why the fuss over epub?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by kranu

But someone could easily use an eBook editor to do a find/replace of all instances of their identifying information. What then?

You're missing the point of social DRM. It's not designed to stop the hardcore pirate. Because frankly, nothing can... it's pointless to try. They didn't make books out of kevlar to keep pirates from cutting the spines and scanning them into computers to make ebooks, either.

Social DRM is meant to deter the casual (non-technical) reader from "loaning" the ebook to 100 of their closest friends, while at the same time, not restricting the owner's ability to make copies and format shift. The fact that identifying features could basically be anywhere in the ebook is meant to make the average person think twice before turning their own personal copy loose in the wild. That's all. That's why it's only referred to as "DRM" in the loosest sense.

[karunaji]

Originally Posted by kranu

But someone could easily use an eBook editor to do a find/replace of all instances of their identifying information. What then?

Which is much harder for a general population to do than to run a simple script to remove all other complicated DRM schemes currently in use. Oh, the irony.

[kranu]

Originally Posted by karunaji

Which is much harder for a general population to do than to run a simple script to remove all other complicated DRM schemes currently in use. Oh, the irony.

Hmm, but somebody could create a Calibre plugin so that when you import a book, it automatically searches for all instance of your name/other personal information and removes it for you.

[Joseph R]

Originally Posted by karunaji

Which is much harder for a general population to do than to run a simple script to remove all other complicated DRM schemes currently in use. Oh, the irony.

Which is Why, in my mind and many others, that Cloud Computing Services are the future for distribution of Copyrighted Works: buy once, run on all! No more worries about DRM Schemes, format wars, licensing issues, and best of all, no need to make a back-up; it will all be on the Web! From your latest book that you bought, your music collection and yes, all the pics of your ex-girlfriends! And all of this, available instantaneous on your cellphone, TV, Tablet, computer, coffee machine,.. you name it! Isn't technology great!

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Joseph R

Which is Why, in my mind and many others, that Cloud Computing Services are the future for distribution of Copyrighted Works: buy once, run on all!

For those values of "all" that don't include "devices you bought before the Cloud took over, or out of range of an internet provider."

My Clie, long obsolete & no longer supported, still works to read the ebooks I have, and I can convert new ones to work for it. Same story with my PRS-505, which is closer to current, but still unsupported and not web-accessible. I can't put books on them if the books locked into to the cloud.

[Joseph R]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

For those values of "all" that don't include "devices you bought before the Cloud took over, or out of range of an internet provider."

My Clie, long obsolete & no longer supported, still works to read the ebooks I have, and I can convert new ones to work for it. Same story with my PRS-505, which is closer to current, but still unsupported and not web-accessible. I can't put books on them if the books locked into to the cloud.

I feel certain that Sony will have the software and the appropriate drivers for your device, which will able your device to access the cloud. Sony already uses a cloud for its Playstation Network (PSN), which unfortunately, was successfully compromised by hackers, earlier this year. It showed by Sony was incompetent by keeping user's info on a simple text file, with no encryption whatsoever.


Cloud Computing is not without its weaknesses but it seems to be the direction the content providers wants us to go (iCloud, Amazon, Microsoft: Windows 8 and Windows Phone, Google) , as to remember us, members of the proletariat , that we do not own any piece of artistic work but that we ought to be feel privilege that the music, movie and book industries allows us to license the works under their conditions.

[JSWolf]

Don't forget Apple & iOS 5 going cloudy.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Joseph R

I feel certain that Sony will have the software and the appropriate drivers for your device, which will able your device to access the cloud.

Sony is going to *install* wireless access in my PRS-505? How? The hardware's not there; it doesn't have web access at all. (Also has no web software, but that, I suppose, could be inserted somehow.) Sony doesn't make 505s any more. While they're at it, will they add wireless to my husband's PRS-300, also no longer supported?

Cloud Computing is not without its weaknesses but it seems to be the direction the content providers wants us to go

Not my problem. Plenty of content providers are willing to sell, not license, their products, and plenty more are willing to provide me free information & entertainment. Content providers who want my dollars can figure out how to provide me something I can use with the hardware I prefer.

[karunaji]

The cloud will work only when we all have cheap and fast internet access everywhere. And I mean everywhere where people could conceivable read books. My summer house doesn't even have a reliable cell phone reception yet so I until this is fixed I have to download books for offline reading.

[JSWolf]

when the cloud crashes, there goes our access. So even if I had internet access on my Reader, I'd have to have my books offline so I could read them when my net or the cloud goes down.

[Terisa de morgan]

And how well does cloud work undergound? I'm at the subway and there are zones where there is not internet access? Do I read the same page again and again?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

And how well does cloud work undergound? I'm at the subway and there are zones where there is not internet access? Do I read the same page again and again?

My guess is that you will download the eBook to your device and read it from your device and not from the cloud. Reading from the cloud will cause a faster battery drain as you would then have to keep an open internet connection.

[Joseph R]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Don't forget Apple & iOS 5 going cloudy.

...the direction the content providers wants us to go (iCloud, Amazon, Microsoft: Windows 8 and Windows Phone, Google)..

[Joseph R]

Sony is going to *install* wireless access in my PRS-505? How? The hardware's not there; it doesn't have web access at all. (Also has no web software, but that, I suppose, could be inserted somehow.) Sony doesn't make 505s any more. While they're at it, will they add wireless to my husband's PRS-300, also no longer supported?

I do believe your two Sony Models connect to a Computer through USB and are able to use Abode Digital Edition, If I am correct. Your identity would be confirmed through your connecting computer to the Cloud and therefore, you can upload to your device through USB.

Not my problem. Plenty of content providers are willing to sell, not license, their products, and plenty more are willing to provide me free information & entertainment. Content providers who want my dollars can figure out how to provide me something I can use with the hardware I prefer.

That is where the interests of the customer and the content provider conflict. Legally, when you buy content, you own the physical property of it; e.g.: The paper of a book, the DVD on which the movie is printed on, but not the Intellectual property (IP). This is why you have a FBI (Interpol) warning before each movie, the expression "All Rights Reserved" written with. the ISBN and printing information of a book. IP is not govern by private property laws but by a subset of Constitutional law, called Copyright laws. It did not used to be a big deal before the event of mass digital distribution. By in this day and age, it already is a BIG deal (think DRM, MP3s and the RIAA, torrents and the MPAA) and will be so for a while at least.

I see that you are American, here is the Wikipedia link to US Copyright laws

Yes, I see and understand your frustration, and yes, I hope that content providers WILL recognized that demographic that are happy with what they have, but I doubt it. Consider how we were pushed to go from VHS to DVD, cassettes to CD.

[Joseph R]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

And how well does cloud work undergound? I'm at the subway and there are zones where there is not internet access? Do I read the same page again and again?

No, No No, the cloud is there to confirm your Identity, backup for e-books, and buy new books. The e-books would be on your device but encrypted. You would NOT need a constant connection, no. You would only need to connect once, through a computer by USB or wireless and confirm your Identity and that is it. Your book will be ready to read on ALL your device from then on.