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generic vs closed platformsgeneric vs closed platformsPosted Jan 19, 2012 5:46 UTC (Thu) by jmorris42 (subscriber, #2203)In reply to: generic vs closed platforms by fb Parent article: LCA: Addressing the failure of open source
> What is the actual likelihood that Amazon will delete books from my Kindles (I own 2)?
The odds they will suddenly delete your content? Probably low. But consider this: Every Plays for Sure track sold by Walmart, Yahoo! and Microsoft is now dead. Every Divx disc sold by Circuit City is deader than Circuit City.
The AZW format currently used by the Kindle will eventually be abandoned for ePub and someday Amazon will abandon support for the 'legacy' format in a future product line. Assuming they even continue making hardware long term in the first place. And when Amazon abandons AZW, just remember that it is illegal for anyone else to crack one open. Thee and me would know where to go to fix that, most folks won't.
And that is why investing in closed systems is usually a losing game. Unless you only care to use the content RIGHT NOW and couldn't care less that it has no future you should avoid DRM and other closed systems. So Netflix is ok, closed books aren't. I didn't buy a DVD until Mplayer gained support. No I didn't have a PC hooked to the TV at the time, but why buy into a sealed ecosystem?
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Small correction Posted Jan 19, 2012 8:18 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] Every Divx disc sold by Circuit City is deader than Circuit City. This is not true. Back then "content providers" still felt they have some obligations thus all Divx players were unlocked before Circuit City went out of business. Later entrants often have not bothered to offer anything similar: in the cases where they thought about the problem at all it was your resposibility to save your collection, not theirs. P.S. I've started buying DVDs after DVD Decrypter was released - think it happened before MPlayer added DVD support. I'm not picky: I dont' mind DRM as long as I have a way to circumvent it.
generic vs closed platforms Posted Jan 19, 2012 9:29 UTC (Thu) by fb (subscriber, #53265) [Link]
> And that is why investing in closed systems is usually a losing game. Unless you only care to use the content RIGHT NOW and couldn't care less that it has no future you should avoid DRM and other closed systems.
> Unless you only care to use the content RIGHT NOW and couldn't care less that it has no future you should avoid DRM and other closed systems.
You know whats the problem with your assessment? The only value proposition, risk and cost you are willing to factor in is the DRM.
On the example of books w/ DRM:
Right now the only way to get most books digitally is WITH DRM. So therein lies a risk, and the portability issue (between e-readers). But that is yet another factor in the equation of the value proposition between digital-books with DRM and paper books.
For one, the storage of paper books have costs. Paper books have no DRM-risk but are subject to other risks (mold, water, fire, one's kid ripping it off). Carrying books have costs (when moving to a new house, or when going on vacation).
Why don't you factor the risk of a paper book getting molded, lost or stolen when you assess the DRM risk?
Why don't you factor in the cost of storing books? The odds that I will have to give up my books because I simply can't store them anymore?
We are back to "rent v own" question... Posted Jan 19, 2012 10:19 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] Why don't you factor the risk of a paper book getting molded, lost or stolen when you assess the DRM risk? I think rent/own analogue covers all these cases succinctly. If you own the book (be it physical or electronic one without DRM) then you and you alone are resposible for their future (if you can not afford to keep them or lose them dues to negligence then it's your problem - but on the flip side they can never be recalled or destroyed without your consent), if you rent it (and you can not buy DRMed book, you can only rent it) then you are limited in what you can do with it, but the losses are also covered by the real owner (you can usually readownload DRMed book on different device easily). The more I think the more I like the explanation of FOSS as when you use proprietary software you are living in a rented apartment, when you use FOSS you live in your own house: this simple analogue covers almost all the differences in one short sentence. Proprietary software is not slavery (because you can always decide to not use it, after all), but it sure does not feel like an ownership.
generic vs closed platforms Posted Jan 19, 2012 23:27 UTC (Thu) by cmccabe (guest, #60281) [Link]
> Right now the only way to get most books digitally is WITH DRM
There are companies like 1DollarScan and Bookscan that will scan your physical books and give you digital copies. Or you can do it yourself, of course. Either way, it's legal and you won't have to deal with DRM.
generic vs closed platforms Posted Jan 20, 2012 0:21 UTC (Fri) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
there are also publishers (like Baen) that sell e-books without DRM.
however the 'big 6' publishers are all making the same mistakes with e-books that the big music publishers did several years ago. they haven't yet gotten to the point of suing their customers, but if they keep making the same stupid mistakes they should start doing so in a couple of years.
generic vs closed platforms Posted Jan 20, 2012 8:15 UTC (Fri) by ekj (guest, #1524) [Link]
This isn't true.
The only way to *legally* get *certain* books, is with DRM. There is no lack of legal books sold without DRM, and there is no lack of illegal books without DRM.
generic vs closed platforms Posted Jan 20, 2012 12:24 UTC (Fri) by fb (subscriber, #53265) [Link] To my knowledge, most books are only available with DRM. Note that I am aware of Baen, and O'Reilly.There is a real lack of DRM-free books. There may be no lack of such for sci-fi or computing titles, but -to the best of my knowledge- most fiction (still under copyright) is only available with DRM. Trust me, for languages other than English the situation is even worse. How many books from the last 30 Nobel prize of literature winners are available DRM-free? (Heck, how many of the books written by the winners of any Nobel prize in the last 30 years are available DRM-free?) If you are US-minded, from the last 30 Pulitzer prize winners, how many books are available DRM-free?
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