Dennis:
I agree with you on most everything you said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Battery life is impacted by functionality. For instance, the PDA I started reading books on ran a couple of weeks in a pair of AA batteries. I was actually displeased, when the newer more powerful model I got switched to a rechargeable LiON unit. I could carry replacement AA batteries with no problem. A charger was another matter, and what if I was someplace without a place to plug in?
|
I miss those days, too. I do most of my writing on an AlphaSmart (will be upgrading from a Dana to a Neo this week) BECAUSE it uses AA batteries--the Neo runs 500 hours on a set of AAs.
Not being hostage to a proprietary battery that someday WILL die is a huge advantage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
If what you have is HTML or PDF. I want to download electronic content once, and read it on whjatever I happen to have. So by preeremnce I get HTML, which I can read "native" in a browser, or convert easily to a handheld format.
|
To me that is one of the prime advantages of HTML...run it on almost anything but also very easy to convert to a different format if that is your preference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
While Adobe is responsible for both, ePub format and DRM are separate offerings, and can be used independently. Adobe is pushing their DRM solution as "open" because they are a third party who will license to anyone, so you aren't necessarily screwed if your ebook vendor goes under. It's not their proprietary DRM solution that is gone because they are.
|
That is undeniably true...something that will be utterly ignored by the average user.
I believe that, incorrect as it may be, the average consumer will come to equate EPUB with DRM'd ebooks even though they are completely separate matters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
What would you have had Adobe do? They sell to corporate customers, many of whom still see DRM as a necessity. Providing what the customers want is how Adobe stays in business...
|
You're correct on that. I just think readers will reject this approach.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Publishing has the Horrible Example of what happened to teh music industry, and Good Example in outfits like Baen Books, who are demonstrating that you can sell ebooks and amke money without DRM.
|
I think the Horrible Example is a result of the industry not listening to what customers wanted--cheap, backup-able, move from one device to another.
I think DRM made music piracy a lot more prevalent than it would have been if, say, they'd gone to non-DRM'd MP3s, 99 cents a single, $5 for a whole album right off the bat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Customers will pay for value. You have to provide value, price fairly, and make it as easy as possible for the customer to give you money. Make it simpler and more convenient for the customer to pay you than to rip you off, and guess what will happen? 
______
Dennis |
I sure hope so.
That's what I've bet my business model on...because it's what I want as a reader.
I think most reasonable people
get the idea of "Hey, I really like this guy's stuff. I might want to pay him so he can afford to write more stories for me to enjoy so he doesn't have to flip burgers to pay the mortgage."
--Bill