I know you guys here read a lot so you'd be interested or aware of the recent introduction of the eReader as a tool that people actually use as an alternative to paper-books (i.e. since the Kindle came out in 2008).
I want to know your opinions; should eBooks have DRM or not?
If yes, Why and to what extent?
If no, Why?
Please add anything else that comes to mind.
Many thanks and please read article below:
quote: DRM a Drag on Ebook Growth, Say Critics Imagine bringing home a music CD from Best Buy and discovering that it will only play on some of your stereo equipment...
Eric Lai, Computerworld Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:25:00 -0800
Imagine bringing home a music CD from Best Buy and discovering that it will only play on some of your stereo equipment. Moreover, you're limited in the number of times you can switch the CD from one stereo to another.
That is the kind of restriction and hassle that ebook enthusiasts face today, say critics, due to the widespread use -- misuse, they would argue -- of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology.
"I don't have to put on special glasses when I read a book published by Random House, so why should I need a special software reader from Adobe or someone else?" asked David Rothman, co-editor of the TeleRead e-book blog and an author of six non-fiction books. "It's a bizarre notion." DRM is nearly dead in the music industry, after Apple Inc.'s January decision to stop protecting songs sold through iTunes.
But DRM's use as an anti-piracy tool continues in software and DVD publishing, as well as ebooks.
The difference is that the ebook market remains nascent and fragile. According to the International Digital Publishing Forum, wholesale revenue from U.S. ebook sales last year totaled just $52.4 million. (IDPF's figures only include a dozen leading publishers, and should be doubled to arrive at a more realistic retail dollar sales total.)
Sales of dedicated e-book readers such as Amazon.com Inc. 's Kindle or Sony Corp.'s Sony Reader were slightly better. Last year, just 538,000 e-book readers worth $154 million were shipped, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
Critics say two of the biggest champions of ebooks, Amazon.com and Adobe Systems Inc., are potentially stunting the industry's long-term growth with their strong support for DRM. They also criticize the two vendors' lukewarm support -- at best -- for the emerging open ebook publishing standard known as .epub, in favor of their own proprietary ones.
For instance, Amazon's Kindle favored format is its own, DRM-restricted AZW ebook format. Those who purchase an ebook on their Kindle cannot transfer it to read on their PC or iPhone , though Amazon hinted earlier this month that it might allow that in the future.
Amazon has also negotiated exclusive rights for Kindle ebooks from author Stephen King and biographies of First Lady Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain , the wife of last year's Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, (R-Ariz.).
"There are wonderful people at both Adobe and Amazon.com," Rothman said, "but if I were them, I'd worry less about my slice of the pie, and more about growing the total pie."
Meanwhile, Adobe continues to hawk DRM-protected versions of its PDF format and the open .epub format at book publishers, rather than the plain-vanilla, non-DRM-protected version of .epub.
"I'm wary of Adobe," said Mark Coker, CEO of independent ebook publisher Smashwords. "Do they really support .epub, or do they want to get people to do .epub within the PDF environment or simply move all of their ebooks onto PDF?"
"Nothing beats PDF if you want to print out an ebook on your home computer," said Coker. "But for most electronic books, PDF is overkill. It's like driving a tractor to work when a regular car or bicycle would do just fine."
In an interview last fall, Tom Prehn, senior product manager at Adobe, said the company's belated embrace of .epub, introduced with the then-new Adobe Content Server 4, is sincere. "We erred in thinking that PDF was all that was needed," he said.
Adobe offers DRM, he said, as an option because publishers expect it.
Prehn also pointed out that Adobe's DRM for .epub lets ebook readers register up to 6 desktop and 6 handheld devices on which content can be shared without restriction.
Adobe's more middle-of-the-road approach is helping it win partners such as Lexcycle Inc., maker of the popular Stanza app that turns the iPhone into an ebook reader.
Despite Lexcycle COO Neelan Choksi's many public statements against DRM, the company agreed to support Adobe's DRM technology to gain access to the ebooks that use it.
Coker argues that Amazon's spurning of .epub and even stronger support for DRM puts it at risk of turning into a marginal, Betamax-like player in the long run. "If the mobile phone vendors got their act together, there's no reason they couldn't dwarf the Kindles of this world in a matter of months," he said.
Others say the VCR format wars offer the wrong analogy.
"Proprietary formats are going to hurt the Kindle -- just like they hurt Apple's iPod, right?" said Don Leeper, founder and president of BookMobile, the Minneapolis-based digital printing house. Still, critics propose two solutions to the confusing morass of DRM and formats. Rothman favors a solution called 'social DRM,' in which ebooks are digitally watermarked with the buyer's name, but not physically prevented from redistribution. Embarrassment will discourage most piracy, he says.
Coker favors a total shareware approach, arguing that a pure honor system can work. "Consumers, on the whole, do want to support artists and writers," he said. "The brave publishers who get rid of DRM will see greater returns from it. So I do think it's inevitable that it will go away."
DRM is a poor solution for protecting rights in the public domain. The scheme costs a fortune, but still can be easily broken and is a waste of purchaser's time and money.
I detest licensing schemes, which is why I dumped Windows for Linux. Ubuntu is FREE as in beer!
DRM is a hold-over from the old Internet-stupid publishing houses. Shareware is definitely the Anti-monopolistic wave of the digital future.
Posts: 2403 | Registered: Feb 2010
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If you're a publisher with 500 titles to sell, are you not worried that one person could simply buy or steal (pick one) all your titles and put them up in one torrent file for all to download on piratebay?
If you're a retailer or distributor in charge of a catalog of books from various authors with security concerns, isn't it simply responsible to consider DRM?
I understand that current state of DRM is a bit rubbish and protects the big tech companies like Amazon more than it protects authors but that doesn't mean the idea of DRM is obsolete.
-------------------- state of mind Posts: 1819 | From: odesco baba | Registered: Feb 2005
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Show me a DRM protected title, and I'll show you it's D/L link on Pirate Bay. If the public is interested, then it will end up on Piratebay, DRM or not.
Google has scanned and achieves over 1,000,000 titles, and they use no DRM, and make a profit.
Many authors have already shown that they can make good profits selling across the Internet WITHOUT resorting to DRM or having even to deal with a publisher.
Posts: 2403 | Registered: Feb 2010
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DRM is a hold-over from the old Internet-stupid publishing houses. Shareware is definitely the Anti-monopolistic wave of the digital future.
If you were an author or a publisher, you wouldn't be speaking bad about DRM.
There are only 2 problems with DRM in my opinion:
The fact that there is always a possibility that it can be broken.
Limiting usability of eBooks by unnecessary restrictions on reader-authorisations.
So basically, if one can PROVE that a DRM solution is actually unbreakable by all but the Military guys over there in the US AND it doesn't put limitations on owner-authorised-sharing, then what is the problem with it?
The only problem I see is the Military guys as far being able to present an ultimate solution. One may have to write an unbreakable encryption algorithm to get past this, but I believe once one does this you become somewhat of a target, and we're not really trying to get into that area of things - we're just thinking about eBooks .
Posts: 1819 | From: odesco baba | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
^ This is not a new topic. Writers and publishers have been discussing DRM for over a decade now.
What's really driving DRM isn't so much published materials as much as computer gaming, where it really makes over 70% of their revenue.
As I stated, many writers are publishing straight to the Internet today, and by-passing publishing houses. They have positively shown that they can still make a profit without the publishers or DRM.
The Internet has freed us from those former bottleneck channels. Licensing is out!! Shareware is in!! Be Free, and have no fear.
Posts: 2403 | Registered: Feb 2010
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posted
Man people I can't stand this hatred for everything paper.
First Credit Cards, Debit Cards etc, now "ebooks".
Remember people this may look easier now and more affordable, but it's just another push to a cashless, micro chip society. People have to speak up when it comes to things like this before it gets too late. Every and all things are being put on computers and big brother is orchestrating all this and controlling how we live.
I hope others defend our rights to be free and fair to eachother because the world is getting digital. Now people find mates "online" get jobs "online" etc its all CRAZYNESS. We are being tracked, targeted and persecuted simply because we are the mass(people). Elites are doing whatever they want to us and leaving us to fight among ourselves for scraps. Don't let the ease of these things blind you to the facts that we need to dialogue and communicate offline and bring back the unity of One People.
If Marcus Garvey was alive today, he would be rolling around wondering just what happened to people. We are becoming Mental Slaves to the system and it's ideas of truth, instead of getting truth from the word of God.
Now they are splicing our fruits and creating hybrids. Scientist have free reign to distort and pretend to play God with our lives AND food. To stop this we must take it back to the grassroots and teach our children not to become too dependent on Computers and gadgets. Show them that the old tried and true works best and that we must resist the call of "facebook" "twitter" etc. We have to teach our children that exceriseing there minds in an Paper Book is much better then playing violent video games that just promote death and destruction. Spend time with your family doing things like TALKING, BOARD GAMES, Or just PLAYING free of computers. Too much people spend so much time at work, trying to get "money" that they forget the simple things in life like growing together. Life is about BLESSING eachother and LOVING(no hippy, nor feminine). When we support those that can't support us, not only are we doing whats right, but we also get blessings from God. Helping others and building your family, should be things we all strive to do. There is more to life then partying, drinking, smoking etc. God shows us the way to TRUE Happiness and thats through supporting our brotherman, and sisterwoman. If everyone in AMerica gave 1 dollar towards feeding Somalis and East Africans, then these children whould not die needless deaths. Children are the most precious people in our lives and to hear that Somali children are dying of starvation needlessly because the rich countries basically refuse to help, but they kill people in Libya, Iraq and Afghan shows the hypocrisy of what they say and do. They claim to be protecting lives in these countries, but ignore the lives of these East Africans that really need the help. I KNOW I am not the only person who hates the neglect of poor people around the world. The UN is an farce and should not be trusted by any nation and they push there NWO agendas down the throats of the 3rd world and see what sticks.
If these nations were truly FOR the people, they would protect the weakest of us and not let them die worthless deaths. I have not spoken bad about ANY Govenrment(and I won't). I just hope they use there strength to support those who can't pay them back as the Power of God.
Peace
Posts: 9651 | From: Reace and Love City. | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
DRM is bad for the consumer because it's costs are added to the cost of the product. Following that, it limits the fair usage standard of how that consumer may use their purchased product.
As example, if I have a hard backed volume of booker T. Washington's, "End Of Slavery" on my book shelf, and my brother-in-law came by and asked to borrow it, there is nothing from stopping me from simply removing it from the shelf and placing it directly into his hands. When he returns it, I can loan it out to my neighbor, or my cousin. i may decide to lend it to 20 different people over the next year. This is called, fair usage.
Now, can I lend out my newly purchased e-book as easily? The answer is NO. The DRM EULA which you've agreed to specifically limits the license to you and the PC you downloaded it on. There are multi-license versions of the DRM, but not for addressing the above scenario I outlined.
DRM is simply a scheme to protect the publisher, at the expense of the consumer.
quote:Originally posted by MelaninKing: DRM is bad for the consumer because it's costs are added to the cost of the product. Following that, it limits the fair usage standard of how that consumer may use their purchased product.
This is not the definition of DRM. Bad implementations of DRM should not be used to judge the idea. DRM is useful if done properly I think.
Posts: 1819 | From: odesco baba | Registered: Feb 2005
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As example, if I have a hard backed volume of booker T. Washington's, "End Of Slavery" on my book shelf, and my brother-in-law came by and asked to borrow it, there is nothing from stopping me from simply removing it from the shelf and placing it directly into his hands. When he returns it, I can loan it out to my neighbor, or my cousin. i may decide to lend it to 20 different people over the next year. This is called, fair usage.
Now, can I lend out my newly purchased e-book as easily? The answer is NO. The DRM EULA which you've agreed to specifically limits the license to you and the PC you downloaded it on. There are multi-license versions of the DRM, but not for addressing the above scenario I outlined.
DRM is simply a scheme to protect the publisher, at the expense of the consumer.
This is simply bad DRM.
Posts: 1819 | From: odesco baba | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Originally posted by MelaninKing: DRM is bad for the consumer because it's costs are added to the cost of the product. Following that, it limits the fair usage standard of how that consumer may use their purchased product.
This is not the definition of DRM. Bad implementations of DRM should not be used to judge the idea. DRM is useful if done properly I think.
This sadly shows that you have no idea of what DRM is, how it is used, and how it is paid for.
No matter how DRM is implemented, it's costs are passed onto the consumer by tacking it onto the product list price. The consumer ends up paying for something that is absolutely worthless to them.
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posted
You're not making sense. DRM is an idea, basically "digital rights management" implies that there's a set of rights on a product - for example on an mp3 - the artist, record label and the buyer/owner have rights.
The artist/label don't want unauthenticated and unauthorised usage of their product. The buyer/owner of the copy wants to authorise the usage of his/her copy without any limitations (except bulk authorisations - like uploading an artist's entire album on bittorrent).
The cost of DRM is totally irrelevant to the concept of DRM. That people are being piped in the rear by DRM providers is a problem with the providers. DRM can be open-source, did you ever think of that??
-------------------- state of mind Posts: 1819 | From: odesco baba | Registered: Feb 2005
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Here is the official description of DRM from Wiki. Proprietary or Open Source, it still has zero value to the consumer.
Digital rights management (DRM) is a term for access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to limit the use of digital content and devices.Posts: 2403 | Registered: Feb 2010
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posted
You cannot stop piracy. It is a fact of life. Even the US government cannot stop counterfeiting.
Consumers should not be forced to pay for impotent piracy solutions that are defeated even before the product leaves the factory.
The solution is to design a great product that people will have a compelling reason to purchase.
If you are planting and harvesting grain, you collect as much as you can and not spend additional time worrying about the percentage that gets eaten by birds, or falls on the ground. Next year you just plant and harvest more.
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