TechCrunch:NOOK Is Now A $220 Million Business

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by jersysman

The amount of time that anyone holds onto a device before (especially tablets) is not very long. Barnes & Noble will be around for that period of time. Whether it survives (or it what form) for the unveiling of the Nook Tablet 3 is another story to be told.

Plus, a Nook Tablet really doesn't need B&N around to survive once it is rooted.

I'm not up-to-date on the nook / ePub ecosystem. What would happen to DRM'd book purchases if the nook goes away?

[monkeyluis]

Originally Posted by jersysman

The amount of time that anyone holds onto a device before (especially tablets) is not very long. Barnes & Noble will be around for that period of time. Whether it survives (or it what form) for the unveiling of the Nook Tablet 3 is another story to be told.

Plus, a Nook Tablet really doesn't need B&N around to survive once it is rooted.

Think about it from the perspective that someone doesn't even know this concept. They only know what hey get out of the box. These are the majority of consumers.

[geertm]

Originally Posted by emellaich

I'm not up-to-date on the nook / ePub ecosystem. What would happen to DRM'd book purchases if the nook goes away?

The great thing about B&N's DRM is that your books are not tied to any hardware or software ID. The DRM is fully enclosed within the book. After downloading a book you do not need a DRM server anymore. Your can just copy a book to as many devices as you want, as many times as you want.
Just make sure you have a backup of your books, and you will be able to read them as long as there is a hardware or software reader supporting the DRM.

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by monkeyluis

Think about it from the perspective that someone doesn't even know this concept. They only know what hey get out of the box. These are the majority of consumers.

All I'm saying is that even if B&N went belly up in 2 years (which I doubt) the Nook Tablet would have been replaced by another tablet or whatever is the current hot thing.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by geertm

The great thing about B&N's DRM is that your books are not tied to any hardware or software ID. The DRM is fully enclosed within the book. After downloading a book you do not need a DRM server anymore. Your can just copy a book to as many devices as you want, as many times as you want.
Just make sure you have a backup of your books, and you will be able to read them as long as there is a hardware or software reader supporting the DRM.

How does this work? It seems like it would allow you to give away your book to all the people who own a nook?

[geertm]

Originally Posted by emellaich

How does this work? It seems like it would allow you to give away your book to all the people who own a nook?

That is why the books are encrypted with your credit card number and name. Because that is information that you will only share with a limited number of people. This is what makes B&N's DRM a social DRM. There is no technical limit to prevent you from sharing the books, just a social one.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by geertm

That is why the books are encrypted with your credit card number and name. Because that is information that you will only share with a limited number of people. This is what makes B&N's DRM a social DRM. There is no technical limit to prevent you from sharing the books, just a social one.

I guess by that definition most e-book DRM is social. But isn't there a hard limit on the number of simultaneous devices you can read an e-book on?

[rdfry]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

I guess by that definition most e-book DRM is social. But isn't there a hard limit on the number of simultaneous devices you can read an e-book on?

Only if you want them registered to the same account, then it is six. You can side load all of your books to as many devices as you want simultaneously.

[geertm]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

I guess by that definition most e-book DRM is social. But isn't there a hard limit on the number of simultaneous devices you can read an e-book on?

With both the Kindle DMR and the Adobe ePub DRM you cannot just copy an ebook file to any ereader.
Kindle books are tied to the hardware ID of the ereader. Every ereader you want to read a Kindle book upon must be tied to your account, and a version will be downloaded that can only be read on that specific ereader.
Adobe ePub DRM ebooks can only be read on an ereader that is authorized with the same Adobe ID as the book was originally downloaded with.

So both DRM's are a lot different than the B&N DRM. Once a B&N DRM ebook is downloaded you can just take the ebook file and copy it to as many ereaders as you want, as many times as you want.
You do not have to tie the ereader to an account to download a new version. you do not have to authorize the ereader in any way. You do not need any DRM server, in any way. Every book is a standalone file, that does not need anything else to function.

[monkeyluis]

Originally Posted by jersysman

All I'm saying is that even if B&N went belly up in 2 years (which I doubt) the Nook Tablet would have been replaced by another tablet or whatever is the current hot thing.

I don't disagree. I don't know, it just makes me weary.