Quote:
Originally Posted by fugazied
The short version imo is the measures (Geo-restrictions and DRM) and pricing which publishers demand are holding back mainstream adoption of reading devices.
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Agree with you big time that it's the geo-restrictions and DRM that seem to be preventing the wider adoption of e-books.
The music industry blew it, but perhaps they actually got blind-sided by the move away from physical CD's. The DVD industry tried to institutionalize their regional rights by locking in the zone codes. Little matter they forgot about was that zone-free players were readily available (usually far cheaper than the DVD players with zone code locked in). So it's now possible for me to buy tv series and films in the US that haven't finished their runs in Europe yet. Neither Amazon nor any shop selling DVDs bothers to ask me to show where I live or where I'm going to play the DVD.
Publishers are going to have to change their business model to recognize the globalization of the industry. I've always been able to buy books (in person or by mail order) from just about anywhere in the world I like - the UK, US, Australia, Canada - as long as I'm willing to pay for the shipping charges and willing to wait for the physical books to arrive, or willing to schlep a suitcase full of books back home with me.
I live in a non-English speaking country, but I still can download software purchased online with no great difficulty - and it usually comes complete with the appropriate VAT rate charged. They do check the address I give them against the billing address on the credit card I use to buy the software. There's no reason the publishers can't do something similar. But it means a re-think of how they do business and a re-arrangement of how and where they make their money on publishing - as well as recognition of the fact that their customers have been buying books from around the world for years now.
Cheers,
Bev