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The Zune as a positive example for e-book publishers—in one way, at least
November 14, 2006 | 7:18 am
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By David Rothman
If I had my druthers, e-book-capable devices would make it easy to share DRMed e-books temporarily—via WiFi, e-mail, you name it.
Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player can sense the presence of other units near by via WiFi, and it lets the recipient play three shared tunes within three days.
That’s at least a start, even though I personally would prefer looser terms. It’s one way for hardware vendors to let their customers promote music legally. Shouldn’t the same be possible within e-bookdom?
No Zune equivalent in e-bookdom right now
The Sony Reader and current Jinke E Ink machines lack WiFi. The iLiad has WiFi, but the elements aren’t in place to allow temporary sharing of DRMed e-books—the only kind, alas, that most big publishers release. In fact, right now the iLiad can’t display encrypted books, period. And as far as I know, the most popular e-book-reading software does not allow temporary sharing, at least in a formal way.
I suspect that with dotReader, the first implementer of the OpenReader standard, in which I’m involved, Zune-style sharing of DRMed books could be enabled. I’d love to hear from e-book fans and vendors on this topic.
The obvious question: The Zune’s screen is a three-inch QVGA LCD. How long until the player itself displays e-books? Even if Microsoft doesn’t follow through, I wonder if third-party vendors or freeware or shareware folks will.
In context: I’ll not portray the Zune as a model product in the DRM sense, despite the wireless feature. “Fancy building a player with wireless capability that can’t even download music from your own music store or wirelessly connect to your home PC,” observes iTWire, fed up with the Zune’s incompatibility even with another Microsoft standard for e-music.
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Comments:
A three day (in the Zune model) share of an ebook would be enough time for a hardened reader to finish a novel. Obviously it’s a different kettle of fish for reference works.
Music you replay time and again for weeks or months (or decades..) on end. Books not so much. Maybe the bible but DRMing that might damn you anyway.
I play PC games and I’m starting to use download sites like Stardock and Steam more and more. Previously I would buy a game and pass it on to my nephew when I’d finished with it. Just like a book. There was physical media you could hold in your hands. With downloaded content I can’t sell it or give it away without giving away the account I used to buy it. The Sony ereader has the right idea with allowing one to share a book with multiple people. Much earlier the old Baen free library (which may still be there though I haven’t looked for a while) promoted the idea that giving away ebooks fed sales of pbooks. Although that’s more to do with using ebooks as promotional material for “real” books.
Games are now moving towards episodic content with smaller doses being released at regular intervals (say, 6 months instead of 4 years for some franchises. Not to be confused with the EA Sports yearly updates…) so perhaps that’s where books will go back to. Monthly or weekly serials. Hey, it worked for Dickens. Selling a book is okay, selling a subscription is gold.
If I could wifi someone a novel for a day or three it’s time enough for them to finish it. If I wifi them an extract it may not be enough for them to build an interest. If I can wifi them a weeks access to an ongoing serial however…
Thanks, Bill, for your thoughtful comments here and elsewhere. I have a “punishment” for frequent commenters who add value to the site—the possibility of their being contributors to the main part of the TeleBlog. So be careful
. Let me know if you want an account.
As the length of time a borrower could use an e-book—well, that should depend on the wishes of the publishers and the nature of the market. Software such as dotReader could accommodate these variables. I do think that astute publishers could figure out the period that would be long enough to build interest but not so long as to discourage the customers from buying the books. Also, maybe the borrower would be able to read only half the book or less.
Thanks,
David
I read the comments on reading devices and DRM with interest and not a little pain. For months I have been trying to persuade British publishers to give us the first chapters of books to make available as a promotional device with the opportunity to click through and purchase hard copy (Amazon) or e-book. The resistance, even on a promotional basis, is terrifying and it seems there is a long way to go before the conventional industry wakes up to the possibility of ebooks being a way to promote reading rather than its destruction. The meetings with publishers became a game in which I was having a bet as to how long it would be before someone mentioned the dread word “Napster”. Too many people in book publishing have no understanding of the many potential creative benefits of using e-publishing to promote an interest in their wares, and the DRM obsession is only the most visible demonstration of this problem.
Alan, your comments are quite valid, both in the U.K. and here in the States. Still, I think a lot of progress has been made, and I hope you’ll continue your e-book evangelical efforts among book publishers. Meanwhile best of luck with your work for the Laverna Group. – David
Alan, take heart because those are probably the same sentiments suffered by the guy that said “lending” books would encourage sales.
I hesitate to touch on this because to me it’s obvious but… publishers have a vested interest in controlling CONTENT. Modern authors want to build their series/animated series/soap opera reference/TV special….
There is less attachment with their work, as income, than some of the old school writers like Harlan Ellison. When people are posting meaty tasters (hmmm… meaty tasters…) on Youtube for free then why sweat the details.?
I’ve no doubt any modern writer is going to have a youtube skit in his/her arsenal. They’ll also have a successful blog with a decent adwords (Google) income.
With the many various options open to us from various blogging sites, including adverts, it’s a wonder more authors aren’t just giving it away for free…
Redmond is putting wild fantasies of swapping hip new content with strangers into our minds, but in reality I think we’re going to see that its going to be a while (if at all) before the wifi sharing function of the Zune becomes a prominent function. Sure, maybe an early adopter will have a friend or two who also happen to have Zunes. They’re also more likely to simply already have the raw MP3 file which they could simply share in the entirely via email or other file transfer method.
While user-to-user sharing will only have a limited scope; wifi sharing has more potential in other areas. One potential application (which has been successfully utilized recently by the videogame industry) is that of demo kiosks– or in this case, excerpt kiosks. Brick and mortar stores could set up kiosks in their stores for customers that bring their readers in. The customer would download excerpts wirelessly from the kiosks, and a code at the end of the excerpt would provide a small discount for the complete e-book online (or maybe even in-store).