Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I'm sorry that you're having difficulty understanding this. It is a very simple concept.
You can take any ebook file and back it up to any storage medium. There. You have backed it up, thus refuting your claim that "DRM prevents you from being able to back it up".
Backing up has nothing whatsoever to do with being able to use it on some future device you might own in 10 years time. It really doesn't help anyone to try to conflate these two entirely separate topics.
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Um, no, I'm not having difficulty understanding your point.
I was trying to, erm,
politely point out it seems to me that this argument is spurious.
It seems similar to when cereal manufacturers promote sugar-laden breakfast cereals as "healthy" because they have extra calcium...so, sure, in theory you'll have strong bones if the diabetes doesn't get you first. But in today's marketplace, you don't have the option of getting one without the other.
I'm not trying to be a troll, really, and I understand we disagree on the significance of this point. I respect that you disagree with me.
But right now and for the foreseeable future, the two issues CANNOT be separated and I think my argument is much more in line with the views the average consumer will have as they get more familiar with ebooks. Already there are lots of grumblings about being "locked in" with specific hardware and vendors because they cannot port their "open format" epub books over to other devices.
Not only that, a print library can last decades. Will anyone have that same Sony or Nook reader more than 4-5 years down the road? So being concerned about compatibility a decade or so down the road is a VERY significant issue.
Now, if tomorrow, B&N, Sony, Apple, or Amazon announce they are going DRM-free, well then my primary point is rendered moot overnight (and I will be the first to rejoice at this).
But until then, this is a significant obstacle.