Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 released

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Even then, I don't expect publishers to give up on the placebo of DRM, merely to switch to watermark DRM.

Nicely put. I don't mind watermark DRM, so long as it doesn't alter the actual text we read. But it is just a waste of money for publishers.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Nicely put. I don't mind watermark DRM, so long as it doesn't alter the actual text we read. But it is just a waste of money for publishers.

But is it?
The publishers don't pay Adobe to use their DRM, the ebookstores do.
That is why Amazon and Apple use their own DRM, so as not to pay the Adobe tax. I suspect that if publishers got billed for the DRM--instead of consumers--they would have gone DRM-free ages ago.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

But is it?
The publishers don't pay Adobe to use their DRM, the ebookstores do.
That is why Amazon and Apple use their own DRM, so as not to pay the Adobe tax. I suspect that if publishers got billed for the DRM--instead of consumers--they would have gone DRM-free ages ago.

I don't know the details of the contracts between retailers and publishers. Someone is paying an Adobe tax.

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I don't know the details of the contracts between retailers and publishers. Someone is paying an Adobe tax.

I don't think it matters if the publishers or the retailers pay the Adobe tax - in the end it's calculated into the price and it's the customer who foots the bill anyway.

[taming]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Strictly speaking, it is the retailers that adopt the overbearing DRM that will be losing money if, as many here suggest, customers take their business to Amazon.

I do think that there are several ways this could play out, most of which would render the whole effort by Adobe futile. The only way it will really be significant is if they do implement it in the most restrictive of ways to their client bookstores.

ADOBE might be that desperate for relevance but I wouldn't assume it upfront.

Booksellers like Kobo have contracts with Adobe. I would think that Adobe would be more likely to refuse to continue to contract for the older scheme than for booksellers to adopt it just because they can. Now if publishers insist that sellers encrypt using the new one...

Kobo has not done anything to improve/change/invest time in the epub experience (talking about the epub css etc, not the firmware/device decisions) in a very long time. I am sure that Kobo's preference is for people to buy their own proprietary format. And now that Kobo formatted books can be Alf'd, it might very well make the epub issue a non-starter for people buying from Kobo.

[charmian]

fjtorres: Doesn't your scenario presume that B&N sticks with their current DRM system? Although admittedly, I don't see the motivation from ebookstores to change to this new tougher to crack system. I thought publishers had always operated by the logic that DRM was to stop casual sharing, not to prevent organized piracy? Most people are not interested or capable of unDRMing under the current system anyway. Also, 1) The new system will probably be cracked anyhow, and 2) the analog hole still remains (and is getting even bigger because OCR and scanning are improving like anything else).

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by charmian

fjtorres: Doesn't your scenario presume that B&N sticks with their current DRM system?.

Sure.
There is evidence that, as Nook's future has been getting cloudier, they have been losing sales to Adept ebook retailers like Kobo. If Nook readers suddenly became incompatible with Adept, wouldn't it be smarter to negotiate an Amazon-like deal with Overdrive than to spend time and effort updating your software so your hardward buyers can keep defecting? Especially when the blame will fall on Adobe more than them?

Of course, the real (hidden) assumption is that Nook management correctly understands that selling Adept-compatible readers at near cost is a mistake when your ebookstore doesn't sell Adept ebooks. I may be wrong there.

[frostschutz]

I'm interested in ADE 3.0 and the new copy protection... are any books available that use it? I'm still wondering how it will work, will it have the new copy protection on the PC files, but still export something compatible with old (pre-2014) readers?

I had my first "unreadable" book today, a free book downloaded from ebook.de using ADE 3.0. It was downloaded fine, ADE 3 can read it fine, but - unlike other books I tried, ADE 2 can not read it, nor can Calibre (and it can read all other ADE books ), or anything else.

This could be a new copy protection (content server is 4.2), or just as likely, a bug in ADE 3. Others were able to download the book with ADE 2 and it works for them.

[Lynx-lynx]

Well that's interesting ... I just got notified of an ADE update!

Jan 14, 2014 11.0.06 Q Latest release. This is a regular quarterly update that provides security mitigations, feature enhancements, and bug fixes.

I've got no intentions of installing it.

Whilst I've got ADE and sometimes update it - I haven't used it for approx 3 years because I download all epubs (irrespective of place of purchase) directly into Sony Reader for PC (and then into Calibre).

So - anyone reckon this ADE update may be paving the way for the enhanced DRM?

Here's the link:
http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/relea...at-reader.html

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

I've got no intentions of installing it.

But it provides security mitigations and feature enhancements!

[Lynx-lynx]

Exactly

Edit
I've added the link to my post above

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

I'm interested in ADE 3.0 and the new copy protection... are any books available that use it? I'm still wondering how it will work, will it have the new copy protection on the PC files, but still export something compatible with old (pre-2014) readers?

I had my first "unreadable" book today, a free book downloaded from ebook.de using ADE 3.0. It was downloaded fine, ADE 3 can read it fine, but - unlike other books I tried, ADE 2 can not read it, nor can Calibre (and it can read all other ADE books ), or anything else.

This could be a new copy protection (content server is 4.2), or just as likely, a bug in ADE 3. Others were able to download the book with ADE 2 and it works for them.

The way it's been explained here, if you download the book with ADE 2 and Content Server 4.2, then it gets the old copy protection. If you download it with ADE 3 and Content Server 4.2, then it gets the new copy protection and there is then no way to get a copy of that book with the old copy protection.

Obviously, I'd advise people to only download with ADE 2.0, not ADE 3.0.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

So - anyone reckon this ADE update may be paving the way for the enhanced DRM?

Here's the link:
http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/relea...at-reader.html

That link is to release note for Acrobat Reader, not Adobe Digital Editions.

The ADE update for the new DRM is now well known - it's ADE 3.0.

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

That link is to release note for Acrobat Reader, not Adobe Digital Editions.

The ADE update for the new DRM is now well known - it's ADE 3.0.

Lol, you're quite right .... I've got ADE on the brain!!

[charmian]

re: B&N not updating their e-reader firmware to be compatible with 3.0. True. And you're right, I don't really see what has changed that would convince B&N to change their current system. Also, I don't think it would be Adobe being blamed. It would be Kobo or Sony or whoever the bookstore that sold the book is.

This also does raise the question of what Overdrive will do. If anything, this would be even less in the interest of their primary customer (libraries). Librarians do not want to have to explain to angry patrons why they can no longer use their three year old e-reader to download books.