DRM or NO DRM

It is the same dilemma that Shakespeare put forth.

DRM or No DRM. 

The world is abuzz with people wanting that DRM to be stripped of eBooks. There is no apparent reason why so many people do not want DRM however the noise is towards having no DRM. 

DRM potentially provides a lot more security to content in terms of copyrights and distribution. The major issue is portability. Today if a person purchases an Adobe PDF or ePUB that has been downloaded through ACS4 on a Sony Reader cannot be ported to iPad. 

This is the cause of frustration. People do want protected content however the portability is a question. As the eBook marketing is growing there are many devices with different versions coming up. eBook consumers certainly do not want to purchase eBooks more than once (unless there is a new edition). 

What is the solution? The solution is the standards must support and provide for portability options. If eBooks become portable that is if I can read the same eBook on Sony Reader, Kindle, iPad and likes of these devices, along with reading on Windows, Mac and Linux or other OS its going to be a boon for the consumer. 

After all the books are being made for the consumers.

Comments welcome

ePUB the monster

Wow ePUB over the years has become a monster. You don't agree? Why? Well haven't you heard the noice about people finding it difficult to understand ePUB. Read reviews and previews which are available in plentiful on the internet. 

The Monster: For heavens sake everyone needs to understand. ePUB is just a set of XHTML files packaged together. How will it look on this device or on that is not the question. The question is do you really know your XHTML and CSS well?

How do you do it? 

Well understand that the content must look good. With proper styles. With proper structure. Its the same as designing a pBook. The difference, the limitations. 

Best Way out? 

Use standards. 

Does it really matter that the looks same as the pBook?

For me it hardly matters, the electronic medium as much more to just designing. If I read a book with lot of Index terms or Bibliography references then I prefer correct hyperlinks. Nicely styled paragraphs and clearly defined sections. Thats it the eBook is done. 

I have always said this and I reiterate, devices will come and go, what today is true will be obsolete tomorrow. 

Think hard on this. 

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