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Originally Posted by JJoyce
Barnes and Noble chose to adopt Adobe ePub solution for their conversion from ereader format.
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No. They chose to adopt the EPUB format. They did not choose to adopt anything having to do with Adobe at first. They only when with Adobe's mobile edition once Adobe agreed to license B&N's DRM and include it in the Adobe platform. They even went as far as to give B&N a yet to be released custom version of the software to accommodate the launch of the Nook.
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Originally Posted by JJoyce
As part of that process, Adobe executives decided they liked B&N's "social protection" built in to the existing ereader DRM scheme. So much so that they agreed to license it from B&N to incorporate it in to their ePub DRM, creating two authentication options; the pre-existing one and the username/password combination licensed from B&N.
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Possibly but more likely Adobe didn't want to have to worry about competing with B&N (who was planning on selling their DRM system) so Adobe licensed and put B&N's DRM into their platform.
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Originally Posted by JJoyce
Adobe could have required B&N to use only the existing authentication option at the time B&N decided to support the ePub standard as Adobe has backed it. It would've meant no lending options of course, so Adobe didn't insist on it.
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Adobe cannot force anyone to use their DRM. EPUB was specifically designed as an open standard that can have almost any arbitrary DRM attached to it. The spec provides a framework for encryption but does not specify any actual encryption scheme. Adobe sells one scheme that is compliant with the spec. B&N made their own.
Adobe has no control over what DRM is used in an EPUB file. Adobe also has no control over an implementation with another DRM using the EPUB name regardless of their backing of the format.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JJoyce
The reality as it stands now is you have the exact same ePub standard, only with two authentication options (not DRM).
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They still encrypt the contents of the file. They still place restrictions on what you can do with a file. They are not authentication options, they are still DRM. Also, it is has yet to be determined if they are using the same encryption or if they are completely different. They could very well be and mostly likely are entirely different techniques for placing restrictions on the file.
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Originally Posted by JJoyce
The newest one is supported by Adobe's newest version of the RMSDK as Adobe has publicly stated several times.
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Which is not available for device manufacturers to implement in their devices. It is not even available as part of ADE.
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Originally Posted by JJoyce
Any device manufacturer that has paid Adobe's licensing fee will be able to update his device (and quite possibly may be required to do so by Adobe's licensing terms).
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I have heard that the upgrade is not a simple replace this file on the device but requires significant changes. I have also not seen any information if this is a free upgrade for manufacturers or if they will have to pay extra for it.
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Originally Posted by JJoyce
As well, Adobe's already said that ADE support for the new "social" option is coming with the next release of ADE sometime in 2010.
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Sometime in 2010... Minimum of a month (or maybe two) after B&N started selling their EPUB files with their DRM that you cannot use on anything other than the Nook or B&N's Reader software. Also, the RMSDK won't be available until time time 2010 as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JJoyce
In short, the reality of the situation as it stands is far from the fear and doubt being peddled by certain posters with their "B&N/nook is destroying ebooks" claims.
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I agree. I also like B&N's DRM better than Adobe's. I also like competition. However, that doesn't change the fact that this entire mess is a mess and handled very poorly by the companies involved. At this time there are two incompatible schemes being used on files that look the same. There is no differentiation between the two and an EPUB from B&N won't work on a PRS that supports EPUB.