Apple iBooks Copy Protection Cracked for First Time

[andiwm2003]

People are pretty dense... THE CONTENT PUBLISHER REQUIRE DRM, Apple does not have a choice. Apple cannot assure the content on non Apple devices. Same goes for Amazon.

amazon is pretty good at ensuring that I can read my kindle books on windows, macs, iOS devices, Android....

heck, I can read a kindle book on more different Apple devices than I can read an iBook on Apple devices.:roll eyes:

That is the main reason I go with Amazon and not with Apple on Books.

 

[JAT]

Own or license?

I would guess he actually meant "use".

 

[terrywfoster]

Right or wrong I just used it and I liked it.

 

[edoates]

Hacking DRM may allow you to read your legal content on other devices you own (and Apple et al need to make that easier to do, as Kindle has done for iPad and iPhone), but the main end result will be ripped books proliferating on the web for free downloading much as has happened to music. So authors won't get paid for their labor. Kind of like if you labored all day at your job, and then someone took youR paycheck and set it on fire.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Why havent people just embraced Kindle platform across all devices. Its the most universal and syncs across all patforms seamlessly.

Because it's still a closed format. Amazon could withdraw or depreciate software on non-Kindle devices any time it wanted and you'd be left with nothing unless you bought a Kindle.

OTOH ePub is more or less open so theoretically if you want to change platforms you could de-DRM.

But the real question is why is there DRM at all. I think music has proven it's unnecessary. At least the publishers could make one eBook standard and then let consumer authorize all their devices to read them. It's great I can own two iPad and have the same book on both but what if I want to read it outside -- I need an eInk reader for that and I shouldn't have to buy "inside" and "outside" copies of the same books.

 

[charlituna]

<wishfull thinking>
Maybe this is a reason for Apple to drop the drm on the ibook ebooks altogether (like what happened with the AAC's)
</wishfull thinking>

I suspect that Apple would be more than happy to drop all DRM from all products. As well as happy to make a minimum of 720p available on all video, post them all within 24 hours of the first airing in all stores regardless of whether there was an OTA broadcast in that country etc etc.

The studios, networks and publishers have other wishes and they are the ones with the power in this game.

----------

Isnt the textbook format kind of unique in that it's likely no other ebook software will read it?

That is what Apple has said. Which is part of why the ire over that whole EULA thing about only selling in the iBookstore is a tad moot since no other reader can read the format anyway. So why would Amazon etc care to sell them. They would rather sell a format that would work on their software and hardware. And the EULA doesn't prohibit you from taking the content and repackaging it in said format for such sales. and so on

 

[charlesdayton]

I also don't like the limited availability of iBooks. Kindle and Nook are much better in this regard. You can read on iOS, Android, Mac, PC, and on eink devices.

 

[Buckeyestar]

Oh I dunno...

• Reading on a Mac
• Reading on Kindle
• Able to copy and paste from iBooks
• Reading on any other ereader
• etc...

Why would you want to read a book in a computer screen? Seems terribly inconvenient to me.
Why would you buy from iBooks instead of Amazon if you read on a Kindle? You can have Kindle books on both your Kindle and iPad already, and the Kindle library is larger.

 

[Acorn]

trying to continually modify ibooks to prevent this is a pointless endeavor. its a cat and mouse game not worth playing. apple will lose because the cracking software will just update again. apples time is better spent on other things.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Why havent people just embraced Kindle platform across all devices. Its the most universal and syncs across all patforms seamlessly.

Don't forget about Barn's and Nobel nook format that covers the same range

Yes. You should also say that the app quality on OSX/Windows/iOS sucks ass. I've started to pay more on iBooks even though I don't have many options.

Well the desktop version yeah I agree is ok at best but a good part of the reason the iOS version sucks ass blame is on Apple for its limitation and Apple trying to force it to suck.

Plain PDFs work on Windows, OS X, Linux, BSD, iOS, Kindle, Android, etc.

Yeah but the problem with PDF is that it can not adjust to different widths of devices or change txt sizes. Instead you have to zoom in and then move it side to side. It is ok in a pinch but for long term reasoning I honestly find reading a PDF on a tablet rather annoying as it is not set up for it.

People are pretty dense... THE CONTENT PUBLISHER REQUIRE DRM, Apple does not have a choice. Apple cannot assure the content on non Apple devices. Same goes for Amazon.

Umm DRM is one thing. Platform lock in is another. Apple has a platform lock in which makes it suck. Amazon Kindle or the Nook format is not locked into a single platform. They work pretty much on all platforms.
The platform that is the biggest risk for getting dropped will be iOS but if/when that happens it will be Apple's doing not Amazon's doing.

 

[RalfTheDog]

So just tried this and it seems to have moved all the DRM from my music, got stuck on a textbook (the free one) and also removed from two books that I have purchased from iBook Store...

Now when I sync them to my iPad I get an error "<items> were not copied to the iPad "iPad 2" because they cannot be played on this iPad." -- <item> was not copied because the file type is not supported by this iPad.


Guess it doesn't work.

Were you copying the DRM free content back to iBook? iBook might require DRM for all of it's content. It would be fun to convert the file over to epub, RTF, PDF or something, then look at it.

RE: Apple format being broken, If they wanted to have an unbreakable system, it would not be that hard, however, it would require a bit of infrastructure. What they would need to do is assign each device a 256 bit public/private key pair. (Elliptic curve would be nice.) Apple or whoever would keep the public key on their servers. The private key would go on the device. When you purchase the book (or music or whatever), the document would be real time encrypted with your public key. At that point, only your private key would be able to break it.

Because, each document would be encrypted with YOUR key, no universal software could be used to decrypt documents. In theory, you could require the user to remove the private key from his or her device. Memory location randomization could make that very hard for the average user to do.

 

[kas23]

I'm glad this has occurred, but I don't think I'll be switching from Amazon to iTunes anytime soon. Amazon eBooks are extremely easy to unDRM and Amazon has yet to do anything about it. Apple, I'm not so sure. I won't buy eBooks from Apple with the intent of unDRMing them because Apple may change their DRM at any moment.

As for people who think this is "pirating", I enjoy reading my eBooks on Stanza, not Kindle or iBooks. I should be able to read my purchases on any software I please.

 

[notabadname]

Yeah, yeah . . . so many of us ONLY want to be able to transfer our books to other devices.

Sorry, but that is not the intent of many. Many would buy and then give their book to everyone they know that would take it. Remember, if you buy a paperback or a hardcover it is also locked to one "format" and you also can't read it on your desktop computer. Digital books are far more flexible, even as they are today than paper. But if the writers and publishers don't get paid for their works, why should they continue to produce.

And yes, while you can share a paper book with anyone, it can only practically be done very slowly at the rate each individual reader can digest it. And that book can never be in the hands of more than one reader. Compare that minimal lending threat to the world of digital, and my ability to share with millions of people simultaneously. One purchase, millions of readers potentially. Anyone who doesn't recognize that threat to the creators for whom this is a livelihood is simply being naive.

I love how noble everyone's intentions are when it comes to approaching the lines of piracy.

 

[Renzatic]

trying to continually modify ibooks to prevent this is a pointless endeavor. its a cat and mouse game not worth playing. apple will lose and the pirates will just update again. apples time is better spent on other things.

I agree. DRM is ultimately pointless, and only serves to punish paying customers moreso than harm the pirates who will always pirate, and find ways around anything that attempts to stop them from doing so. It would be nice if Apple were to just let this one slide. Let us read our ebooks on whatever device we feel like using.

BUT

I have a feeling that Apple is under the same contractual obligation just about every online service is these days. The content providers, the original source, doesn't want anyone to distribute their goods unless they're tied to some form of DRM. If Apple fails to follow through with the terms of the agreement, then the publishers are within their rights to pull all their books from the service.

It's the reason why Netflix hasn't converted from Silverlight to HTML5 yet. They've expressed the desire to do so, but because HTML5 doesn't have any way to hook any DRM to streamed video, they're not allowed to do so. It sucks, but there's nothing that can be done about it until the content providers get off their greedy high horse, and let things take their natural course.

 

[Porco]

I have no time for DRM. Make the products cheaper and better and most people won't bother pirating. Those that still do would have in any event.

The iTunes music store still seems to be doing ok since it went DRM free doesn't it?

I don't agree with copyright infringement and piracy, but I do hate DRM, so good luck to those who break it, causing it to be some fraction of the nuisance to those who employ it as the use of it is to honest legitimate customers who are punished for paying for things instead of pirating in the first place.

 

[notabadname]

Define "Should"

I'm glad this has occurred, but I don't think I'll be switching from Amazon to iTunes anytime soon. Amazon eBooks are extremely easy to unDRM and Amazon has yet to do anything about it. Apple, I'm not so sure. I won't buy eBooks from Apple with the intent of unDRMing them because Apple may change their DRM at any moment.

As for people who think this is "pirating", I enjoy reading my eBooks on Stanza, not Kindle or iBooks. I should be able to read my purchases on any software I please.

You "should" be able do do anything you agreed to be able to do, when you agreed to the contract with the book publisher and it's distribution point. Apple's contract, while long, is clear an unambiguous. Those are your "rights". Your purchase is your explicit consent to that agreement and its terms. But why would anyone in America feel obligated to keep their word and be bound by their agreement

Remember this, fellow iBook users?

You agree not to violate, circumvent, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise tamper with any of the security technology related to such Usage Rules for any reason—or to attempt or assist another person to do so.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Yeah, yeah . . . so many of us ONLY want to be able to transfer our books to other devices.

Tell you the truth yes I see that as something a lot of people want to do.

I like kindle format because while yeah I read most of it on my kindle there are times that I was waiting around for a Dr. appointment so I just pulled out my blackberry and kept reading on that from where I was in the book. Everything was kept nicely in sync with each other. I see that done quite a bit with ebooks being read on multiple different platforms from the primary one.

 

[jonnysods]

Only a matter of time.

 

[EnderTW]

You "should" be able do do anything you agreed to be able to do, when you agreed to the contract with the book publisher and it's distribution point. Apple's contract, while long, is clear an unambiguous. Those are your "rights". Your purchase is your explicit consent to that agreement and its terms. But why would anyone in America feel obligated to keep their word and be bound by their agreement

Remember this, fellow iBook users?

Except for the fact, no document should dictate how I use things I purchase. I didn't buy a license of the book, I bought the book. Where and how I read it is my decision.

People are too easy to give up their fundamental rights of property ownership. We're not talking about guns here and the need to regulate that, we're talking about goods that should be very simple. Games, books, movies, tv shows, songs, etc.

 

[notabadname]

Tell you the truth yes I see that as something a lot of people want to do.

I like kindle format because while yeah I read most of it on my kindle there are times that I was waiting around for a Dr. appointment so I just pulled out my blackberry and kept reading on that from where I was in the book. Everything was kept nicely in sync with each other. I see that done quite a bit with ebooks being read on multiple different platforms from the primary one.

But DRM based readers and books do that. I can switch from my iPhone, back to my iPad all I want with a book. I can do this on my Kindle App as well between devices. The DRM is just keeping you from emailing your favorite NY Times Best Seller discovery to 5 friends and distant family members so they can read it while you too are still reading it. DRM simply makes a digital book behave more like a physical book (yet better). You may not bring that 1,200 page tome in off the bed-side table to the Doctor's office either. Now you can at least read it at home on a tablet and pickup where you left off at the Doctor's on your phone. And, with a DRM book, you can have it on countless devices so that you, your spouse and whole family (same household) can read, simultaneously that single purchase. Can't do that with a paperback or hardback.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

But DRM based readers and books do that. I can switch from my iPhone, back to my iPad all I want with a book. I can do this on my Kindle App as well between devices. The DRM is just keeping you from emailing your favorite NY Times Best Seller discovery to 5 friends and distant family members so they can read it while you too are still reading it. DRM simply makes a digital book behave more like a physical book (yet better). You may not bring that 1,200 page tome in off the bed-side table to the Doctor's office either. Now you can at least read it at home on a tablet and pickup where you left off at the Doctor's on your phone. And, with a DRM book, you can have it on countless devices so that you, your spouse and whole family (same household) can read, simultaneously that single purchase. Can't do that with a paperback or hardback.

true but the problem with iBook format is it is very limited on what it can work on. Apple's lock in is the issue I know most people have with it compared to Amazon Kindle which is not locked into a single manufacturer for devices.

 

[blizaine]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

What does it say about DRM, when the first thing I did when I read this was go and buy 2 iBooks that I had been holding off on because I now know I will be able to let a friend barrow the book if it's good. You know, like people have done forever.

 

[bsolar]

Hacking DRM may allow you to read your legal content on other devices you own (and Apple et al need to make that easier to do, as Kindle has done for iPad and iPhone), but the main end result will be ripped books proliferating on the web for free downloading much as has happened to music. So authors won't get paid for their labor. Kind of like if you labored all day at your job, and then someone took youR paycheck and set it on fire.

Maybe you are not aware of this, but even now you can download a huge load of pirated ebooks quickly and easily. DRM was never effective with music, was never effective with movies, it will not be effective with ebooks.

iTunes is the prime example on how you can beat piracy: offer the right price for quality content and make it very, very easy to buy and get. No more hunting for cover images, no more having to tag the downloaded mp3's correctly, no more buying a song you figure out you don't like...

 

[baryon]

Didn't Apple say a long time ago that iTunes music is now DRM-free? I thought it was the way of doing things from then on...

 

[bsolar]

Your purchase is your explicit consent to that agreement and its terms. But why would anyone in America feel obligated to keep their word and be bound by their agreement

Remember this, fellow iBook users?

I'm not sure about the laws in US, but here some rights cannot be forfeited even if you sign a contract with clauses explicitly stating you agree to forfeit them. The judge would simply declare the clauses invalid and uphold the rest of the contract if possible.