For reading free books

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bigmoney

..and that, according to my vision of the world, is evil, hence my signature...

Deliberately locking people into a vendor is not cool, people can't do that with physical goods but for some reason it's still OK with digital goods.

See the analogy I make in my previous post with camera lenses. Is it "evil" that Canon lenses cannot be used in Nikon cameras?

[lilac_jive]

Locking people into a vendor happens everywhere, all the time.

Even in the industry I work in (fire protection), companies will reset generic passwords so if the customer goes to another company, the old company has to come out too. They do this without the customer's permission as well, even though it is their property.

[bigmoney]

Originally Posted by HarryT

See the analogy I make in my previous post with camera lenses. Is it "evil" that Canon lenses cannot be used in Nikon cameras?

People can buy lots of 3rd party lenses for their Canons and Nikons. And people don't need the authorization from Nikon or Canon to manufacture those lenses. Not the case with digital formats.

I can also sell my lenses and keep my camera, but I cannot sell my DRM'ed files, they won't play anywhere else.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by bigmoney

People can buy lots of 3rd party lenses for their Canons and Nikons. And people don't need the authorization from Nikon or Canon to manufacture those lenses. Not the case with digital formats.

I can also sell my lenses and keep my camera, but I cannot sell my DRM'ed files, they won't play anywhere else.

You can't sell your non-DRM files either.

[bigmoney]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Locking people into a vendor happens everywhere, all the time.

Even in the industry I work in (fire protection), companies will reset generic passwords so if the customer goes to another company, the old company has to come out too. They do this without the customer's permission as well, even though it is their property.

OK, maybe "it doesn't happen" was too broad: I would say, it's not considered good practice, and people have the right to get pissed off with that.

As I said the important thing is to be aware, no one likes to be screwed unknowingly. But for those who don't see a problem with DRM, or even are for it, for whatever reason, fine.

[mosteo]

I'm kind of pragmatic, so my problem right now is that I perceive DRMed goods as of much lower value, while their price tag doesn't reflect this. I wouldn't mind [enough to care] if the price felt right to me, but right now for the example I've given, there's no advantage over the hardcover except the delivery time, while there are several disadvantages: vendor lock-in, can't lend (which I like very much with my close group of reading friends), uncertain future, somewhat sub-par experience.

Even so, I'm with the camp that thinks that DRM is fundamentally flawed and, worse still, a bad idea. Time will tell, I guess.

[mosteo]

Wow, in the time I took to write my reply you posted half a dozen more!

[bigmoney]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

You can't sell your non-DRM files either.

..as long as the fine print in the license agreement for the specific vendor says so, I agree.

[bigmoney]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I really have to disagee with the somewhat "melodramatic" assertion your signature makes that DRM is "evil". DRM is simply a marketing technique - it is neither "good" nor "evil", any more than the fact that, say, if I buy a lens for my Canon DSLR I cannot subsequently use it on a Nikon camera is "evil". Every manufacturer tries to lock you in to their products; it makes sound commercial sense to do so.

I agree my signature was a bit extremist..better now?

[tompe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not everyone shares the views the DRM is an "issue". I don't give two hoots about it personally, any more than I do about iTunes DRM. Neither interferes with my enjoyment of the products that I've bought. Not everyone regards either a music download or an eBook as a "lifetime investment"; personally, I very rarely re-read books, and the ones that I do read tend to be out-of-copyright classics.

This is a bit mis-leading since you have said that you can wait 5 years or more before you read a book you have bought. But maybe you do not care that you cannot read the bought book for the first time.

[HarryT]

Much .

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tompe

This is a bit mis-leading since you have said that you can wait 5 years or more before you read a book you have bought. But maybe you do not care that you cannot read the bought book for the first time.

The overwhelming majority of my "buy and hoard" books are from Baen who, as you know, don't have DRM - that's because I basically buy everything that Baen produce. When I buy a book from FW or BoB I generally buy it to read right away.

Hence, I don't have a problem .

[tompe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The overwhelming majority of my "buy and hoard" books are from Baen who, as you know, don't have DRM - that's because I basically buy everything that Baen produce. When I buy a book from FW or BoB I generally buy it to read right away.

Hence, I don't have a problem .

But then you care about it since you have adapted your buying habits according to this or has just been lucky that the books you want are available DRM free. So if you only meant that for you as the market looks now and for what you want to buy it does not matter then this is a very weak statement that is not relevant for anybody else.

[HarryT]

I have never claimed anything other than the fact that for me personally DRM is not an issue, Tommy. I'm not making "all-encompassing" claims about the good or evil of the industry. I leave such pronoucements to others.

[bigmoney]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have never claimed anything other than the fact that for me personally DRM is not an issue, Tommy. I'm not making "all-encompassing" claims about the good or evil of the industry. I leave such pronoucements to others.

DRM is not the same as the ebook (or music) industry. It is a practice. Some parts of the industry support it, others don't. And while it may not make sense to make all-encompassing claims about an industry, it is valid to make such statements about a certain practice.