Quick link: just wanted to point readers at this interesting conversation about digital rights management and ebooks going on at thedigitalist.net. I'm thinking one option for Heat & Light might be a simple Word file so readers can format it how they like, where they like. But it would cost more.
Thoughts?
10 comments:
I think the digital age will eventual attribute ownership to an INDIVIDUAL & not a medium. Information, regardless of context. If I own a song, I will be able to download it infinite times.
This is tricky for me. I don't think these things should be put in a format that can be shared. I think there needs to be a device, or a link from a PC. You can loan a freind a book, just like you can loan a Kindle or a laptop. When you start breaking the files away from a controlled medium that can be emailed around, there won't be revenue, and writers need to get paid, even if it's a buck.
@Aimee: I could make anything shared if I put my mind to it and worked at it long enough, no matter how many DRM hoops you make me jump through.
I vote for no-DRM, and I'm willing to pay more for it.
DRM is definitely problematic, because that usually means you can only open the file with a very limited set of programs, and (thus) you no guarantee that you'll be able to open the file 10 years from now. Or 5. Or even 3. I personally expect my books to last a whole lot longer than that.
And please, no (t only) Word. It's a proprietary format only Microsoft had the actual specs to, the rest of the world has to reverse engineer it in order to display it. Although RTF is also not open, it is at least a better choice than Word. To quote Wikipedia:
RTF is an important format for ebook readers because of its interoperability, simplicity, and low CPU processing requirements, and some devices, including BeBook, work best with this format.
Information, but also sensation. For me, books I want to keep and live with are hard copies; work files are digital till they become objects or projects or something equally tangible.
Given options, I wouldn't bother formating files in Word and would likely be frustrated if expected to do so. Add to this a file or download glitch and the whole process starts to resemble what I experience when online banking or booking a flight: agony. Not very enticing.
Have to correct myself here, apparently Microsoft has released the spec to the .doc format last year.
Also, I recently read somewhere where they generated PDFs with the e-mailaddress of the buyer on the bottom of all pages. No DRM, but this prevents the most simple forms of copying (which is what DRM would also only have prevented).
Amy, I think you're talking about digital escrow. Or, as Doctorow might put it, interoperability.
Some people steal. It's the way of the world. I'm not convinced it can be stopped, and all DRM seems to do is make life hard for the rest of us.
I just worry what will happen to publishing when you look a the hits to the music industry. File sharing is bunk. There seems to be a larger wave of people taking on a new moral code when you talk in terms of "sharing". It's not sharing. If you shoplift in a book store, you know, without any question, you're a thief. For some reason, the digital element removes the VERB from the behavior, thereby easing the guilt.
It's like eQueries, not sure that was a good idea either. Clogged up the pipes.
Obviously, I'm cantankerous on this point. Too old fashioned for my age.
Another reason why I'm completely against DRM: Amazon zaps purchased copies of Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindles
Yeah, it's really freaky given the titles in question. A good reason to leave that cellular turned off on the kindle.
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