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Apple iBooks Copy Protection Cracked for First Time
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I wonder though, can one strip the DRM from iTunes movie rentals with this App? If so I can see a lot of people renting the movies and storing them permanently on their computers.
Also, legally speaking, is there anything illegal about stripping DRM for content that you own? (only answer this one if you know what you are talking about)
Also, legally speaking, is there anything illegal about stripping DRM for content that you own? (only answer this one if you know what you are talking about)
Well, I was not complaining about anything, just pointing some facts
And yeah, you can also take screen shots of your iPad in every page of your iBook and "read" it on your computer if you like Apple hasn't blocked that
Well, I was not complaining about anything, just pointing some facts…
And yeah, you can also take screen shots of your iPad in every page of your iBook and "read" it on your computer if you like… Apple hasn't blocked that…
Exactly, so think of what this App does as analogous to what you just described if it helps you come to terms with it. Any distinction between just dumping the DRM through this App or doing it slowly page by page with screenshots is artificial. What matters is the end result.
hehehehe for the publishers it matters a LOT! I don't think they'd be worried about people copying whole books with screen shots, but I think they will be worried about something as simple as clicking a button and "voila"!
But you know, I'm not saying that they're right, I think DRM is stupid and DRM-cracking apps are pretty much inevitable It's computers we're talking about, they're supposed to make boring tasks easy by automation No point in trying to prevent that...
Quite true. Similarly, the content producers are able to negotiate with the content distributors to disallow the use of their content in particular ways. I'm not saying that that is why one can't use something from iBooks on a Mac, but things such as DRM are often the product of combined negotiations from both ends of the spectrum. Part of Apple's reason for not allowing iBooks on Macs is probably because they haven't found an implementation that satisfies them, and are planning to distribute it via a major software update as an incentive to upgrade once they have found it.
I would agree that your analogy of Joe fit this situation if he was in fact forced to use that particular company. With digital content, there are numerous major distributors and minor distributors that content can be pumped through. One may not even require an external distributor if you set up your own company/website/software to do so. Among the major distributors, there are companies that are very open about what they let you do with your content (Google), fairly open (Amazon), and not very open (Apple*). A content producer can choose among any of these companies or all of them at once if the terms of their agreements allow this.
What is really at question here is how the end user uses what he or she has licensed and I believe my previous post covers that.
* Recall, however, that in iterations of Apple's OS X prior to Lion, there was no attempt on their part to restrict the number of times a user could install OS X on computers as MS has done. This suggests to me that Apple restricts things to protect users from things such as malware or because they feel as though they have no good implementation to go to market with. At times this may seemingly hamstring users, but often the release of software before it has been "finished" has allowed companies to find new directions to take their software, or change the product to meet unforeseen uses or challenges with their products. Also, and perhaps more importantly, the release of that software ahead of its "final" implementation actually provides the users with software that they may have had a desire for ("I'd like books on my iOS device.") but may have not had an implementation of consistent with their company-of-choice's vision.
(In other words, "Apple didn't have to do it at all, so we can't complain that they're not doing it 'our way'.")
Here's the thing: I have so far paid about £400 for eBooks. All of them DRM free. And nobody has got a copy of any of those books. I can quite happily read them on my MacBook, sometimes on a 24" monitor sitting at a desk, sometimes on the iPad. I haven't paid one penny for eBooks with DRM. Mostly because I read books that I bought 30 years ago, and I want to be able to read books that I buy now in 30 years time. Also, because I _know_ that functionality to remove DRM from audiobooks is built into iTunes and therefore legal, while I might not be able to read a ebook without using means that are illegal.
Aren't we rewriting history here a little bit? The reason that Apple sold music with DRM for so long was that the music industry with exception of EMI refused to allow Apple to sell DRM free music, most likely in order to help Amazon in an attempt to reduce Apple's market power.
If I think that a book or a piece of music is rubbish then I don't buy it. If it's not worth buying then it isn't worth pirating. So low quality is no excuse for piracy.
Well, I FINALLy bought my first book from iTunes, thanks to Requiem. Reads very nicely with the Nook app on my MBAir.
So much for the "this promotes Piracy" gang
In my experience, there were a few books that I was interested in, so I googled for "booktitle ebook". Turned out they were not sold as ebooks. Neither with nor without DRM. But there were tons and tons of copies on file sharing sites. In other words, pirates don't need a DRM free copy to start with.
All the free books on the AppStore are DRM-free ePub format. I have a few dozen eBooks from other sources in DRM-free ePub format. They all work just fine in iBook.
All the free books on the App Store are in standard ePub 2 format. It's a standard. It's basically a zip file with html inside, all well documented. As long as you have an html renderer (like Webkit), writing an ePub 2 reader for any platform is no problem at all.
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Sorry, but that doesn't make sense. Once you remove the DRM from the eBook, that's it. There's nothing Apple can do to prevent you from reading that eBook.
Amazon eBooks are in a proprietary format. You can only read them on an Kindle or Kindle app. Apple's eBooks are in an industry standard ePub format. You can use ANY ePub reader, once the DRM is removed.
That said, the one and only reason I've been putting off purchasing eBooks from iTunes is that I want to read them on my MBAir. The iPhone screen is OK for short durations, but it's just too small for long-term reading. I may get an iPad one of these days, but for now, the MBAir fits my needs much better.
Well, I FINALLy bought my first book from iTunes, thanks to Requiem. Reads very nicely with the Nook app on my MBAir.
So much for the "this promotes Piracy" gang
I suggest to rename "Fairplay" into "Unfairplay".
Or maybe "Thievery". That's a catchy name for an app.
Yeah, that would be the most awful idea ever.
Most authors make NOTHING off of a book. There are a handful of big named authors who do well, but they are the rare exception. People already have this "i want it for free" mentality. You can download 10 books in the time it takes to download 1 mp3.
The publishers would never go for DRM free books, nor should they. Even people who are independantly publishing books would get screwed.
In the napster days, people downloaded 1 song. With pirated books, pirates load zip files with 100 books in them at a clip to be downloaded in 1-2 minutes.
The enemy in this case is not DRM or the publishing industry... it's really the device makers. (Yes, you Amazon, Apple, etc.) We need open formats, not proprietary garbage. Apple pushed for DRM free music not because DRM was bad, but because it limited them selling music to people that did not own iPods. Taking out the DRM allowed anyone to shop at the iTunes store no matter what device they had.
This is what needs to happen with ebooks. There is already the epub format, device makers just opt not to use it to force you into being tethered to their devices. DRM is not the issue, and there should be DRM.
Without it thieves will just kill another industry and reduce the variety of choices there are in the marketplace when publishers have to do what the music industry did, and sign less people and publish fewer titles.
The publishing industry has had its problems without technology.
Apple want you to buy their hardware. Amazon want you to buy books from them.
Except that there are converters for AZW files, Calibre for instance.
Apple drop the DRM? Get a clue. They are required to have it per licensing with publishers.
Sorry, but that doesn't make sense. Once you remove the DRM from the eBook, that's it. There's nothing Apple can do to prevent you from reading that eBook.
Amazon eBooks are in a proprietary format. You can only read them on an Kindle or Kindle app. Apple's eBooks are in an industry standard ePub format. You can use ANY ePub reader, once the DRM is removed.
That said, the one and only reason I've been putting off purchasing eBooks from iTunes is that I want to read them on my MBAir. The iPhone screen is OK for short durations, but it's just too small for long-term reading. I may get an iPad one of these days, but for now, the MBAir fits my needs much better.
Well, I FINALLy bought my first book from iTunes, thanks to Requiem. Reads very nicely with the Nook app on my MBAir.
So much for the "this promotes Piracy" gang
Think about it as in the future if you want to say redownload said object you have to remove the DRM again or as time goes on and you buy more stuff you still have to remove the DRM.
iTunes is a near break-even business. Apple makes money off of devices. They sell content to sell devices, not devices to sell content. Nice try.
E-Books are a great way to make authors independent from publishers.
They can be marketed independently, and no middle man is needed.
But an honest audience is needed for this to work.
If you un-DRM a book, you are not a revolutionary or an independence fighter against big business and cultural freedom, but someone who steals from an individual author.
We don't want free junk for everybody, but affordable quality for everybody. That's the best use of the web.
They can be marketed independently, and no middle man is needed.
But an honest audience is needed for this to work.
If you un-DRM a book, you are not a revolutionary or an independence fighter against big business and cultural freedom, but someone who steals from an individual author.
We don't want free junk for everybody, but affordable quality for everybody. That's the best use of the web.
Can you explain what makes stealing unDRMing a book that has been bought and converting it from epub to mobi or from mobi to epub?
If you don't distribute it or upload it to the web you wouldn't be stealing, of course.
If you are having trouble reading your eBook on all your devices so you have to un-DRM it to convert it, then the ball is in Apple's court to make sure you can read your book on a mac, iPad, or on a phone (even though I'm not sure if I wanted to read a book on a 3.5" screen).
I wasn't aware that this wasn't possible and that you had to convert it to a different format to do that.
I don't "un-DRM" books. If it has DRM, I don't buy it. If it doesn't have DRM, I don't give copies away. The ones who are stealing from authors are publishers who insist on DRM with the effect that they sell a lot less than they could, and the authors make a lot less money than they could.
I see the problem.
I think you should be able to read the book you bought on any device you want to read it on. If DRM prevents that it must be updated.
But aren't there technologies out there that e.g. allow you to stream movies you bought to all devices you own?
I'm sure this will soon come to eBooks as well.
I think overprotecting copyright can harm business just as much as stealing.
DVDs are a good example: you spent $20 and then have to sit through several screens that threaten you with the FBI etc. That's ridiculous. If you buy a DVD, you should be able to load it into your player, and the menu should come up right away - no commercials, no trailers, no warning screens.
I would not call several million near break even. iTunes turns a very healthy profit for Apple. I would not be surprised if it has a near 30+% return of what Apple puts into it.
Rubbish. I would argue that it's mostly about pricing.
Look at the AppStore - after jailbreaking, it's possible to crack any app straight from your device and upload it to a second appstore full of cracked apps. That hasn't hurt the AppStore.
But you notice something about apps that isn't the same with music, films or books - prices are more flexible, and they are lower (basically always). Better quality apps charge more (and can afford to), there is more competition for sales, and the price is reasonable enough that people will pay for it, even in the face of piracy.
The media industry is full of titans and moguls, who believe their content unbounded in value. They have no incentive to lower prices, and competition is stifled. The worst thing is that they sell you books and films - these really are less valuable than apps. Nobody re-reads the same books forever; the value of a book or film is less every time you read or watch it. Apps don't do that, and yet they cost much less.
The media industry deserves everything it gets IMO. Piracy will always exist for those knowledgeable enough for it to be worthwhile. Luckily, that's a vanishingly small percentage of people. If you get mass piracy (like with, for example, online movie streaming), then you have to realise that it's a competitive force; people don't agree with your products and won't buy them.
There is plenty of evidence of people paying for things they could get for free (even in the media space - iTunes, Netflix, etc). The reason those things took off is that they were just good products - they sold you something for what seemed a pretty fair value, and they beat the pirate sites at things like reliability. Something similar (that is to say, radically different) is needed today for books.