Quote:
Originally Posted by daffy4u
But it's still a bunch of Public Domain books. Until Sony can up their contemporary content, I'm not sure the current balance of power is in jeopardy. Great for schools though.
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Daffy, you are largely correct, but I think this will be the turning point -- not so much for Sony as for us consumers.
The real value is not the particular books being made available; rather the real value is that Google is making them available in DRM-free
ePub. Google's adoption of ePub as the format gives a tremendous boost to ePub and its viability as the single standard. Consider the great number of European publishers who are adopting ePub as the standard for their books, and the slowly coming to it American publishers, and ePub is getting ready to rock-and-roll
.
That Google's books are DRM-free is also a plus, because it adds a 10-ton gorilla to the free-books-from-DRM-prison movement.
Of course, there is one other important point: Google intends to make
all books ultimately available through Google Books. Partnering with Sony and choosing the open ePub format means that ultimately we will have access to the world's treasures. Even if it means that our access is limited to a chapter or two without paying, that will be a great boon to those who advocate a more open access to ebooks.