JK Rowling Announcement

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

I apologize for insulting you, I don't background check every poster I run across.

Not a problem. I never felt insulted.

"Clear eyes, Full hearts, Can't lose."

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kalex

Great. We will have harry potter branded sony readers that will come preloaded with all the books and in order to secure them you will not be able to load anything else on them

I'm sure they'd still sell pretty well.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Because unless I've misunderstood something, the idea of making it possible to identify who purchased the ebook FROM the epub file is NOT what ereaders have been doing.

I buy from Kobo, I get an Adobe DRM book. You need my credentials to read it, yes, but if someone hacks my computer and grabs the file (or intercepts it during download), they can't extract my credentials. My name, my credit card information, etc. are NOT embedded in the epub coming from the Adobe servers.

Same with the B&N social DRM -- I don't think it's possible to intercept the download and extract the CC# from the epub, because I don't think the CC# is IN the epub.

Pretty sure for eReader, the credit card name and number are embedded in the file - just not in a form that you can easily read. It's likely stored kinda like:

Rmlyc3ROYW1lIE0uSS4gTGFzdE5hbWUNCjAwMDAgMDAwMCAwMDAwIDAwMDA=

but with much stronger encryption.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Pretty sure for eReader, the credit card name and number are embedded in the file - just not in a form that you can easily read. It's likely stored as the following or similar:

Rmlyc3ROYW1lIE0uSS4gTGFzdE5hbWUNCjAwMDAgMDAwMCAwMDAwIDAwMDA=

Ah, thank you. So it's not new. But I don't buy from eReader for a reason it seems.

Stepping back from my frustration and shock at this weirdly worded announcement, I *still* have to think Amazon/B&N/Kobo/etc. will get in on this eventually. How many people like the "direct download" on their devices?

Buying from a 3rd-party source like Pottermore wouldn't be a big deal for some people, but I do know eReaders who will only buy from their preferred store because they don't want to bother with sideloading.

Sure, it's HP, but HP has "casual" fans too. We'll see what we see, I guess.

*wanders off*

[ApK]

Just by the way, B&N's DRM also uses your CC# as part of the key, but for all I know, it may be asymmetric encryption, so I don't know if the number is in the file in any form or not.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by ApK

Just by the way, B&N's DRM also uses your CC# as part of the key, but for all I know, it may be asymmetric encryption, so I don't know if the number is in the file in any form or not.

From what I've read online, I was under the impression that B&N had been pretty responsible with the CC# storage. Since they also use the name on the card, they wouldn't even need to use the full card number, they could use the last 4 digits, for instance. The point of their DRM is to prevent easy copying, NOT to hunt down violators.

But then again, as this thread has demonstrated, DRM strategies can change within a company without that information always flowing down to everyone. *cough* PID *cough* So it could have changed or I could be wrong.

EDIT: Furthermore, I only use a B&N card for B&N purchases, and I watch that sucker like a hawk. *sigh* I suppose I could get a Pottermore card, but I don't think it's worth the effort.

[HarryT]

What use is a credit card number to anyone? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in order to do anything with it, you also need to know the expiry date, card holder's name, security code, etc, don't you?

[ilovejedd]

Security code and address isn't always required, although that's generally used by online retailers for greater security. The only information that's really needed is the name, cc# and expiration.

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by Phogg

They can trace what, exactly?

This isn't a utility bill, and no proof of residence or photo ID is required anywhere along the way.

i dont know. i was just responding to the idea that a digital watermark would somehow impede the reading of the book. as if every page would have some annoying thing underlying the words.

but it was the suggestion of the article that it could be used to trace a book to its origin. if its embedded in the file then it wouldn't matter how it was downloaded. all copies could be traced to the original. how they trace the original to the copier is another matter. if it was me(and if i were trying to implement something of this sort- which im not) i would find a way to corrupt the files if the tag/mark was removed to make them unreadable or have a way to corrupt the copies when found. make them self-destructing.

[mikaelalind]

This is from Elib's webpage regarding Watermarking:

Digital watermarking makes it possible to track a copy of a book to the person who originally downloaded it from Elib’s server, without restricting the buyer’s rights to personal use of the book.

And I know that you can convert an epub file to f.ex mobi.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

if it was me(and if i were trying to implement something of this sort- which im not) i would find a way to corrupt the files if the tag/mark was removed to make them unreadable or have a way to corrupt the copies when found. make them self-destructing.

You'd need to invent your own format or DRM for that. epub is basically a bunch of HTML and XML files in a ZIP archive. After it's been extracted, there's really no way you could corrupt the files unless you include a malware of some sort...

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

You'd need to invent your own format or DRM for that. epub is basically a bunch of HTML and XML files in a ZIP archive. After it's been extracted, there's really no way you could corrupt the files unless you include a malware of some sort...

This.

And even then, if anyone thinks they can create a DRM format that cannot be cracked ever, well... they're welcome to match wits with every DRM-breaker and hacker on earth.

There's serious money in it for the person who manages.

There's a quote out there -- does anyone remember it -- that basically anyone can create something that THEY can't break, but no one can create something that NO ONE can break.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

There's a quote out there -- does anyone remember it -- that basically anyone can create something that THEY can't break, but no one can create something that NO ONE can break.

Well, it's true. It's just a matter of time before someone breaks it eventually. Besides, we get faster and faster processors and graphics cards. Even with just a brute-force attack, what takes 100 years to decrypt now will take, perhaps, all of 30 seconds in the future.

It's amazing how much conjecture the Harry Potter ebooks have generated for just being announced for a few hours.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Security code and address isn't always required, although that's generally used by online retailers for greater security. The only information that's really needed is the name, cc# and expiration.

And expiration date can be guessed at, in may cases, especially if you're smart enough to know that the first four digits tell you what bank issued it (and thus, what their policies likely are on how long cards are good for).

Security code is largely, but not universally, required for "card not present" transactions, but not, generally, for face to face transactions. And, despite the impression the news might give you, the vast majority of all credit card fraud is done in face to face transactions even today. Many brick-and-mortar stores are also now required to check the zip code (in the US, anyway) for the billing address, but that, too, isn't actually that hard to figure out.

[boxcorner]

Harry Potter series to be sold as e-books
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13889578
23 June 2011

"The seven Harry Potter novels are to be sold as e-books for the first time in October."