"Friction" is why e-books adoption is slow

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

What happened is this message:

"X could not be converted because protected files cannot be converted to other formats."

Ahhh. DRM rears it's head again. iTunes is offering tunes not protected by DRM for a higher price. They are also involved in, um, discussions with content providers who want them to charge a higher price and get a bigger slice of the pie. NBC will no longer provide content, for example, because Apple wouldn't accede to demands that would effectively raise the price of a video from $2 to $5 and give NBC a bigger cut. Other networks continue to provide shows for the video iPod under the existing arrangements.

I suspect NBC's decision will come back to bite them.
______
Dennis

[europas_ice]

Originally Posted by nekokami

While coding the entire book on the card would be especially cool, I think you could do this now with gift certificate equivalents, if your payment method supports them.

Does anyone know how much data those little gift certificate cards can hold?

[mogui]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Look up steganography...

Unfortunately, I doubt the medium is (or can be) that dense.
______
Dennis

I am not sure steg encoded files can be decoded visually. The data are buried in the jpg (or whatever) file in a non-visible way. That is what makes it hidden data. However the reported abstract picture that encodes a dense amount of data is attractive (visually and technologically), and could be the book cover. I wonder if they are unique for a given book.

I would like to see pBook publishers put some kind of encoded data in the pBook, so it could be read and put on my reader, whatever the reader may be in the future. I know, I know, it opens them up to piracy. But it would give us the best of both worlds. How about putting an honesty drug in the drinking water?

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by europas_ice

Does anyone know how much data those little gift certificate cards can hold?

What I meant was, a gift certificate entitling the bearer to download the book from a website. This could simply be a printed card with the ISBN number, a GC serial number, and a PIN (usually the PIN is covered before sale so people won't have to worry about someone copying the GC serial number and the PIN in the store/convention stall/etc.)

If you're asking about the magnetic stripe on the gift certificate cards sold by bookstore and other retail chains, I don't know. I'm no expert in this area, but a fairly casual Google search turned up a page that described the storage capabilities of one kind of magnetic stripe card as 2-16k. That wouldn't be enough for most books, though it would cover most short stories, at least in text or other low-overhead formats (low-markup HTML, possibly). I don't think even the most optimistic text compression would get a minimally formatted novel into that size file. Then there's the problem that most people don't have magnetic stripe readers at home in any case.

According to this source, QR codes can hold a maximum of 4296 characters (about 4k). With compression, that might be able to contain a short story with very minimal formatting. Maybe you could put a bunch of them on one page, one for each chapter of a book? You could add one for the OPF file that would bind them all together. You could fold the page with the QR codes in half, print the cover on the outside, and sell it as a book. No DRM, of course.

[mogui]

The highest density found in commercially available barcode symbologies appears to be PDF417:

PDF417 - Known as a 2D (two-dimensional) barcode, this is a high-density, non-linear symbology that reminds you of a crossword puzzle. But the difference between this and the other barcodes listed above is that PDF417 is really a portable data file (PDF) as opposed to simply being a reference number. Some states require a 2D barcode be printed your driver's license. If your state has this requirement, it's interesting to know that there's room enough in this barcode to encode your name, photo and summary of your driving record, and other pertinent information. As a matter of fact, a PDF417 barcode can encode the Gettysburg Address in a space the size of a postage stamp!

This means that a book would still take up considerable space. It is not beyond the realm of possibility however. I think it was Byte magazine that offered bar coded software every month in their publication. There are experimental symbologies that have higher densities. For bar codes see here and here.

RFID is a passive technology that can be embedded in a book cover. There are powered tags and unpowered tags. At this time the applications envisioned for this technology do not support the kind of information density we would need for a book. So far, they have been used in libraries to identify books. Information capacities are expressed in bits, not bytes or megabytes. Densities of 64 bits and 192 bits are typical.

Smart card solutions require a physical connection. The smart card contains a microprocessor, typically a PIC, I think. Theoretically this technology could be adapted to a higher memory density sufficient to encode a book-length file. The interface protocol would, in all likelihood, no longer be smart card compatible, but a standard unto itself. Power for the circuit is provided by the reader, so batteries are not an issue. This would be no cheaper than an SD card.

Perhaps the simplest solution would be to incorporate a mini or micro SD card under a plastic flap inside the book. It could be sealed, so the buyer would know if it had been tampered with, in the same manner as a CD in the back of a software manual. The SD card solution has the advantage of being readable by most readers. Of course it would contain the book in multiple formats. Could a low-capacity SD card be included at hardback prices?

The cheapest solution would be the tried and true CD in the back of the book. This would influence book size (trade paper back?) and require a PC to load the book onto the reader. Not so good for travelers, but easy for the industry to adopt.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by mogui

I am not sure steg encoded files can be decoded visually. The data are buried in the jpg (or whatever) file in a non-visible way. That is what makes it hidden data. However the reported abstract picture that encodes a dense amount of data is attractive (visually and technologically), and could be the book cover. I wonder if they are unique for a given book.

I didn't say they could. I was simply providing them as an example of a way of coding data in a visual image.

I would like to see pBook publishers put some kind of encoded data in the pBook, so it could be read and put on my reader, whatever the reader may be in the future. I know, I know, it opens them up to piracy. But it would give us the best of both worlds.

If you have a pbook, why bother? What sort of data would you have them encode? The text of the book?

That would founder in practical problems, like an inability to record it densely enough to make decoding it in a reader a practical experience for the user. If you want to do that, you do what is currently done by things like computer books: you bind in a CD or DVD with the electronic content.

How about putting an honesty drug in the drinking water?

Define "honesty". I think you'll come up with enough different variants and edge cases depending upon who you talk to to provoke meditation on the multi-valued nature of language.
______
Dennis

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by mogui

Perhaps the simplest solution would be to incorporate a mini or micro SD card under a plastic flap inside the book. It could be sealed, so the buyer would know if it had been tampered with, in the same manner as a CD in the back of a software manual. The SD card solution has the advantage of being readable by most readers. Of course it would contain the book in multiple formats. Could a low-capacity SD card be included at hardback prices?

The cheapest solution would be the tried and true CD in the back of the book. This would influence book size (trade paper back?) and require a PC to load the book onto the reader. Not so good for travelers, but easy for the industry to adopt.

But these bring us back to the printed book. If I buy a printed book... I don't really need the e-book. If I wanted the e-book... do I just throw away the print book? This seems, to me, like selling you a paperback with the hardback.

Using RFID or SD cards also brings up the spector of landfilling after use, and as I said before, using an SD card for an e-book is like using your car to drive across the street... serious overkill. A card more like the chip-embedded credit card or ID card would be better, as the chip size could be better suited for the storage requirement, about 1MB max. And with the latest non-metallic conductors used, the card will be more recyclable.

Barring that, I'd rather see one of the 2-d or QR codes on a card pointing a user to a website to download. Hiding the link under a sticker is workable, too.

[mogui]

Originally Posted by mogui
I am not sure steg encoded files can be decoded visually. The data are buried in the jpg (or whatever) file in a non-visible way. That is what makes it hidden data. However the reported abstract picture that encodes a dense amount of data is attractive (visually and technologically), and could be the book cover. I wonder if they are unique for a given book.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I didn't say they could. I was simply providing them as an example of a way of coding data in a visual image.

Oops! I should have said: I am not sure steg encoded files can be decoded optically. Actually, Dennis, I haven't really said what you said you didn't say you said. Nor have I stated the opposite, had you, in fact, said it.

[nekokami]

Steve, I think those business card CDs are still your best option for selling ebooks at conventions and the like, at this point. Everybody knows how to use them. Recycling is still somewhat problematic (though they CAN be recycled), but they aren't large, and I don't think you'd be making as many of them as AOL!

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Steve, I think those business card CDs are still your best option for selling ebooks at conventions and the like, at this point. Everybody knows how to use them. Recycling is still somewhat problematic (though they CAN be recycled), but they aren't large, and I don't think you'd be making as many of them as AOL!

Probably true... although, based on other comments I've gotten, mini-CDs will probably run on more PCs than the BC-CDs. I could also bring a laptop and simply download or beam the file to anyone who has an IR or USB-enabled device on them.

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Ahhh. DRM rears it's head again. iTunes is offering tunes not protected by DRM for a higher price. They are also involved in, um, discussions with content providers who want them to charge a higher price and get a bigger slice of the pie. NBC will no longer provide content, for example, because Apple wouldn't accede to demands that would effectively raise the price of a video from $2 to $5 and give NBC a bigger cut. Other networks continue to provide shows for the video iPod under the existing arrangements.

I suspect NBC's decision will come back to bite them.
______
Dennis

There is a deliberate opening to work around this. What you do is burn the tracks to a CD (which the DRM permits you to do as often as you like). That produces a completely DRM-free bog-standard CD version of your tracks.

Once you've done that, you can import as Apple Lossless, or MP3, or whatever format you like. The imported version will have no DRM, exactly as though you had ripped it from a regular CD.

There are two drawbacks to this approach:

1. It's more work.
2. If you re-import in a lossy format, you'll get additional quality degradation (beyond what came from the original conversion before you purchased the tracks, that is). Think of it as making a photocopy of a photocopy. If you re-import in a lossless format, you won't have this problem.

Depending on your system, you may or may not be able to "burn" to a disk image file, rather than an actual CDR. Or not. Your mileage may vary.

Xenophon

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

There is a deliberate opening to work around this. What you do is burn the tracks to a CD (which the DRM permits you to do as often as you like). That produces a completely DRM-free bog-standard CD version of your tracks.

There are two drawbacks to this approach:

Actually, there are 3 drawbacks:

3. If you only buy 1-2 songs at a time, it's silly to burn a CD for each purchase.

My workaround:

1. Start recording software and set input to line input. Hit record.
2. Play song in iTunes.

After a few adjustments to get volume and other settings right, you can essentially re-record it into MP3.

[nekokami]

I thought iTunes would only let you burn a protected track to CD a limited number of times?

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Actually, there are 3 drawbacks:

3. If you only buy 1-2 songs at a time, it's silly to burn a CD for each purchase.

My workaround:

1. Start recording software and set input to line input. Hit record.
2. Play song in iTunes.

After a few adjustments to get volume and other settings right, you can essentially re-record it into MP3.

I'm pretty sure that you can 'burn' onto a disk image. I'm just not sure exactly what the procedure is, as I've never needed to use it. I hardly own any iTunes-store purchased music anyway.

Originally Posted by nekokami

I thought iTunes would only let you burn a protected track to CD a limited number of times?

The actual restriction is on the number of times you can burn a particular playlist. So you just create a new playlist that "just happens" to have the same tracks in the same order.

Apple really doesn't give a rat's **s about the DRM, except that they have to supply "enough of it" to make the big studios happy. Apple makes their money on the hardware, so their incentive is to make life as easy for their customers as possible.

Xenophon

[cherdman]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

But these bring us back to the printed book. If I buy a printed book... I don't really need the e-book. If I wanted the e-book... do I just throw away the print book? This seems, to me, like selling you a paperback with the hardback.

If I purchase a pbook then I would love to download an ebook version or pull and ebook version off of a CD or other media. I think that packaging the digital version with the paper version would truly empower the reader. Why can't I take the words on purchased printed paper and read them on my phone or PDA?

Sometimes I like to listen to music on my PDA (low quality MP3), and other times I like to listen to the same music in a lossless format (FLAC or straight from the CD). I can really do what I want with my music. When I buy a book I'd like similar abilities.