, please keep them polite. Expressing frustration is fine, but please no personal attacks or gratuitous slams on e-book sellers.

And remember... as frustrated as we are with DRM'd e-books, you have to appreciate those resellers like eReader, Microsoft, Fictionwise, MobiPocket, etc because they are pathbreakers in a difficult market, and they are the only reason some of our favorite books are available in electronic form at all.

So - what do you think about all this?

06-22-2006, 01:43 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	How much purchased content is locked up in proprietary e-book formats? Even with the exciting recent developments in e-book standards, we have some hurdles to overcome before we see true interoperability across the board for e-books. I wonder how much e-book content is at risk in the e-book libraries of Mobileread readers. In other words, among us as e-book fans, how many e-books are in proprietary formats that will likely be unreadable as the technology shifts? There is always the possibility that eReader, MS Lit or MobiPocket files might be supported by a majority of e-book hardware and software in the long run, but I'm not sure the odds are all that good. Especially, when you consider that even in their current prime of life, they are not widely supported by reader hardware and software. I have stuck mostly to non-DRM'd books exactly for this reason. What a wonderful library of public domain classics we can get for free! There are so many books I would have purchased, but when push comes to shove, it's just way too expensive for a book that I consider to be essentially a throw-away, except for the occassional impulse buy. There's one set of about 20 novels in a series that I would buy today if there was a decent price on the set and no DRM, but with DRM it just doesn't make sense. Unfortunately, what sellers can do to sell e-books to me might not be what is in their (perceived) best interest for the marketplace in general. As a result, the content I have purchased is mostly some eReader books, plus some Bible and Bible resources for which I paid way too much. I like the eReader DRM because it's not tied to a device, but future support of the format on new devices worries me. The eReader store also allows you to re-download your books if you lose the files, which I think is not hard to do unless you are a very diligent individual with regard to backups. But updates of the eReader software even on PalmOS and Windows Mobile devices seem to be rare, so it doesn't give a warm and gushy feeling about future support. What about you? Have you been hesitant to buy DRM'd e-books even though you would, in general, like to shell out some money for e-books? Do you have a lot of content that may not be supported in the next generation of devices? Did you realize at purchase time that the content was at-risk, or do you feel a bit shafted now that you realize you might not be able to read the e-books in the future? How much money do you have tied up the books that are at-risk? Are you reading more and better quality classic public domain books because of DRM? This is a hot topic, maybe I should say painful topic, but we'd love to hear your thoughts. As always, please keep them polite. Expressing frustration is fine, but please no personal attacks or gratuitous slams on e-book sellers. And remember... as frustrated as we are with DRM'd e-books, you have to appreciate those resellers like eReader, Microsoft, Fictionwise, MobiPocket, etc because they are pathbreakers in a difficult market, and they are the only reason some of our favorite books are available in electronic form at all. So - what do you think about all this?