E Ink forecasts loss as ebook device demand falls

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Because they're not obsolete. They would only be obsolete if the ePub and/or Mobi formats went away -- and I don't see that happening.

Well an iPhone 3gs still makes phone calls but I'd sure rather hoard a bunch of iPhone 6s!

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Well an iPhone 3gs still makes phone calls but I'd sure rather hoard a bunch of iPhone 6s!

You would have to pay me to take either. But smartphones are small tablets -- and, for a growing number of people, they're their main computer. An e-Ink eReader pretty much does the same thing it 2014 that it did in 2006. There's not much reason for blazing download speed when a book download only takes (at most) a minute or so and you'll be reading it for a few days (maybe weeks) before downloading the next one. It's kind of like comparing oranges and porcupines.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Because they're not obsolete. They would only be obsolete if the ePub and/or Mobi formats went away -- and I don't see that happening.

Or the DRM wrapper around them changes and is difficult to crack.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Or the DRM wrapper around them changes and is difficult to crack.

As all technology evolves, so will DRM. Apprentice Alf and Calibre may be relegated to the world of the dinosaurs as the DRM is perfected.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

As all technology evolves, so will DRM. Apprentice Alf and Calibre may be relegated to the world of the dinosaurs as the DRM is perfected.

No, Alf & Calibre will simply evolve right along with them. There will always be someone that will find ways around stuff like this just because it's there.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

As all technology evolves, so will DRM. Apprentice Alf and Calibre may be relegated to the world of the dinosaurs as the DRM is perfected.

I don't see why either unbreakable DRM or the complete disappearance of DRM would have any influence on the fate of Calibre.

[DaleDe]

I think e Ink is not dead yet. Front lights and flexible substrate ruggedized screens are starting to appear which will give a new life to these devices. The carta screen seems to be nearly an Amazon exclusive which I think is bad for the industry as a whole. Take a look at Earl in our wiki for an interesting advance in E Ink, rugged and waterproof. I hope it is successful.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

As all technology evolves, so will DRM. Apprentice Alf and Calibre may be relegated to the world of the dinosaurs as the DRM is perfected.

Calibre is a library management program not DRM removal software. I'd guess Alf will evolve over time as no DRM will ever be unbreakable since you need a way (key) to access the content.

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I think e Ink is not dead yet. Front lights and flexible substrate ruggedized screens are starting to appear which will give a new life to these devices. The carta screen seems to be nearly an Amazon exclusive which I think is bad for the industry as a whole. Take a look at Earl in our wiki for an interesting advance in E Ink, rugged and waterproof. I hope it is successful.

Has something come out besides the PW2 since Carta appeared? I can think of some stuff that came out around the same time, but nothing recent. Just like Pearl I'd guess we'll see the screens filter into other manufacturers products with this next new model cycle (provided they feel it's worthwhile).

As for frontlights I'd really like to see some new non-fronlit devices available too unless they can make the light guide layer more invisible. I personally don't use the light and would prefer the increased text clarity one gets without the layer.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

As all technology evolves, so will DRM. Apprentice Alf and Calibre may be relegated to the world of the dinosaurs as the DRM is perfected.

As long as DRM relies on a key stored on the client side, to prevent mandatory connection to the internet during reader updates, the DRM will always be crackable.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

As all technology evolves, so will DRM. Apprentice Alf and Calibre may be relegated to the world of the dinosaurs as the DRM is perfected.

The chance of that happening is zero. Not "so low as to be nearly zero", but zero. That it has to be read by human eyes makes it zero.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

No, Alf & Calibre will simply evolve right along with them.

EDITED to reflect info from eschwartz in #192):

calibre can, it seems, unintentionally inter-operate with DRM-breaking software. But it probably does not have to.

And it could be relevant that Narendra Modi, who became India's prime minister today, is reputed to support stronger intellectual property protection. Maybe, in some indirect way, this could, one day, result in Kovid Goyal being asked to change the software design a bit.

You could say that people would just switch to another eBook software package. But calibre is extremely popular, showing up on lists of the most downloaded Open Source software. It would take many years for someone else, presumably with a hidden identity, to develop an equally good alternative. Or maybe there never would be an equally good alternative.

Originally Posted by cfrizz

There will always be someone that will find ways around stuff like this just because it's there.

Agreed. But this is true of almost all rule-breaking behaviors. A lot of humans will always scale fences. DRM doesn't have to be anywhere near unbreakable to still be effective most of the time. Being just a little better might make a big difference in compliance. (Or, maybe, compliance is already pretty high.)

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Is calibre really designed, on purpose or through serendipity, to inter-operate with DRM-breaking software in a friendly way?

If so, it could be relevant that Narendra Modi, who became India's prime minister today, is reputed to support stronger intellectual property protection. Maybe, in some indirect way, this could, one day, result in Kovid Goyal being asked to change that design a bit.

You could say that people would just switch to another eBook software package. But calibre is extremely popular, showing up on lists of the most downloaded Open Source software. It would take many years for someone else, presumably with a hidden identity, to develop an equally good alternative. Or maybe there never would be an equally good alternative.


Agreed. But this is no different than with any other rule-breaking behavior. A lot of humans will always scale fences. DRM doesn't have to be anywhere near unbreakable to still be effective most of the time. Being just a little better might make a big difference in compliance. (Or, maybe, compliance is already pretty high.)

calibre is designed to facilitate the use of plugins in general. Most calibre plugins do not break DRM -- the one that does is not indexed in calibre.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

And it could be relevant that Narendra Modi, who became India's prime minister today, is reputed to support stronger intellectual property protection. Maybe, in some indirect way, this could, one day, result in Kovid Goyal being asked to change the software design a bit.

Why? Because he's an Indian guy?

If he doesn't want to, he could just 'donate' Calibre to MobileRead, and someone here will officially become the head maintainer. Then Calibre suddenly isn't an Indian program anymore. Kovid will then just be a very active contributor.

Or, Kovid DOES change Calibre to not support the anti-DRM plugins.... someone else will immediately fork Calibre and undo the change, and after that, merge in Calibre's updates. Then you'll have the 'official' Calibre without anti-DRM support (which no one uses), and the one 'unofficial public secret' one that does.

Open source software that's on a roll can't be stopped, literally.

[crich70]

DRM is a feature that might end up on the scrapheap itself from what I've read on other threads. Things like watermarks that are applied to each copy of an ebook would do the job of keeping people honest (I think) without inconveniencing the buyer who finds their ereader is out dated and can't read their content on newer ones without cracking it. Of course I don't think that's the reason why ereader sales are down. I agree with others here that it is a niche market and a lot of people don't see the need to buy a new reader every year when the one they bought a yr or so back still works fine. If there were a major upgrade that would be one thing, but if it's just a small upgrade that makes minor changes then why bother?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Why? Because he's an Indian guy?

If he doesn't want to, he could just 'donate' Calibre to MobileRead, and someone here will officially become the head maintainer. Then Calibre suddenly isn't an Indian program anymore. Kovid will then just be a very active contributor.

Or, Kovid DOES change Calibre to not support the anti-DRM plugins.... someone else will immediately fork Calibre and undo the change, and after that, merge in Calibre's updates. Then you'll have the 'official' Calibre without anti-DRM support (which no one uses), and the one 'unofficial public secret' one that does.

Open source software that's on a roll can't be stopped, literally.

I just want to know how you'd block the DeDRM plugin without removing plugin support.