Sony Reader Lives on with Rowling!

[apastuszak]

Originally Posted by porkupan

Well, I guess you don't go to supermarket either. They are watching you through those cameras, just in case you decide to put a can of soda in your pocket. Talk about treating you like a criminal!

The thing is, there are a lot of thieves out there. You may not be one of them, but hundreds of people are. And there are people who would on principle buy an electronic copy of a book or a song, and put it out there for everyone to copy. So, the companies have to watch out for their rights.

Just as supermarket security has to watch the shoppers. I don't think you are majorly inconvenienced by this fact.

I have carefully looked around my grocery store and I don't see any cameras. The difference with the grocery store is that, if there are cameras, they don't follow me home and hang around my house the way DRM works. Once I walk out of the grocery store, I can do whatever I want with my groceries.

The cameras in the store are equivalent to the firewalls and security measures to keep you out of their servers so you don't download a book for free. DRM would be like sending the security guard home with me.

[MovieBird]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why do you care about a watermark? Are you planning to give copies of the books to other people?

Am I the only one that finds it highly innapropriate for a Moderator to cast aspersions on a member's ethics?

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by MovieBird

Am I the only one that finds it highly innapropriate for a Moderator to cast aspersions on a member's ethics?

The question sounds fair to me.

A watermark that you can't see effects your reading experience in what way?
What causes a buyer to care?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Phogg

The question sounds fair to me.

A watermark that you can't see effects your reading experience in what way?
What causes a buyer to care?

Because it's treating me like I am a crook just like DRM does.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Because it's treating me like I am a crook just like DRM does.

If you buy a CD, or perhaps a new blender at a store, and it has a radio tag that has to be deactivated at the register so alarms don't go off as you leave...does that upset you?

Do you percieve it to be aimed at you personally?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Phogg

If you buy a CD, or perhaps a new blender at a store, and it has a radio tag that has to be deactivated at the register so alarms don't go off as you leave...does that upset you?

Do you perceive it to be aimed at you personally?

That is while I am in the store. In their store. After I leave, the item is mine and no longer has any anti-theft devices on it. But the eBooks would be in my possession in my place of residence. So there should be no anti-theft device attached to them.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That is while I am in the store. In their store. After I leave, the item is mine and no longer has any anti-theft devices on it. But the eBooks would be in my possession in my place of residence. So there should be no anti-theft device attached to them.

Its a "device" in the same way the VIN number on your car or the serial number on your refrigerator is a "device."

Do you feel a compulsion to file those numbers off?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Its a "device" in the same way the VIN number on your car or the serial number on your refrigerator is a "device."

Do you feel a compulsion to file those numbers off?

Those numbers aren't tied to my name. A watermark that has the properties so it can track me, is.

But, in the DRM scheme of things, it's a huge step forward, as, in theory, you should be able to read it on as many devices as you own. Because, that's naturally the biggest drawback of all other DRM schemes: you're tied to a fixed number of readers. And if you want to borrow the book out to your brother/sister/father/mother or even a colleague (which is perfectly normal for any other pbook), you can't.

[HarryT]

That's because you're not lending your copy of the book; you're making another copy of it and giving someone that. In paper terms, it's the equivalent of making a photocopy of a book and giving your relative that photocopy; something which I'm sure most people would take the view is not a legitimate thing to do.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

If it's just a user name and an order number (and they aren't storing the associated CC#s forever in their store database), then that is fine with me -- it's basically a personalized copy with no personal security risk.

Still, that's a far cry from the claims that it will let them track down who distributed the book -- you'd need verifiable personal data stored for that.

What DriveThruRPG & related sites do is put your name & order # on the bottom of each page in tiny text as a watermark. It's unobtrusive enough not to interfere with reading or even printing.

Somewhere, they no doubt keep a database of purchase orders. They may or may not keep credit card numbers, but they probably keep "how did this person pay" records, and something like "last 4 digits of credit card number." (Or, in my case, name of PayPal account.)

I suspect they'll release PDFs, because one of Rowling's concerns is controlling people's reading methods. ("“We can guarantee that people everywhere are getting the same experience at the same time. That was extremely appealing to me.") Can't do that with the flexible reflow formats.

So I plan on buying the ebooks, stripping the locks, manually removing the watermarks, cropping the whitespace out, and loading them on my ereader, which is what I do with most commercial locked PDFs. It's not that I object to the watermark; it's that it gets in the way of reading the book with the page cropped to its smallest size just around the main text.

Interestingly, this is the DRM that *doesn't* prevent casual sharing, just easy widespread downloads. With your name & account number or purchase order on every page, you can share the file with anyone you trust not to turn you in for infringement. (Or get software to strip the lock, which is somewhat more obscure than most anti-DRM scripts, and remove the watermark, which is a lot more obscure.)

[Ditchleyportrait]

mobileread n.: drm drm drm x infinity

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's because you're not lending your copy of the book; you're making another copy of it and giving someone that. In paper terms, it's the equivalent of making a photocopy of a book and giving your relative that photocopy; something which I'm sure most people would take the view is not a legitimate thing to do.

But the idea about watermarking is, that you can actually lend a copy to a friend/family member. But you'll always be responsible what happens to that copy as it can be traced back to you. And I'm fine with that, personally. But saying that a watermark is just like any other serial number on an appliance is not correct...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

But the idea about watermarking is, that you can actually lend a copy to a friend/family member. But you'll always be responsible what happens to that copy as it can be traced back to you.

Yes, exactly. I completely agree with you there. That's the whole point of watermarking - it encourages responsible sharing.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I suspect they'll release PDFs, because one of Rowling's concerns is controlling people's reading methods. ("“We can guarantee that people everywhere are getting the same experience at the same time. That was extremely appealing to me.") Can't do that with the flexible reflow formats.

So I plan on buying the ebooks, stripping the locks, manually removing the watermarks, cropping the whitespace out, and loading them on my ereader, which is what I do with most commercial locked PDFs. It's not that I object to the watermark; it's that it gets in the way of reading the book with the page cropped to its smallest size just around the main text.

That would depend on the size of the PDF. If it's made up for 5" or 6" screens, I'm fine with it. That's what I do with my books too...

[basschick]

amen!

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Between Harry Potter and Twilight, I'd much rather have the former.