One author's pledge on DRM

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by MrPLD

So glad I've invested my time into Inkscape and Scribus, I know they're not the 'top of town' but they certainly still outpace me for what they can do versus what I need. For authoring/typesetting I leave it in the capable hands of LaTeX/LyX. Certainly nice to be using OpenSource in this situation.

I have both here, and concur they are worthy products.

But open source is not a magic bullet. The same considerations I mentioned that apply to commercial software apply to it, and are the reasons why open source hasn't achieved a far wider penetration. Once you have invested the time and effort to master any relatively complex software, there's inherent resistance to switching.

How enthusiastic would you be about switching from Scribus/Inkscape to something else? Costs aside, the other product would do it differently, and you would have the learning curve involved in being able to effectively use the product. Making the switch is non-trivial, and requires a strong incentive to attempt. Price may be the least important consideration.

I have an older version of InDesign here, as well as Scribus. The last time I found myself doing a publication, I did it in MS Publisher. I was on a tight deadline, didn't have the time to come up the curve on InDesign or Scribus to equivalent fluency, and knew how to make Publisher do what I wanted.

If I wanted to make any real money doing DTP, a current version of InDesign would be a necessity, as that's what the industry uses.

Paul.

______
Dennis

[JSWolf]

Yes, ePub is open. But if it has DRM, it may as well be not open. DRM is just a waste of money.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does anyone here remember how Amazon screwed lots and lots of people when they decided to stop selling eBooks and people could no longer download them when they needed to update the DRM on the legally purchased eBooks?... Since Amazon has a piss-poor track record with eBooks, why are people falling for Amazon and eBooks yet again?

It's simple: Amazon made it simple. Using the Kindle is so butt-stoopid simple that customers don't think about the DRM... they don't have to, just to use the Kindle and the Kindle store. And remember, most Kindle users hadn't messed with ebooks before the Kindle... so, NO, they didn't remember anything about that. (Why didn't you tell them?)

The commercial world is chock-full of examples of businesses convincing consumers to do things, including things that are incredibly bad ideas... like max'ing out credit cards and ruining their credit... by the simple expedient of making it butt-stoopid simple for them to do. And we all know Amazon isn't alone in this regard.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by MrPLD

Sadly, while there are a few people who live by that mantra, there's a lot more who'll sooner take advantage of anything in order to leverage themselves further.

Perhaps I should explain my thinking a little further, since that's the flag that most people will raise.

Do I think that some people will steal my books or put them up on the darknet? I'm sure some will. (I don't think the majority will, though.) Most of my books are already up on the darknet. But I think the people inclined to steal them will do so, DRM or no DRM. All but a couple of my books are available somewhere without DRM already.

So, leaving aside the whole question of whether having my books pirated helps or hurts (you know, that obscurity thing), let's just ask, would I rather have some of my books floating around illicitly shared and have more readers, or have the distribution tightly controlled and fewer readers? There's no way to know which would mean more money for me.

My answer is, more readers. I have said before that I would rather go broke from unwisely giving too much away than go broke because my books are languishing in obscurity. Sure, there's a risk. But I think it's a risk worth taking.

[MrPLD]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

It's simple: Amazon made it simple. Using the Kindle is so butt-stoopid simple that customers don't think about the DRM....

I just uploaded our book to Amazon as a Kindle download - the nice thing is, as an author/publisher they give you the option to turn on or off DRM, which is great. I turned it off.





http://elitadaniels.com - Tree of Life (Part I). They shall age like us; they shall die like us. - High Fantasy.

[MrPLD]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I have both here, and concur they are worthy products.

But open source is not a magic bullet. The same considerations I mentioned that apply to commercial software apply to it, and are the reasons why open source hasn't achieved a far wider penetration. Once you have invested the time and effort to master any relatively complex software, there's inherent resistance to switching.

I agree. For me, moving to a Windows situation would decimate my productivity (especially for my electronics design). Given that I don't have to collaborate with anyone else oh a daily basis and when I do have to I can share in open/standard formats, the path of picking up Open-source packages works well for me. That said there are situations where I do use commercial software on Linux despite their being open-source alternatives (such as using 'Eagle PCB' rather than 'kicad' or 'gEDA').

I guess what I was saying originally is that there are several viable options for those of us who have the liberty of being able to do so (eg, not constricted due to industry defacto).


.... I see we've drifted waaaaaay off topic now.


Paul.

[MrPLD]

Originally Posted by starrigger

My answer is, more readers. I have said before that I would rather go broke from unwisely giving too much away than go broke because my books are languishing in obscurity. Sure, there's a risk. But I think it's a risk worth taking.

We're the same here - in fact we know our book is already on the torrents but that's no problem to us.

Paul.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

It's simple: Amazon made it simple. Using the Kindle is so butt-stoopid simple that customers don't think about the DRM... they don't have to, just to use the Kindle and the Kindle store. And remember, most Kindle users hadn't messed with ebooks before the Kindle... so, NO, they didn't remember anything about that. (Why didn't you tell them?)

It's not just simplicity. It's convenience. The Kindle and Whispernet make it possible for you to browse Amazon's catalog, select a book, pay for it, and download and start read at any time, day or night. You don't even need a computer. (One prominent MR poster doesn't have a computer, and participates through his Kindle.)

And you're locked in to Amazon as your vendor, but you don't care, because Amazon has good pricing and unparalleled selection. I've been saying for some time in regards to piracy that people will still pay for value, and you succeed by providing value, pricing reasonably, and making it as easy as possible for your customers to give you money. Amazon excels at all three, and especially at the last. Amazon DRM isn't intended to prevent piracy: it's intended to lock you in to Amazon as the vendor. And it does, but the vast majority of Kindle owners don't care, and have no real reason to.
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by MrPLD

I agree. For me, moving to a Windows situation would decimate my productivity (especially for my electronics design). Given that I don't have to collaborate with anyone else oh a daily basis and when I do have to I can share in open/standard formats, the path of picking up Open-source packages works well for me. That said there are situations where I do use commercial software on Linux despite their being open-source alternatives (such as using 'Eagle PCB' rather than 'kicad' or 'gEDA').

There are cases where that's the appropriate response. Another example would be people doing serious image manipulation. The Gimp is fine software, but it's not Photoshop, and if you do digital image manipulation for a living, Photoshop is what you use. There simply isn't anything else that really approaches it, open source or commercial.

Open source is splendid, but it isn't always the best tool for a particular job.

I guess what I was saying originally is that there are several viable options for those of us who have the liberty of being able to do so (eg, not constricted due to industry defacto).

There certainly are. But once you settle on a particular solution, it can be really hard to change course.

.... I see we've drifted waaaaaay off topic now.

It's inherent in the nature of the forums. Not to worry. Some of the best threads result from just such drift. I think of them as Little Bo Peep's sheep: "Leave them alone, and they'll come home, wagging their tails behind them." If they don't, I can play shepherd, but I seldom have to.

Paul.

______
Dennis

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Amazon DRM isn't intended to prevent piracy: it's intended to lock you in to Amazon as the vendor. And it does, but the vast majority of Kindle owners don't care, and have no real reason to.
______
Dennis

To many, Amazons "walled Garden" approach suits them fine. This is particularly true if they are not computer or internet savvy. It is a simple process to learn the procedure of getting an ebook of choice to the Kindle and like you say, you do not even need a PC for that task.

For other ereaders on the market, not being locked into a store (right or wrong) adds some complications to the transfer process.

That would certainly make the Kindle more attractive regardless of DRM.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Now Amazon is a player in the DRM wars and a player on the enemy's side. So really, why buy a Kindle and then buy eBooks from Amazon when we know history can and often has a way of repeating?

Perhaps you would like to explain why Amazon might about face this time?

eBooks are a natural fit for Amazon. They are the world's biggest catalog retailer, and I believe they are the world's biggest book retailer. They already have the infrastructure in place to display the catalog and take the order. Adding fulfillment, in the form of immediate download after payment has occurred, was a relatively minor change on their back end. And eBooks have effectively no warehousing or shipping costs. For Amazon, what's not to like?

Amazon is riding a wave of ebook popularity it helped create, and that wave is nowhere near peaking. I really don't see Amazon wiping out, which is about the only reason I can see that they would stop their current efforts.
______
Dennis

[Steven Lake]

Steve: Yes, they won't think about the DRM. Well, until it comes back to bite them in the bum like it did before. Why anyone can still trust Amazon amazes me. What scares me most is that they are also on the precipice of taking over one of the largest bookstores in the nature. And you can bet that the moment the deal is close, they'll start screwing every tom, dick and harry that they can get their hands on, just like they do now with their online store.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

What can I say? People have short memories... consumers, even shorter. How many people outside of techies still hold Sony accountable for the rootkit debacle? Damned few. How many ebook readers that were around before Kindle actually remember Amazon's past transgressions? Fewer than you might think. And Amazon is building off of today's customers, not yesterday's.

I'm not saying it should be this way... just that that's the way it is. Personally, I'm glad Amazon gave publishers the option to turn off DRM... I plan to, when I put my books back in, and DRM limitations will dictate which stores get my books in the future. (Take note: They did that for publishers... not consumers, for whom it is practically impossible to tell if a book is DRM'd before they buy it.)

But we all have to realize that DRM is a ghost to most consumers, rarely seen, mostly misunderstood, and not evident to them until the day they decide to leave the haunted house... and then there it is at the door, threatening them as they leave. A lot of people are going to stay in that house for years, and never, ever see that ghost. So they're going to think the warnings of a few stragglers like us, telling them not to go in, are crazy. (And as long as those warnings are largely confined to sites like this one, most people won't get those warnings.)

If you think DRM is bad... you're wasting your time saying so here. Preacher, meet the choir. No: You have to get out into the mainstream media, leave editorials at major papers and news magazines, get someone onto TV, whether it's CNN or the Daily Show, and tell everyone else. Tell the people that matter... the mass consumers. Convince them to pass on DRM'd books, and you'll convince booksellers to pass on DRM.

As long as it's just us around here, the booksellers won't have much concern over it.

[MrPLD]

Steven, what's worst is, like with Microsoft Windows, people are being, or are conditioned to accept these inconveniences as "part of technology". I mean really, clogging your Windows box down with 3 or 4 separate programs all trying to stop you being exploited/hacked/spammed, it's an amazing thing to see - and the very people you're trying to save will fight you if you try to push them to a better world. The best you can do is lead and hope they'll follow.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by MrPLD

The best you can do is lead and hope they'll follow.

Maybe... but the problem is, we're not leading. There's the crowd of consumers here, and there's us, leading a relatively tiny march from nine blocks over there.

You know who's in front of the crowd? Amazon. Sony. Barnes & Noble. And they're making more than enough noise to drown us out. At this rate, there is zero hope of them following us.

So I say again: You want to fight DRM? A new strategy is in order, one that doesn't include spending all of our time hanging around here discussing it.