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Apple Set to Deploy FairPlay Digital Rights Management on iPad eBooks?
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I have read about 500 to 600 books in the last year. Most of them in paper copy. Plus about 800 newspapers and 40 magazines all in paper copy in addition to online content. I see wonderful possibilities for the iPad as a content reader. It will be a while before it is up to speed on titles but in the mean time there is the entire web and copyright free classics to work through.
I hope their definition of "computers" includes iPhone, iPod, iPad and PCs with iTunes. It would be nice if Apple suppied ebook readers with their DRM for Blackberry, WebOS, and Android phones too. Spread the love
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I hope their definition of "computers" includes iPhone, iPod, iPad and PCs with iTunes. It would be nice if Apple suppied ebook readers with their DRM for Blackberry, WebOS, and Android phones too. Spread the love
Apple does not seem to count our iPodTouch's in the count, just computers (e.g., MacBook, PowerBook, iBook, iMac, PowerMac, etc). I have accidentally reached the limit because I have replaced old machines with new ones. Then I turn off and re-enable all of them. Before buying the iPods I called up and talked with Apple Tech Support and specifically asked them about this and they told me that the iPod and iPhones connected to each computer don't count as part of the five.
I hope their definition of "computers" includes iPhone, iPod, iPad and PCs with iTunes. It would be nice if Apple suppied ebook readers with their DRM for Blackberry, WebOS, and Android phones too. Spread the love
Fairplay has always supported unlimited ipods and iPhones. I assume iPads will be the same.
I've always been frustrated that "computers" doesn't mean "computers". If I authorize iTunes in two different user accounts on the same computer, it counts as 2 "computers".
You originally said:
"Hulu's already said they're going to start charging for access sometime this year - the "free, ad-supported" model was only in place to build audience."
None of the articles you cited say anything about the ad-supported model being used just to build audience.
As far as charging for access, your articles said:
-Jonathan Miller [who at the time had yet to attend a single board meeting] said that he envisioned a future where "at least some" content will be "available only to subscribers...I don't think it's on the agenda for Monday [but] it seems to me that over time that could be a logical thing."
-"Carey didn't say that free shows were going by the wayside—it's possible that Hulu may be plotting to launch a more limited ad-supported service alongside a "premium" tier as a paid subscription."
-"News Corp., which co-owns the site with NBC Universal, Walt Disney and Providence Equity Partners, said it hasn't decided what form the subscription model would take and is concentrating for now on delivering a good experience for users."
-"News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said last month that the company was considering charging for Hulu, but hadn't made a final decision." "Are we looking at it with a view of adding subscription services in there and pay-per-view movies? Yes, we are looking at that. No decision has been taken yet," he said then at an analysts' conference.
Additional article I found:
-Hulu CEO Jason Kilar said a free version of Hulu will always exist but that the company was exploring premium pricing. He wouldn't give a time frame.
I'll concede that in the case of Hulu, you may turn out to be (partly) correct. But an ad-supported model can work. Look at Google (and YouTube) as well as broadcast television.
My best guess would be a "yes", they will allow you to read ePub books from other sources in the iBooks app. My reasoning is this; if they continue to allow other ebook-reader apps in the App Store (such as the Kindle reader), it sounds unlikely that they would go to great lengths to stop you from reading ePub books from third parties in their own reader app, no? In fact, by making you use the iBook app as your default ebook reader, they bring you much closer to the thing that matters to Apple; the iBooks Store. Just a few clicks away to find and purchase the sequel to the "third party ebook" you just finished reading, you know? *s*
By not shipping the iBooks app preinstalled on the iPad, but only as a download option among other readers, I think Apple is also sending the message, that they don't view the iBooks app in the same manner they view Safari on the iPhone, for instance. In the case of e-book readers they DO allow others to duplicate functions.
that is the dumbest statement I have ever heard, it should all be free, seriously? How can anyone make a living, pay their bills, feed their kids, buy clothes, stimulate the economy if everything where free? Seriously, how long have you lived in the real world? Economies are based on the buying and selling of goods and services, entertainment is a service, as such they sell and I buy. I write software for a living, if you use my software I expect you to pay for it so I can continue feeding my kids.
Not everything can be free, though we may all prefer it to be free when we are footing the bill.
Apple could use epub like the majority, but they have to use more of their proprietary DRM crap. Publishers can use DRM on epub too, why not use that? Yet if I wanted to use the Apple bookstore I am forced to use their DRM scheme. I'll stick to Fictionwise. And I'll be getting a Notion Ink Adam if I want a tablet.
You do bring up a good point. There is a lot of free content out there legally (MUCH more with books than with other media). It looks like Apple will probably have these books for free as well. (see the keynote at 52:50, where it lists Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and others as free)
And I still believe that you will be able to get DRM-free books outside the iBook Store and they will work with iPad. That precedent has been established with the iPod and music.
You DO realize that the open ePub standard is exactly what Apple has chosen for their new iBookstore, right? And you can rest assured that it's not Apple who's pushing for DRM on top of ePub, it's the publishers.
It's the story of the iTunes Store and the concerns of the record labels all over again. Sadly.
There was some discussion of that at MWSF. Making it an app uncouples it from the OS. This way they can roll out a new version of the app anytime they need to. If it was in the OS (like Safari on the iPhone) then they'd need to roll out an OS update. Seems like there was one other advantage along these lines but I can't recall it just now.
Andy Ihnatko pointed out that the iBook app was clearly unfinished at the time of the announcement. There may be quite a bit of development left on this, especially if it will be modified according to the feedback from users and publishers. One more reason to have the flexibility to update this frequently.
I agree. Another connected question is, whether they will allow people other than the big publishing houses to SELL their content in their iBookstore. Like they do in the app store.
That, more than anything else, will put pressure on the publishers to pay authors their fair share.
It's interesting, all the ideas we have about books - loaning them, libraries, reselling them - didn't come about by design but in a spontaneous fashion due to the physical nature of books. Books couldn't be easily copied, books aged and eventually fell apart. Now that we have electronic books there is a lot of talk about replicating the aspects of physical books that we find useful. However, maybe that is not going to happen. It could take a generation but perhaps we'll find new ways to interact with electronic books.
At MWSF in the iPad discussion there was some discussion of the concept of renting books. The idea is that the DRM will be setup with a timer so that a student could rent a textbook for a year, a library could buy perhaps 20 licenses for a book and loan those out for a short periods. When the time was up you don't have to return the book, the license just expires.
Maybe the concept of book ownership will fade away. For lots of money you could buy a physical book along with a digital copy. For much less money you could buy a license for perhaps six months. Enough time to read the book. Since it would be fairly cheap you wouldn't worry about reselling it.
I will miss used book stores. I like browsing the stacks. I'll miss the bindings. I appreciate the work put into making a book.
Art is something humans do after they have food, shelter, and safety.
It is essentially a hobby but it is not essential to survival.
All music, books, movies, etc. should be free as nobody should make a hobby their......"job".
Besides the internet already is forcing the issue.
Soon nobody will make a dime from art.
So soon, there won't be any new art.
And let me know how you cover the production costs of the next block buster movies that you are dying to watch.
You obviously know nothing about ebooks. The ebooks that are currently available only represents a small fraction of the total books available. And this small fraction represents some of the most popular authors. It would be naive to say that that authors who have published ebooks have no other offers.
Let stupid people pay for some ebooks, and intelligent read more ebooks for free.
The publishers will be upset about how they can't screw enough because nto everyone is stupid enough yet and increase the prices: stupid people will pay even more and intelligent people will have even more free alternatives as a result.
Thank you stupid people for making publishers, whether music or book, continue to screw customer, passionate AND artists, i'm glad at least you pay money for that.
PS: By the way some of my best friends are writers, some of em actually live on the publishing business, one of my biggest budget for this month has been allowed to physicals books, so sc$$w anyone who's tempted to tell me that I don't help writers, they're not the effin dumb hypocrits that you are.
The publishers will be upset about how they can't screw enough because nto everyone is stupid enough yet and increase the prices: stupid people will pay even more and intelligent people will have even more free alternatives as a result.
Thank you stupid people for making publishers, whether music or book, continue to screw customer, passionate AND artists, i'm glad at least you pay money for that.
PS: By the way some of my best friends are writers, some of em actually live on the publishing business, one of my biggest budget for this month has been allowed to physicals books, so sc$$w anyone who's tempted to tell me that I don't help writers, they're not the effin dumb hypocrits that you are.
I guess I'm wrong. The folks eager to buy the iPad typically read 600 books/year, about two per day. Plus about 40 magazines and newspapers. Now I know the iPad will fly off the shelves.
But, like just pirating an ebook, how will the authors ever make any money under this scheme??? I guess you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't. I guess I just stick to buying paper books. There's no way I'm going to spend over $10 on a electronic file I can't use the way I please.
Not everybody works as a book critic
Actually, I'm not a book critic, I'm a farmer. I just read fairly quickly with high retention. I read about a book a day for my work stuff and about about a book for pleasure. Cover to cover. Including title page - I'm interested in the copyright, who did the art, bios, etc. Perhaps the issue is I don't have TV or radio so all the time that people spend doing those things I have free to read in the evening. Reception is non-existant out here with the mountains in the way - same for cellphone. There are some advantages to that.
Actually, I'm not a book critic, I'm a farmer. I just read fairly quickly with high retention. I read about a book a day for my work stuff and about about a book for pleasure. Cover to cover. Including title page - I'm interested in the copyright, who did the art, bios, etc. Perhaps the issue is I don't have TV or radio so all the time that people spend doing those things I have free to read in the evening. Reception is non-existant out here with the mountains in the way - same for cellphone. There are some advantages to that.
no cellphone, no tv, no radio...but you have internet and a website? That is glorious!