TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for the ‘DRM’ Category

By David Rothman

Q. What do the RIAA techies have in common with so many Washington bureaucrats?

A. Job preservation is Job Number One. The head of RIAA’s tech unit “made a list of the 22 ways to sell music, and 20 of them still require DRM.” 

Q. So what else are the RIAA and the rest of Washington doing to shaft the consumer?

A. Aggravating Cyber Prohibition, of course—or at least trying to, via a new bill.

DRM Alternatives—in an e-book/library context: Library books you can KEEP forever—and other ideas to help public libraries survive the digital era. No, libraries and e-bookstores can’t get rid of DRM overnight. But they can significantly reduce e-books’ reliance on this sales and lit toxin.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By David Rothman

Reading the TeleBlog, you’re in Niche Land. Whether the Iranians nuke D.C. or the Devil appears as a winged Afghan Hound in Times Square, you can bet we’ll try to find an e-book angle.

But what about big book-publishers? Even when they think E, too many of them still mess up on the details of the niche approach. For example, they promote their general URLs rather than directing people to in-house niche sites for baseball fans or origami enthusiasts. Small publishers, especially the specialized ones, can actually outperform the big boys in many cases.

Clueful comments from a major industry guru

With the above in mind, I nodded as I read some recent speeches by Mike Shatzkin, a  publishing guru who has pounded the table for both e-books and  the need for a niche approach. “Every book should be an e-book,” he said, “and just about every book should be loaded for print-on-demand. POD is not just for end of life; for many books, it can be critical during mid-life.” Right now, it would appear that Hachette is the only major publisher releasing all titles in E—partly, I myself suspect, because it’s standardized on ePUB as a distribution format and can enjoy its economies.

I also liked Mike’s interest in the elderly as a market for POD, although I wish he’d really played up pure-E for them as the best approach to take, despite the need for format choices.

Free wisdom from Mike

Via the PersonaNonData blog of Michael Cairnes, another outspoken consultant and also the ex-president of R.R. Bowker, I ran across links to the Shatzkin speeches. Even with some repetition among them, they’re well worth a read, whether you’re a big publisher who needs shaking up, or a small, niche-hip guy or gal who would enjoy a little vindication, or a writer pondering whether to self-publish or go the traditional route:

• End of general trade publishing (completely retold), Jan. 22, 2008—delivered for Random House’s Digital Day
• Publishing in the Digital Age panel remarks, March 10, 2008, for the Book Business Conference and Expo.
• The digital state of play in the U.S., April 16, for U.K. publishers at the London Book Fair.
• The Future for Publishers and Booksellers, May 7, for Danish publishers and booksellers in Copenhagen.

Another good point Mike makes: The fact that use of e-books within the industry—for sales reps “carrying” around many manuscripts, for example—will help led to general use of e-books.

On dedicated e-devices and formats: “When research I did…demonstrated pretty convincingly that most e-books sold in the US are not read on devices, but are Adobe files that are most likely read on PCs,” Mike said, “I was surprised. Only about a third of sales are of Palm, Mobi, or Microsoft dot lit formats that we’d expect to be read on a handheld. The emergence of the Kindle and the vitality of Sony Reader may change that balance soon, but that’s what it has been.”

A related aside: I’ve queried a Sony PR rep for the latest on Adobe Digital Editions for the Sony Reader—just when will we see it available? Digital Editions is to let people read DRMed PDFs, not just Sony’s proprietary BBeB format. Let’s hope that ePub is also still on tap.

Detail: Unlike Mike, I continue to believe that cellphones will matter far, far more as e-readers than will Kindle-style devices, and I also wish he’d pay more attention to the eBabel crisis and the damage that the DRM mess has done to the book industry. But, hey, he’s entitled. Furthermore, I agree with him that the Kindle has done e-books a service in encouraging more publishers to digitize. It’s just that the real action, as I see it, will be on cellphones as they improve and rollout E Ink displays become common. Wireless, as an easy way for people to get books, can in effect be built in.

Image: CC licensed from Kapungo.

Technorati Tags: Mike Shatzkin,pubishing,book-pubishing,Michael Cairnes,PersonaNonData

Popularity: 1% [?]

By David Rothman

Love the iLiad’s eight-inch screen but don’t want to pay some €650?

The silver “Book Edition,” on sale Friday, might be the answer.

It omits WiFi but comes loaded with 50 free English-language classics—in Mobi format?—and sells for €499. Among the titles are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice and Dracula.

U.S. price question

Yes, I have questions. What does the €499 mean for U.S. consumers in practical terms?

The current iLiad goes for US$699. Will the Book Edition’s price be in the lower 500s? I’ve emailed iRex Technologies.

Helping out novices

I also wonder about iRex’s documentation, based on my experiences with the older model. In iRex’s place I’d offer a simple, colorful illustrated guide, going beyond a “QuickStart” card, and distribute it on paper.

Many novices want to focus on the information, as opposed to accustoming themselves to e-reading right off the bat. Especially I’d play up how to buy books, download Mobipocket Desktop (screenshot) and synch the main PC to the iLiad.

Remember—the wireless Kindle lets you download e-books in a blink; no need to synch or use a memory card. That’s what iRex must compete against. Gang, how do you feel? Remember, iRex wants nontechies to be among the Book Edition’s buyers. What works for you, as an e-connoisseur, might not work for many bibliophiles.

Praiseworthy commitment to many formats

On the positive, beyond that awesome screen, it’s great to see iRex offering the 50 preloaded books and aiming for a lower price.

Furthermore, I like iRex’s continuation of its commitment to a choice of formats. Now supported are “PDF, PRC (Mobipocket), HTML and TXT” and “support for additional E-book formats will become available over the coming months.”

Let’s hope that the IDPF’s ePUB standard will be added shortly, and that iRex will encourage its software partners to cut back on use of DRM, so people can own their books for real.

Titles available: iRex talks about 49,000 books in Mobiformat. The Kindle has 115,000 titles, though at least some of of these are newspapers and blogs, and the screen isn’t as large or readable in general as the iLiad’s is.

Links: Press release, specs

(Thanks to Wiebe de Jager at Ebookreaders.nl and MobileRead.)

Popularity: 3% [?]

By David Rothman

So is it possible to get $30 off your Kindle, bringing the total down to $369? That’s the offer from Wallet Buddy. One catch, and there may be more, is that you need to be approved for an Amazon Visa card. And will the free two-day shipping apply?

Actually this offer is far from new (also see here), even if it isn’t necessarily common knowledge. Expiration date is listed as May 31, 2008, but I suspect the fun will continue past then, based on past extensions. One MobileReader speculated in the past that Chase, not Amazon, was behind this, and in fact the two companies do have a credit card connection.

Reminder: We’ll continue to point out both the pros of the Kindle (such as easy wireless access to e-books where coverage is available, a big help for technophobes) and the cons (format-and-DRM-related tricks—including the inability to read your purchased books off your cellphone or even your desktop).

And a question: If you haven’t bought a Kindle yet, just how low will be price have to go before you do, assuming you can stomach the DRM and the rest?

Popularity: 4% [?]

By David Rothman

Nate and Ficbot have had a debate going on cheapie e-book hardware. I’ll take Ficbot’s side—she bought her Eee PC for much more than e-booking alone, a good example of how people’s needs will vary.

Still, props to Nate for reconsidering his comments on FB’s personal situation and also for mentioning the “HP 320LX. You can find it on Ebay. You can find it for less than $60 including shipping. I have one. It supports DRMed Mobipocket and Ereader, as well as PDF, HTML, RTF, TXT. Plus, it comes with pocket versions of Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint.”

OK, here’s a question, now that Nate’s laudably broached the issue of super-cheap readers. Used, just what e-book-capable gizmo would you recommend to a budget-strapped soul with less than US$100 to spend? Or even just $50? Cover both price levels if you can, as well as special user needs that you can think of. If nothing else, consider that the user probably want to transfer books from a main PC to the econo-reader.

A few possibilities: The eBookwise, the Gemstar REB 1200 and used PDAs

At least at the under-$100 level, I’d go for a used eBookwise machine if I could find one under that price on eBay. When I looked just now I couldn’t. The eBookwise can at least read DRMed best-sellers that are available in the appropriate format from the EBW store. I’d also consider a used Gemstar REB 1200 if I didn’t have to worry about reading “protected” e-books.

If I needed to deal with DRM-infested books—and let’s hope that Draconian “protection” soon joins eight-track cassettes in Tech Heaven, or Hell—I’d try to look for a used PDA with 320-by-320 resolution or better and the ability to run Mobipocket or eReader/Palm. Maybe I’d have to settle for 160-by-160. But wait! Here’s a Sony Peg-NV70 PDA going for just $80 as a Buy It Now on eBay. Res is 320 x 480, according to specs on Amazon. If you go a bit above $100, you can snag a linux-powered Nokia 770 for $115 and enjoy a super-sharp screen bigger than the usual PDA’s. What’s more, the Nokia can download e-books directly. Too bad there’s no software out there for it to read DRM-shackled books.

Take it from there, gang. What would be your own recs, including in the less-than-$50 level, where I haven’t named any possibilities? Meanwhile we’ll hope that OLPC or someone else can come up with a laptop selling for less than $100 new, which I think is inevitable, but let’s worry about the here and now.

(more…)

Popularity: 4% [?]

By David Rothman

Good news, Linux fans. McQ says he got eReader running under Wine on the Asus Eee PC “without much trouble.” Meanwhile, remember that the $400 4G Windows version of the Eee PC  can almost surely run programs that read DRMed books, as Tony Rabig notes. Try the Mobipocket program.

That said, wouldn’t the e-book world be better off without this operating system/DRM/eBabel connection? Furthermore, remember that Wine can be tricky to get going for certain Windows apps.

Related: Asus Eee PC: A real computer for the frugal e-book fan on the go, by Ficbot.

Technorati Tags: Asus,Eee PC

Popularity: 4% [?]

By David Rothman

Back in the ’60s I paid $1.95 for a Scribner Library trade paperback of The Beautiful and Damned. I remember TB&D as a disappointment, the first time around.

An hour or two ago I ran across the old paperback. And guess what? I still didn’t enjoy it. Yet in the meantime I’d developed a fondness for the e-version. Part of the reason for not enjoying the p-book, I suspect, was that I hated the small, serif-style type, not to mention my seeing impressions visible from the other side of the pages. The cover didn’t even contain an image.

On my various e-gizmos, however, I can adjust the size and style of the type to my liking—a nice, clear Times Roman in this case—and even change the background color when I’m in the mood.

Your similar experiences?

Anyone else had a similar experience of liking E more than P in the case of a particular title? Specific examples? And how about the “Why”?

I might add that I enjoy well-done books in both media. What is interesting here is the name of the publisher, none other than the exalted Scribner’s. Maybe I’d have fared better with the cover on the first edition, shown to the right.

The DRM angle: Yes, I’m a confessed re-reader. If nothing else, it’s interesting to see how books change as you do.The joy of rediscovery goes away, however, if the technology moves on and robs you of your purchase.

A lesson for publishers, beyond the DRM: You may be losing some readers just because of details such as typographical preferences. E gives you a second chance to market to someone who hated the looks of a book in the store.

Detail: If the TB&D image is slightly out of whack, blame the scanner, not the book.

And speaking of old books—to be exact, the neglected variety: Check out The Neglected Books Page. It isn’t as comprehensive as it could be (The Neglected Web site?), but still could be of interest to bibliophiles with matching curiosities. Here you’ll find that Warlock is Thomas Pynchon’s favorite neglected book, or at least one of them.

Update: An important page, with a list of major authors and their “rediscoveries,” can now be seen again on the site. Thanks for the fix, Brad, and I hope people drop by.

Technorati Tags: The Beautiful and Damned,F. Scott Fitzgerald,Second Reading,Thomas Pynchon,Warlock,Jonathan Yardley

Popularity: 3% [?]

By David Rothman

“We are a public school district with a corporate Amazon account. In good faith we purchased a Kindle. When it came time to download books, we discovered Amazon would only allow customers to order by credit card. Public school libraries, academic libraries and public libraries do not have corporate credit cards. So, bottom line, Amazon won’t let us buy Kindle books on our corporate account via a purchase order. Our Kindle is useless to us and our students have no access to this great technology. So much for innovation and Amazon’s lack of leadership in emerging technologies! And now we have a $400 loss at our taxpayers’ expense.” - A school librarian in New York.

The TeleRead take: Read the comments (appearing below her post), which overwhelmingly defend Amazon. I’d agree with them for the most part. That said, Amazon would do well not to allow purchase orders without warning customers of the complications—including the Kindle’s licensing terms, suggesting that this is really machine for individual use. See a LibraryJournal article and Rochelle Hartman’s thoughts on these matters. Psst! If the librarian and her school really want to keep the Kindle, they could download free nonDRM classics or buy nonDRMed books in Mobipocket format or DRMed ones from sources such as Fictionwise. Carefully read the format-related information in store FAQs. Confusingly, the Kindle can read nonDRMed Mobi for public domain sites and many stores but not the “protected” type unless the store has arranged for this.

Meanwhile, if nothing else, we know that the Kindle is in use at a New Jersey library—presumably one with a credit card—despite the legal questions. No, this isn’t the most school-and-library-friendly machine, but as long as you know the risks and workarounds, it’s far, far from useless. Of course, the Kindle will be more useful if Amazon gets behind the ePub standard, which could increase the number of books available for it.

Two public domain sites with Mobi/Kindle books: Feedbooks and Manybooks.net.

Image: Kindle with Sony Reader—CC-licensed from Jblyberg.

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Paul Biba

I was in New York City today and took a shot of this iPhone sign with my iPhone. Stores like this are cropping up all over the city. It just testifies to the incredible demand for the iPhone. If you can’t read the sign it says, “Apple iPhones Unlocked In Stock.”

Such sights made me think about e-books and the relative lack of demand for them. Is it DRM, is it eBabel, is it expensive readers—just what is keeping the demand down? Clearly, as the iPhone shows, if consumers want something, they will demand it and get it. I see nothing like this demand for e-books. Is is just us techies who want them? Does the public even know about them? Do they really want them? I don’t have any answers, but I found the iPhone signs pretty depressing in that regard.

Just how do we get this thing rolling? If the iPhone shows anything it seems to me that this whole thing won’t take off until some really savvy marketing wiz takes it on - Sony and Amazon don’t seem to have cut the mustard in this regard. Why not? Or is it that e-books are only a niche product?

Moderator: See Making Social DRM work for e-books—with maximum privacy protection, as well as Library books you can KEEP forever—and other ideas to help public libraries survive the digital era. - D.R.

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Ficbot

Are e-books really “killing literature”? E might be just the thing to revitalize a beloved, but neglected genre—the short story, with such masters as Guy de Maupassant and O. Henry. Consider all the positives:

Price, in the cases of more modern works: Fewer words, less money needed to read them. I had a friend who lived on an extreme budget, and her big shopping indulgence was the iTunes music store because she could go there, spend a dollar on a new song, and feel as if she had satisfied the shopping urge, but without spending big bucks. Might the short story benefit from this same effect?

Time: People love to read, but they find that ten-inch-high stack of neglected impulse buys to be overwhelming. Might the short story be a way to bring people back to reading great literature? It’s the same principle as the iTunes-as-frugal-splurge example above. Just spend a buck on a new story, and feel as if you’ve satisfied the reading urge, but without spending big time.

(more…)

Popularity: 4% [?]

By David Rothman

Harlequin is sticking to DRM for now—probably to the dismay of more than a few readers. But the company is also doing many things right, and in an interview with Fast Company, Brent Lewis, Harlequin’s director of Internet and digital, talks about projects ranging from cellphone e-books (thumbs-up from the TeleBlog!) to podcasts, audiobooks and even a Paranormal Romance Blog.

Now if Harlequin can only keep an open mind about Social DRM and try it out for real. Among the majors, isn’t Harlequin somewhat of a Google of e-books—with so many projects in beta? So why not experiment with Social DRM, especially given Harlequin’s community oriented approach. What a great way for Harlequin to show it has faith in its customers and, unlike some, believes in their owning their purchases for real. How about it, Brent?

Technorati Tags: Harlequin,Brent Lewis

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Paul Biba

Last 100’s editor, Steve O’Hear has a nice article entitled “Five companies that sold customers down the DRM-filled river”.  Let me quote from his opening: “The news last week that Microsoft plans to turn off its verification servers for its now-defunct MSN Music store, is a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls customers face whenever they purchase content crippled by Digital Rights Management (DRM) software. Any digital store that sells or loans you content in a copy-protected format makes you a hostage to that store or format’s commercial success. The Microsoft example, however, is just one of many. Here are five cases where companies have sold their customers down the DRM-filled river.”

Steve mentions the following: Major League Baseball,  who changed DRM systems; Google, who announced the closing of its video download store; Sony, who ditched the ATRAC format and announced the closing of its Sony Connect music store; Virgin Music, who announced the closing of its music store; and Microsoft, mentioned above.

Of course, given the major names involved, this doesn’t give the public much confidence that their ebooks will be available in the future.  The article is well worth reading.

Popularity: 4% [?]