Irfan’s Corner on the Web On Mac, Linux, Grid, Virtualization and Software Technology

Why Your e-Books Are No Longer Yours

    I today stumbled on a post with the same title on slashdot, and it is so true.

Recently I bought an ebook from ebooks.com, the last book of the Star Wars Swarm War series. I was excited in reading the book, but when purchasing it, I was offered to buy the book either of the two formats: Microsoft Reader and Adobe Digital Media Editions, none of which have Linux clients! But I still went for the Adobe one,  thinking there might be some viewer for Linux. But I was mistaken. Adobe Digital Media Editions is something like: PDF + DRM. So I downloaded the official release of Digital Media Editions and installed it in my Windows XP Vmware VM, and started reading . I got probably to the 2nd chapter when I closed the application, and did some other work. When I came back the other day it would not open!! Digital Media Edition asked me to download it again from the service provider, and it tried itself to download but it always got the response "Transcation has been completed"!!! I went to my account on ebooks.com but there was no way I could download the book again. I was furious, thinking that I had bought this book to enjoy and now I could not open it in my computer anymore!. I had filled for support, but have not recieved a response.

Had it been another open format, I could have opened it in any platform I like. I understand DRM in Music, although I have issues with that as well, but I don't get DRM on ebooks. It is much better to own a hardcopy of the book than put up with the insanity that has gripped publishers.