Comments on: Why we hate DRM: Yahoo music store to shut down and shaft customers who bought legal music

By: Chris Meadows

Chris Meadows — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:57:44 +0000

You generally won’t go wrong if, absent evidence to the contrary, you assume any given commercial e-book has DRM—because most do. Certainly almost all of the ones sold for the Kindle or Nook do.

It’s usually the ones that don’t have DRM (such as Baen or Fictionwise Multiformat) that explicitly come right out and say so.

I’m not sure what you mean by “unfettered,” as most e-book devices will allow you to buy unencrypted (that is, DRM-free) e-books from elsewhere and install them on the device. Even the Kindle will let you do this. It’s just the ones with DRM from elsewhere that make you run into trouble.

By: mawolff

mawolff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:55:57 +0000

coming from a possible future e-reader owner:

how do you know when an ebook is encrypted with DRM?

also:

when will there be an unfettered e-reader available? who do i look out for? i hate the idea of again being a slave to itunes or amazon….

By: Binko Barnes

Binko Barnes — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:22:31 +0000

I own a Kindle but, at this point, I would NOT spend a lot of money on ebooks precisely because I’m tech savvy enough to know that you do not own anything that is encumbered with DRM.

I and my wife use the Kindle mostly to replace the stacks of cheap paperback books that we buy, read and give away. Beyond that it’s fun to scout around for free ebooks. There’s plenty to read out there in the world without paying ten bucks for a book just because its new.

Case in point, Tor just gave away, totally free of DRM, about 12 top notch Science Fiction ebooks as a promotion to publicize their new Website.

By: Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:51:02 +0000

Always a typo…

>>>But ebooks will create more sales for some books that print book *returns*.

But ebooks will create more sales for some books THAN print book *returns*.

By: Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:50:15 +0000

Kids are most likely not to understand the need not to pirate. Kids are unlikely to be the target market for most books. Kids would rather play games than read. Listen to music than read. Any book a kid happens upon on the DarkNet is bound not to be passed along because it’s considered “junk.” Adults who put out hard cash for ebooks are not about to pass them around (that alleged statement from that alleged eejit librarian notwithstanding!). I’m not about to give someone a freebie of something I’ve paid bucks for. If someone can afford the hardware, they can afford the software too. Leakage of everything is possible. But ebooks will create more sales for some books that print book *returns*. Readers and *writers* are being punished here.