Quote:
Originally Posted by Richwood
IMO DRM is a PITA for readers who want control of their book files and, as posted here, discourages purchases from some potential buyers. Besides it is apparently readily bypassed by free software by any one who really wants to.
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And there are different DRM schemes, competing against each other, which is a real PITA. I could live with DRM, as long as there was one universal standard. Closed ebook ecosystems is something that really hinders the adoption of ebooks and ereaders. Contrary to some off-the-cuff remarks about Calibre, software which helps you integrate ebooks from various sources into one library is actually promoting, not killing ebooks.
If there is one single factor which stops people from buying ebooks, it is greediness and shortsightedness on the publishing business side (agency pricing and so many other issues debated on this forum), not purported piracy.
It is likewise for any digital content. Imagine that you can only play a DVD bought from Sony on a Sony DVD player. Wouldn't that prevent you from buying such DVD? Proprietary, closed (and usually costly) formats are something doomed from day one. It was so with Betacam/Betamax vs VHS or WMA vs mp3.
And as long as ebook publishers and distributors cannot agree on a common standard (by which I mean both the file structure and a DRM system), there will be only a limited group within the large consumer market willing to switch to such closed ecosystems.