Message from your ebook retailer, from the future

[spacebrew]

This makes me want a tattoo on my shoulder that says DRM behind a bar sinister.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by avantman42

That's also true of Amazon's DRM. However, if B&N or Amazon went out of business (or decided to stop supporting that particular form of DRM), there would be no way to get a new device or application that would be able to read your books.

According to bgalbrecht earlier in the thread, this has already happened with B&N's Fictionwise/eReader subsidiaries.

Yup. This is why DRM sucks. I never, ever pay more than a rental price for anything inflicted with DRM. Because it's really a rental - it will work for an undetermined amount of time, until the DRM inevitably fails to be supported or discontinued.

For books, that means free. OK, I'll go up to $1 since that's about how much I end up paying in late fees to the library sometimes. For Steam games, it's $5-$10 tops.

If possible, I strip the DRM right away if I do buy something DRM'd. It's like a rebate - you have to send it out right away, otherwise you procrastinate until it's too late. No playing until the rebate is out or the DRM is stripped.

[ProfCrash]

And that is why we should all be saving our books. That way you have the option of removing DRM and converting your books should you need to at a later date.

I am glad I got to know Apprentice Alf, he has been a good friend and runs with a cool crowd.

[Marseille]

Originally Posted by geertm

The great thing about the B&N DRM is that after downloading a book you do not need an DRM server anymore. The encryption is completely enclosed within the ebook file. Even if B&N would not exist anymore, you would still be able to read your books with any device or program supporting the DRM.

I was a long time ereader.com buyer, and the no phone-home element is a nice feature. Yet even with that, software support falls by the wayside pretty quick. ereader only barely started their android port. It sorta functions, but won't scale, for instance, for tablet reading, and is missing odds and ends.

As to deDRM, I resent the fact that I'm forced to choose between risking legal entanglments (dedrming is arguably legal, but only arguably) and losing the books I purchased.

I would be a lot happier with B&N if they'd offered to let me transfer my ereader library to them after the acquisition and fallout from agency. Right now I'm just adrift. I haven't bought this few ebooks in a year since 2003.

[gweeks]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

And that is why we should all be saving our books. That way you have the option of removing DRM and converting your books should you need to at a later date.

I am glad I got to know Apprentice Alf, he has been a good friend and runs with a cool crowd.

You better remove the DRM NOW if you want to do this. It's likely you won't be able to remove it later when you want to.

Greg Weeks

[geertm]

Originally Posted by avantman42

That's also true of Amazon's DRM. However, if B&N or Amazon went out of business (or decided to stop supporting that particular form of DRM), there would be no way to get a new device or application that would be able to read your books.

According to bgalbrecht earlier in the thread, this has already happened with B&N's Fictionwise/eReader subsidiaries.

Amazon's DRM ties your book to the hardware ID of the device you download it to. For every new device you want to read the book upon, you need Amazon's DRM server to download a new copy for that specific device.
Unlike B&N ebooks, Amazon ebooks cannot be copied to another device.

B&N has licensed its DRM to Adobe and the DRM is included in the latest Adobe software for ePub devices. Abobe's new version of ADE that will be released soon will have support for B&N's DRM (a limited version that can read B&N books is already available). There are also several third party software ereaders that support the B&N DRM.
Unlike Amazon, B&N has made its DRM available to anyone who buys the Adobe ereader software.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by geertm

B&N has licensed its DRM to Adobe and the DRM is included in the latest Adobe software for ePub devices. Abobe's new version of ADE that will be released soon will have support for B&N's DRM (a limited version that can read B&N books is already available). There are also several third party software ereaders that support the B&N DRM.
Unlike Amazon, B&N has made its DRM available to anyone who buys the Adobe ereader software.

I didn't know that. I stand corrected. I still don't like DRM, though, of any flavour. Some may be less objectionable than others, but I find them all objectionable.

[ProfCrash]

The latest Adobe release has been rumored since BN started selling the Nook. We have seen the Nook Classic, Nook Touch, Nook Color, and Nook Tablet and still BNs DRM cannot be read on the other EPub readers. I wouldn't hold your breath.

[geertm]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The latest Adobe release has been rumored since BN started selling the Nook. We have seen the Nook Classic, Nook Touch, Nook Color, and Nook Tablet and still BNs DRM cannot be read on the other EPub readers. I wouldn't hold your breath.

The latest Adobe software includes support for the B&N DRM, and has been available since the beginning of this year. All devices using the latest Adobe software (like the new Sony ereader and the Kobo Touch) could support the B&N DRM, but the manufacturers have chosen not to do so.

There are several software ePub readers for Android that are using the latest Adobe software and do support the B&N DRM.
There is also a limited version available of Adobe's ADE that can read B&N DRM. The full version has not been released yet.

[Ken Maltby]

Notice the release dates:
http://www.jetbook.net/update

They all are using Adobe Reader Mobile 9.1.1.

In the case of the jetBook Lite the Fictionwise (Secure eReader) .pdb DRM and
format is also supported.

Luck;
Ken