07-05-2009, 10:03 PM | #1 |
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No more .LIT?
Question, has there been any announcement from some publishers that they are steering away from Microsoft Reader format? I've noticed that some of the more recent releases I've purchased (particularly those from Simon and Schuster) are not available in Microsoft Reader format, hence, I've had to buy them in Adobe Digital Editions EPUB.
I'm happy that EPUB is becoming more popular, but concerned with the DRM aspect. I've always bought ebooks in .LIT format since that was the only format that can be "un-DRM'ed" back when I first started buying ebooks. True, it's now possible to un-DRM secure Adobe PDF and EPUB. However, Adobe seems to be a bit more regular than Microsoft with releasing updates, hence, greater potential to break existing workarounds. *sigh* This can all be solved if publishers just don't use DRM in the first place. Seriously, when will they realise that DRM (at least in its current implementation) isn't doing anybody any good? I can get the same books I'm paying for (and more since some titles are not available as ebook) from illegal sources without the added hassle of DRM. |
07-06-2009, 12:31 PM | #2 |
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Simon & Schuster started messing up the way they do ebooks around the first of the year IIRC. They've dropped formats (especially LIT) and raised prices a lot. I assume it has to do with what distributors they're using, but don't know for sure.
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07-06-2009, 12:34 PM | #3 | |
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Just a thought. |
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07-06-2009, 01:12 PM | #4 | |
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07-06-2009, 02:34 PM | #5 | |
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As for legal non-DRM sources - I've gotten a few titles from Fictionwise (MultiFormat) and Smashwords. P.S. Almost all the ebooks I buy, I already own paperbacks of. New releases (e.g. Star Trek Movie Tie-In by Alan Dean Foster) are the exception rather than the rule. My purchase of copies in ebook format is contingent on the fact that (a) it's not DRM'ed and can easily be format-shifted to my reader of choice or (b) the DRM can be removed and then, it can be format-shifted to my reader of choice. If it does not meet either of the above, then I can content myself with just grabbing the paperback from the bookshelf. Last edited by ilovejedd; 07-06-2009 at 02:46 PM. |
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07-11-2009, 06:56 PM | #6 |
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@Steve
The hassle and promise of hassle of having to deal with DRM will bring a legitimate purchaser to look for alternate sources for their eBooks, and when they find that they can get them easily for free they stop buying. The free alternative will have it's own hassles, but they're almost all certainly smaller than the ones they encounter dealing with bad DRM. It's not about what's right and what's wrong. It's about human nature. eBooks are still in their relative infancy, and it's possible that the slippery slope that the music industry fell down might be still be avoided, and Amazon may even have a partial solution. They need to stop messing around. They've canceled books that they've already sold. They're killing off the production of new readers that work with DRM'd mobi. They've set up a system where they're now one of many formats and one of many forms of DRM. You can't buy a device that naively works with it all. They're sending a message to consumers and that message is that if you buy into DRM, you'll eventually be left out in the cold. I think when it all comes to a head, the publishers will be left out in the cold by their customer's distaste for DRM that's only effective enough to make legitimate customers miserable. Edit: Oh awesome. I just realized that a bunch of my old purchases from fictionwise are now multiformat. I may have to start buying from them again. Maybe I'll resubscribe to asimov's and analog. Last edited by bmfrosty; 07-11-2009 at 07:15 PM. Reason: Avoiding a second post. |
07-11-2009, 09:45 PM | #7 |
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If only some of those non-DRM sources actually had some decent selections.
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07-12-2009, 01:02 AM | #8 |
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I can understand why MS Reader format is being left behind. It isn't on enough portable devices (laptops and netbooks do not count) and no eink has DRM support for it.
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07-12-2009, 03:43 AM | #9 |
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I buy in .lit if possible because
1) it's - supposedly - good (best?) quality source files 2) it's easy for me to strip the DRM. I prefer using lrf on my Sony, so converting what I buy is my best option, so for me, the question of what to buy is not: what works on my current device, but what I can most easily convert. DRM free would of course be the way to go, but unfortunately much of what I want to read is DRM'd. Before I learned to strip DRM I did download some books from illegal sources. I couldn't buy the books I wanted in a format I could use, and stripping DRM and converting was just too much hassle. |
07-12-2009, 02:45 PM | #10 |
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It really kills me that Amazon isn't taking this as an opportunity to be inclusive. Instead they're trying to set up a system where they're the biggest player on the block and can then be exclusive. If they had released a device that could also deal with DRM'd Lit, Mobi, and ePub, then they might be considered a truly great migration point for existing ebook users. Instead, they want to be a virtual monopoly, and we have what we have.
Last edited by bmfrosty; 07-12-2009 at 03:04 PM. |
07-12-2009, 02:52 PM | #11 | |
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07-12-2009, 03:03 PM | #12 |
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@JSWolf
Ever think one thing and type another? I meant to say amazon. I hope my post makes more sense now. |
07-13-2009, 04:17 AM | #13 | |
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In the end EA gave in, and removed a lot of the DRM hassle from Spore. Let's hope the publishers will finally wake up and do the same. |
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