STUDY SHOWS: Ditching DRM could reduce piracy, prices

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

And they're blowing up Pirate Bay for mojo help and toned butts every day to prove it.

Love it!

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

I would have to disagree on the difficulty of file format conversion. And that leaves us with a typical user that will have non-DRM books that can be converted, and DRM books that can't be converted without taking extra steps (and the small issue of the legality of it).

It seems to me that the "Typical User" buys ebooks from a single source like Amazon or B&N, based on which EBR he or she has purchased. This TU reads the book once, or rereads it, on that EBR. The TU does not own more than one EBR, is unaware of calibre, and would not find it either easy or worth the time to format shift. He or she would not know how to retrieve the ebook file and email it to someone else, nor would the TU care to go to the trouble of doing it.

It is only the "sophisticated user" who can or will or wishes to do these things.

I'll bet that the ratio between TUs and SUs is 100-1.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by kennyc

In agreement with Harry, I think there are many non-techies that really don't want to deal with any of that and would rather re-buy any books they want to re-read if they have to on a new device.

I agree - that's why I keep trying to redirect people's attention to the issue of "convenience."

All this talk about DRM, and format conversion, and pirating, ignores the elephant - how much is someone willing to pay to have some no-hassle reading?

At a dollar an ebook, all these other issues have no weight. The problem is that at a dollar an ebook, most writers/publishers have no profit. But by the time we get to DRM territory, we are at a point where convenience has gone, or is going, away. When the price point is too high for anyone who is concerned with sharing ebooks with friends & family, or reading on multiple devices, they will look for ways to circumvent DRM, be it Alf or the pirates.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

.
If most people considered one-click conversion too big of an undertaking, then why do we see pirating going up in lock-step with the popularity of ebooks?

I don't know that we do. I don't think it's even possible to get such data, much less to say that, but in any case, pirates are going to be pirating whatever is popular, that just follows the advertising/popularity/trends.

<shrug>

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Harmon

It seems to me that the "Typical User" buys ebooks from a single source like Amazon or B&N, based on which EBR he or she has purchased.

What happens if the single source that works with their EBR doesn't have the book they want? Remind me again, what forces them to only be able to buy from that single source?

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Very true. I suspect, though, that a user who takes the trouble to learn how to convert file formats will have no difficulty in also discovering how to remove DRM.

If the format conversion is such a problem, this will greatly influence the selection of a new reader. Which is the real point of adding DRM anyway.

[MrsJoseph]

I love how yall are forgetting that places like MOBILEREAD teach people to go from "Typical Users" to "Sophisticated Users" on a very regular basis. How do you think I learned what I know so far.

TU becomes SU with only a google search and a click away.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

If the format conversion is such a problem, this will greatly influence the selection of a new reader. Which is the real point of adding DRM anyway.

Certainly I agree that format lock-in is indeed one of the purposes of DRM. Just as if you've spent a lot of money on buying lenses for your Canon Digital DLR, when you decide to buy a new camera, the chances are you'll buy another Canon, and not a Minolta, which can't use your Canon lenses.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by Harmon

It seems to me that the "Typical User" buys ebooks from a single source like Amazon or B&N, based on which EBR he or she has purchased. This TU reads the book once, or rereads it, on that EBR. The TU does not own more than one EBR, is unaware of calibre, and would not find it either easy or worth the time to format shift. He or she would not know how to retrieve the ebook file and email it to someone else, nor would the TU care to go to the trouble of doing it.

It is only the "sophisticated user" who can or will or wishes to do these things.

I'll bet that the ratio between SUs and TUs is 100-1.

If that is the ratio, then the typical users would be the sophisticated users, typical being the most common user.

Beside that this is also a matter of time. How many people that have been reading ebooks for lets say 5 years could be described by the definition that you gave for TU? How many that are TU today will be SU next year? How many of them don't know somebody that can do the sophisticated work for them?

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Certainly I agree that format lock-in is indeed one of the purposes of DRM. Just as if you've spent a lot of money on buying lenses for your Canon Digital DLR, when you decide to buy a new camera, the chances are you'll buy another Canon, and not a Minolta, which can't use your Canon lenses.

But wouldn't it be fun there would be a nice way (something that doesn't involve a hammer and tape) that would allow you to use the Canon lenses for a Minolta?

[ekster]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

But wouldn't it be fun there would be a nice way (something that doesn't involve a hammer and tape) that would allow you to use the Canon lenses for a Minolta?

Adapters already exist and do not require any hammering or tape.

I have an olympus m4/3 camera and use a few legacy lenses that are from canon... just need a small adapter to snap it on, and no digital locks to break

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ekster

Adapters already exist and do not require any hammering or tape.

I have an olympus m4/3 camera and use a few legacy lenses that are from canon... just need a small adapter to snap it on, and no digital locks to break

Works fine with old-fashioned manual lenses (like paper books), but adaptors don't work with modern lenses that are crammed full of electronics (just like DRM ).

[ekster]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Works fine with old-fashioned manual lenses (like paper books), but adaptors don't work with modern lenses that are crammed full of electronics (just like DRM ).

That's more of a physical limitation. My m4/3 camera could fully use any 4/3 lenses with an adapter.

Also... if you look at the whole new m4/3 and 4/3 system, you'll see that the manufacturers actually did away with these silly limitations. Every lens works with every camera! I could buy a Panasonic m4/3 lens and snap it on my Olympus with no adapters. And it'll be fully functional. That's the future, no digital locks.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I love how yall are forgetting that places like MOBILEREAD teach people to go from "Typical Users" to "Sophisticated Users" on a very regular basis. How do you think I learned what I know so far.

TU becomes SU with only a google search and a click away.

In fairness, it took me a bit longer... about two days of reading these forums. But your main point stands, and is a valid one. Let's not also forget the generational difference. My 6-year old niece will know more about computers and electronics and how to use them when she starts school than the average member of my parents' generation, because she grew up playing with this technology.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

What happens if the single source that works with their EBR doesn't have the book they want? Remind me again, what forces them to only be able to buy from that single source?

I'm not aware of any bookreader which restricts you to getting books from a single source. Can you name one?

Generally speaking, though, with the exception of the very occasional "exclusive" publishing deal, pretty much all eBooks are sold in all the major bookstores.