Slashdot Mirror
Cleveland Public Library Readies E-book Downloads
rtphokie writes "C|Net is reporting that the Cleveland Public Library is making ebooks available. Sounds like the 1000 books in the system initially will feature more than just public domain titles including 'the latest from authors such as Michael Crichton, Clive Barker and Joyce Carol Oates.'" The article also mentions that "only a limited number of each eBook will be available, and after a preset number of days, the eBook will lock out the current reader so another patron can check it out." A good time to re-read The Right to Read.
Ok first off, yah to Cleavland for at least trying this idea.
But major "why are you pulling this con?" to Overdrive for trying to convince ANYBODY that client side, err, well, heh, anything, is safe at all.
Listen, it has already been proven that without trusted hardware (which is not going to come along until consumers start trusting the companies) that NO DRM solution is secure. No matter what. Worst case, things have to be brute forced, but since the unencrypted data passed through the clients computer somewheres along the line, heck, there is your weak point right there.
Now if somebody figured a way to encase the decryption key in some sort of VGA dongle so the actual decrypted data was only ever sent over the VGA wire, but even then, doing it cheap and such, heh. No go.
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"...after a preset number of days, the eBook will lock out the current reader so another patron can check it out"
How are libraries going to cope with the loss of 50 cent overdue fees?
The article also mentions that "only a limited number of each eBook will be available, and after a preset number of days, the eBook will lock out the current reader so another patron can check it out."
That's weird. I've noticed many Web pages that Slashdot links to also have this feature. I click on the link and it tells me too many people are reading the site and that I should come back later. So if Slashdot links to every e-book in the library, they won't need to pay for fancy protection systems.
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I am an author.
My latest book is coming out later this year in paper form, and will cost money.
The same book (actually bigger, since the publisher has asked to pare down the number of pages) is currently available on the web for free. It will continue to be on the web for free after the paper form is published. In fact, the web version is a significant part of the marketing of the paper version.
I will sell more paper versions by giving away the web version than I would if the web version were not available.
The web version of the book has been available in ever-growing form for about seven years now. I am constantly getting email asking if the paper version is available for sale. Those email inquiries alone (if they were actual sales) would make the book quite profitable.
The web and paper publishing are complementary (and the web version of the book is complimentary).
I suspect the same is true of music sharing on the net -- after all, it seems to be true of music sharing on the radio. Without hearing the music for free on the radio, I expect fewer CDs would be sold.
That's my opinion, and I'm taking it to the bank.
Free book: Science Toys You Can Make
Uh, no.
They have the right to TRY AND PROFIT from their work.
NOBODY has the RIGHT to PROFITS.
Companies just THINK they do.
PURSUIT of happiness folks, PURSUIT, not all packaged up and left on your front doorstep for you by Uncle Sam.
Now the companies do the have RIGHT to sue my ass in court for theft if I steal it though.
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Law books, those rows of reporters the TV lawyers always have in the background, are still a favorite for many, especially the older lawyers. But the convenience and power of electronic versions -- corrections and hyperlinks and potability and so on -- are winning out, even those the reading experience is inferior. It's pretty hard to juggle 20 of those big books.
We have the same problem in medicine. It used to be that new residents would walk around the halls with *all* their coat pockets bulging with pocket manuals and notes etc... making it a major pain in the ass when you had to move quickly or needed to find something quick in one of those damn pockets.....
However, some of the more recent M.D. grads are finding out about the convenience of a portable PDR, Harrisons Principles of Internal Medicine, clinical reference guides etc... and the only thing you have to worry about now is caring for the Palm pilot in thier lab coat and keeping it charged.
In fact, speaking of medical handhelds, the Apple Newton was almost perfect for medical use. It had a large hi-res screen, could accept lots of memory, was fast, very flexible, and was extremely rugged (having dropped mine more than once). I was truly sad when Apple killed the Newton division as I am one of those holdouts that really wishes Apple would bring back the Newton in some flavor with some flavor of OS X and the Quartz rendering for text.
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" Stroustrup's 3rd edition is a sure cure for insomnia."
Maybe it should be renamed from C++ to C(leep)++
"only a limited number of each eBook will be available, and after a preset number of days, the eBook will lock out the current reader so another patron can check it out."
That must be one of the most idiotic things I have ever hear in my life. The whole point of a library is to provide books for people to read - not restrict access to them. They have multiple (physical) copies (which cost money) so that more than one person can read a book at the same time. The only reason that a physical copy is not purchased for every person who uses the library is due to cost - it would obviously not be feasible for the library. Now an electronic alternative is available that could service every reader simultaneously and what do they do? Cripple it.
Yet another classic example of a perfect use of technology being crippled in the name of greed.
I suppose I better start working on my auto-book-renew script.