Thread: ebook survey
View Single Post
Old 08-07-2009, 05:46 AM   #21
anappo
Enthusiast
anappo doesn't litteranappo doesn't litteranappo doesn't litter
 
anappo's Avatar
 
Posts: 47
Karma: 247
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Device: Cybook Gen3
> Like MP3 for music, there could be a near-universal ebook format

And the damnedest thing is - we almost had it! Back in 2007, the dominant e-book format was mobi. So, amazon had two format choices for their new kindle thing:
1. Use the DRM-free mobipocket - in which case we would no longer have this debate.
2. Use the DRM-ed mobipocket - in which case we would still curse the DRM and whine about other limitations of mobi format but at -least- we would have sort of MP3 for e-books.

Then Amazon picks the third option - to purposefully pervert the DRM-ed mobipocket to introduce artificial incompatibility. Hurray for creative bizdev and say hello to the worst of all possible worlds.
anappo is offline   Reply With Quote