e-TextBooks now Live

(retracted)

Can anyone advise whether the textbook availability will be restricted? I'm in Australia, and not able to buy many textbooks otherwise available in electonic format due to country restrictions.

Publishers have mandated that textbook availability be held to their country restrictions. The country restrictions are different for each textbook however we do list the country restrictions for each textbook.
To view the restrictions of a particular textbook:

1. Select the textbook you are interested in
2. Once you are on that textbook's page, below the textbook's description you will see the section Additional Information
3. Under Additional Information will be a topic Territories Allowed - This will list all countries that the textbook is available to.

Regards,
Dan

Yes, I saw that too. Very disappointing. When will textbooks catch up with the new tech and allow you to actually own what you purchase.

Originally Posted by borisb

So, there's still something to be said about paper books - they'll last for centuries and noone can tell you how and when you can read them.

One of my biggest reasons for not embracing ebooks earlier, and I still haven't quite yet. It's nice that textbook manufacturers are making their textbooks available in an ebook format, but some of the books I buy (particularly for computer science) I intend to keep, as reference material. Being limited to reading it for 365 days means that I'm unable to do so. I was looking at the Operating systems book (an inside out approach, I think is the sub-title), and it was $80. Why would I continue spending $80/year in order to have a book? They claim I save $75, but that $75 will pay for itself in my ability to keep using my book that I purchased.

I suppose enTourage doesn't want to/can't/won't push for DRM free accessibility?

Originally Posted by borisb

This whole DRM thing is frustrating. ... noone can tell you how and when you can read them.

No one is telling me now, where there is a will there is a way!

The textbook manufacturers need to relax the DRM to allow legitimate users ready and perpetual access to what they buy, otherwise it's just going to encourage piracy among people who are willing--or rather WANT--to pay for the book. But an unfairly burdensome DRM when the price of the text is at or near the cost of a hardcopy is simply unreasonable.

Originally Posted by summatusmentis

One of my biggest reasons for not embracing ebooks earlier, and I still haven't quite yet. It's nice that textbook manufacturers are making their textbooks available in an ebook format, but some of the books I buy (particularly for computer science) I intend to keep, as reference material. Being limited to reading it for 365 days means that I'm unable to do so. I was looking at the Operating systems book (an inside out approach, I think is the sub-title), and it was $80. Why would I continue spending $80/year in order to have a book? They claim I save $75, but that $75 will pay for itself in my ability to keep using my book that I purchased.

I suppose enTourage doesn't want to/can't/won't push for DRM free accessibility?

Yup. Not all technical information becomes old, stale, or unfashionable. I have some great C books from the mid 80s-90s that are still exceptionally useful. If the thing is DRM'd for temporary use then they should just charge a dollar. (Because they're not getting any more than that from me.) I'd be willing to pay more for non-DRM, or simply perpetual use of an e-Book, even up to the same cost of the physical book.

Originally Posted by done

To view the restrictions of a particular textbook:

1. Select the textbook you are interested in
2. Once you are on that textbook's page, below the textbook's description you will see the section Additional Information
3. Under Additional Information will be a topic Territories Allowed - This will list all countries that the textbook is available to.

Regards,
Dan

Yeah, right... Have you tried checking houndreds of books you'd like to buy (after all most cost below $10 so you literally can buy hundreds of them)?
It means opening a separate page for every book and scrolling to check that it's not available outside USA/Canada. This info should be at the very top, when you have a list of books. Or even there should be the possibility of sorting ebooks by 'contry restrictions': USA/Canada, Europea, Australia, Worldwide, etc.

Originally Posted by borisb

Ultimately, I'm predicting that in 10 years time, none of the DRM ebooks we buy/own today will be readable. It'll all be digital garbage.

Ten years? More like, five, don't you think? And just like with all the VHS tapes I once owned, there's nothing you can do, but look at them and try to figure out how to repurchase your favs in blu-ray.

I'm alarmed. Not only are the old Dr. Who's not available on blu-ray, but getting back to ebooks, I can't find many of my favorites, often the very books I'd like to mark up, in ebook anywhere. Even the fingers-in-every-pie Amazon doesn't have them. Nearly all of these I have in hardcover, but as any Manhattanite can tell you, space is an issue.