Comments on: How Amazon’s Kindle might HARM e-books, unless Jeff Bezos wises up about the F word http://www.teleread.com/drm/how-amazons-kindle-might-harm-e-books-unless-jeff-bezos-wises-up-about-the-f-word/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:23:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: The OPLIN 4cast » Blog Archive » OPLIN 4cast #72 http://www.teleread.com/drm/how-amazons-kindle-might-harm-e-books-unless-jeff-bezos-wises-up-about-the-f-word/comment-page-1/#comment-654873 The OPLIN 4cast » Blog Archive » OPLIN 4cast #72 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:16:28 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=7071#comment-654873 [...] How Amazon’ s Kindle might HARM e-books, unless… (TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) [...] [...] How Amazon’ s Kindle might HARM e-books, unless… (TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) [...]

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/drm/how-amazons-kindle-might-harm-e-books-unless-jeff-bezos-wises-up-about-the-f-word/comment-page-1/#comment-521148 David Rothman Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:51:35 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=7071#comment-521148 Alan re Kindel/formats: Couldn't agree more re the damage DRM does to compatiblity, but all the efforts on the format side will be helpful--just so the IDPF doesn't let vendors use an .epub logo to pave over the DRM differences. Really glad your made your comment. I hope that folks at the IDPF pay attention. Thanks. David Alan re Kindel/formats: Couldn’t agree more re the damage DRM does to compatiblity, but all the efforts on the format side will be helpful–just so the IDPF doesn’t let vendors use an .epub logo to pave over the DRM differences. Really glad your made your comment. I hope that folks at the IDPF pay attention. Thanks. David

]]> By: Alan Wallcraft http://www.teleread.com/drm/how-amazons-kindle-might-harm-e-books-unless-jeff-bezos-wises-up-about-the-f-word/comment-page-1/#comment-521135 Alan Wallcraft Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:36:34 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=7071#comment-521135 eBabel isn't primarily about multiple formats, its primarily about multiple DRM solutions. I like .epub, and in a DRM-free world it would probably become the dominant format in a very short time because it does represent an improvement on earlier formats. From a publisher's perspective, I suppose .epub with 16 different DRM approaches is an advance on 16 different ebook formats but from a readers perspective this is less clear. The current approach of providing multiple formats for DRM-free ebooks (buy once, use in whatever format or formats you want) is probably driven by DRM-ridden e-book readers each only supporting a limited range of formats, but it already provides a "good enough" solution once DRM is removed from the equation. eBabel isn’t primarily about multiple formats, its primarily about multiple DRM solutions. I like .epub, and in a DRM-free world it would probably become the dominant format in a very short time because it does represent an improvement on earlier formats. From a publisher’s perspective, I suppose .epub with 16 different DRM approaches is an advance on 16 different ebook formats but from a readers perspective this is less clear. The current approach of providing multiple formats for DRM-free ebooks (buy once, use in whatever format or formats you want) is probably driven by DRM-ridden e-book readers each only supporting a limited range of formats, but it already provides a “good enough” solution once DRM is removed from the equation.

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/drm/how-amazons-kindle-might-harm-e-books-unless-jeff-bezos-wises-up-about-the-f-word/comment-page-1/#comment-521115 David Rothman Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:04:09 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=7071#comment-521115 Jack re Kindle: Thanks for your comments. Couldn't agree with you more, and in fact I pretty much address this issue in the section called "The DRM angle." You talk about "proprietary DRM." What about figuring out some DRM interoperability among different systems, under a standard arrangement, or coming up with IDPF's own DRM? Not the easiest task, of course--and that's why I've been pushing either no DRM or social DRM. Meanwhile see an <a href="http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13458" rel="nofollow">interesting discussion going on at MobileRead</a> with mention of Mobi cracks and hoped-for cracks. I doubt that most of the readers there are thieves--not at all, no more than TeleBlog folks. It's just that they don't want Amazon to steal from <em>them</em>, either, by selling them books with an untrustworthy format for the long term. Thanks. David Jack re Kindle: Thanks for your comments. Couldn’t agree with you more, and in fact I pretty much address this issue in the section called “The DRM angle.” You talk about “proprietary DRM.” What about figuring out some DRM interoperability among different systems, under a standard arrangement, or coming up with IDPF’s own DRM? Not the easiest task, of course–and that’s why I’ve been pushing either no DRM or social DRM.

Meanwhile see an interesting discussion going on at MobileRead with mention of Mobi cracks and hoped-for cracks. I doubt that most of the readers there are thieves–not at all, no more than TeleBlog folks. It’s just that they don’t want Amazon to steal from them, either, by selling them books with an untrustworthy format for the long term. Thanks. David

]]> By: Jack http://www.teleread.com/drm/how-amazons-kindle-might-harm-e-books-unless-jeff-bezos-wises-up-about-the-f-word/comment-page-1/#comment-521091 Jack Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:34:51 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=7071#comment-521091 As much as I would prefer to see Kindle ship with a standard format, at this point there IS NO STANDARD for DRMed files. If they want DRM, and I think it is clear that most of the publishing industry pretty much demands that at this point, they would at least need to implement a proprietary DRM on top of the epub file for the short run. Why create another format, which is what that would amount to? Until IDPF gets their act together and standardizes on a DRM, or publishers drop their requirements for electronic DRM, epub actually makes things worse for commercial books. If I went out and purchased three video files, all using the MPEG4 codec, but one protected with Real Media DRM, one with Windows Media, and one iTunes, I still can't play them all on one player. Same thing with books. We already have an alphabet soup of file types -- epub might be nice for unprotected books, but until something else changes, it does nothing for protected ebooks. As much as I would prefer to see Kindle ship with a standard format, at this point there IS NO STANDARD for DRMed files. If they want DRM, and I think it is clear that most of the publishing industry pretty much demands that at this point, they would at least need to implement a proprietary DRM on top of the epub file for the short run. Why create another format, which is what that would amount to? Until IDPF gets their act together and standardizes on a DRM, or publishers drop their requirements for electronic DRM, epub actually makes things worse for commercial books.

If I went out and purchased three video files, all using the MPEG4 codec, but one protected with Real Media DRM, one with Windows Media, and one iTunes, I still can’t play them all on one player. Same thing with books. We already have an alphabet soup of file types — epub might be nice for unprotected books, but until something else changes, it does nothing for protected ebooks.

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