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Originally Posted by pdam
Here is another thought ... How will eBooks make it into mainstream Libraries without some form of DRM? Libraries respect publishers rights in the physical world - how can they do this in the electronic world without DRM?
I'm assuming that most people in this forum would like to be able to use their Iliad/eReader/whatever device at a public library (virtual or real) - right?
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DRM in the library is a little different since you are supposed to be only renting the book for a limited time. So many of the DRM issues are moot.
However, library DRM has the same Tower of eBabel issue. I've seen several libraries try this - everything from proprietary readers that only run on Microsoft products (sometimes) to encrypted PDFs that can only be read on a computer.
So far, every library that I've encountered that has offered eBooks has not offered something that is usable by everyone. Some have done better than others, though. And the only portable device I ever saw supported was WinCE.