The single biggest problem with ebooks is that my permanent access to the content isn't guaranteed by the publisher.
Computers, software and consumer electronics become obsolete quickly. I don't want to lose every book I own when I upgrade Windows or my old ebook reader dies.
As an example, I purchased an $80 textbook in ebook form for Adobe's original ebook reader software. Six months later, Adobe began using Acrobat for ebooks and my $80 book became inaccessible after installing their new reader software. I spent several days trying to find a way to transfer my digital rights to the book over to the new software. I ultimately found a way to do it, but I had to rely on cached Google pages and mirrored copies of a conversion utility. (For some reason, Adobe had removed the instructions and conversion software from their site.)
If I buy access to fixed electronic content -- be it music or books -- I expect to have a persistent and irrevocable right to access that content _forever_. Unfortunately, the creators of ebook systems put very little effort into protecting consumers, and instead concentrate almost solely on protecting content providers.
If ebooks are to succeed, our DRM rights need to be guaranteed, even when content companies and reader manufacturers go out of business.
---Gary
Slashdot Mirror
The single biggest problem with ebooks is that my permanent access to the content isn't guaranteed by the publisher. Computers, software and consumer electronics become obsolete quickly. I don't want to lose every book I own when I upgrade Windows or my old ebook reader dies. As an example, I purchased an $80 textbook in ebook form for Adobe's original ebook reader software. Six months later, Adobe began using Acrobat for ebooks and my $80 book became inaccessible after installing their new reader software. I spent several days trying to find a way to transfer my digital rights to the book over to the new software. I ultimately found a way to do it, but I had to rely on cached Google pages and mirrored copies of a conversion utility. (For some reason, Adobe had removed the instructions and conversion software from their site.) If I buy access to fixed electronic content -- be it music or books -- I expect to have a persistent and irrevocable right to access that content _forever_. Unfortunately, the creators of ebook systems put very little effort into protecting consumers, and instead concentrate almost solely on protecting content providers. If ebooks are to succeed, our DRM rights need to be guaranteed, even when content companies and reader manufacturers go out of business. ---Gary