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“The books will stop working.”

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Re: “The books will stop working.”

#451

Post by thirdsun »

la_barba wrote: post #240
DenisM wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple, Inc. did - they sell all of their music without DRM for the last, like, 10 years. Meanwhile the music industry is alive and well. The key is convenience. When it's convenient to buy, people buy.

Oh? I thought Apple Music was encumbered with DRM in their M4P format. I'm not super familiar with their service though. Maybe I'm wrong.. Edit: Looks like the M4P format was mainly on older songs pre2009. Though I see forum threads with people saying that they have to re-pay Apple w/ itunes match to get the drm-free version.

The whole digital music industry has left DRM behind - I buy my music losslessly and from a number of stores without any strings attached. Of course this can only apply to purchasable content - streaming service obviously need to rely on DRM.

Re: “The books will stop working.”

#453

Post by dreamsoft »

la_barba wrote: post #240
DenisM wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple, Inc. did - they sell all of their music without DRM for the last, like, 10 years. Meanwhile the music industry is alive and well. The key is convenience. When it's convenient to buy, people buy.

Oh? I thought Apple Music was encumbered with DRM in their M4P format. I'm not super familiar with their service though. Maybe I'm wrong.. Edit: Looks like the M4P format was mainly on older songs pre2009. Though I see forum threads with people saying that they have to re-pay Apple w/ itunes match to get the drm-free version.

Apple music is streaming service. But the downloaded files are DRM protected. I know this tool (https://www.audfree.com/drm-audio-converter-win/) can bypass drm easily.

Re: “The books will stop working.”

#454

Post by jjkaczor »

EdwardCoffin wrote: post #5

This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened, either. Amazon, before they introduced the Kindle, used Adobe DRM for ebooks. I lost a book I'd bought through them when they switched to Kindle. The thing that really gets me is I had to register my book to buy it, with my email address . They had my address, and couldn't even be bothered to send me an alert, telling me that the DRM servers were being decomm…

...This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened, either...

This is technically the 3rd time, with just Microsoft alone.

They turned off eBook authentication servers for "Microsoft Reader" (.LIT) format years ago... (2012?) Then, after they launched their also-now-dead store on Windows Phone which had some eBooks, well... that went away too...

Next - how many subscription/Music services has Microsoft launched and then abandoned? More than one, but I remember: PlaysForSure" - DRM servers turned off 11 years ago...

So - unless it is Xbox, don't think Microsoft is going to be a reliable source for your digital media.

Re: “The books will stop working.”

#455

Post by Izkata »

loup-vaillant wrote: post #388
lloeki wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I knew about that and tried beforehand to see if I needed to put a warning, but it doesn't trigger anymore for me so I thought this article was exempt, or he removed it. Maybe it's Safari that properly strips the referer.

Firefox on Linux: no trigger either. Clicking was safe for me.

Firefox on Linux: I get the redirect every time.

Re: “The books will stop working.”

#456

Post by Izkata »

IanSanders wrote: post #384
Crinus wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paying authors directly doesn't mean the book will not have DRM nor using an intermediate book selling service mean that they will have DRM. The problem is having DRM, not how the book authors are paid.

Perhaps authors would be more inclined to distribute content DRM-free, and consumers to pay. Some use this model already, for example Nine Inch Nails and Griz (may be wrong)

Diane Duane sells her books directly, as DRM-free epubs [0]. Was quite happy when, a decade after first reading it, I found out So You Want To Be A Wizard wasn't standalone and wanted to continue the series.

[0] https://ebooksdirect.co/

Re: “The books will stop working.”

#457

Post by JadeNB »

ultrarunner wrote: post #345
sjy wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you use these libraries? I see them around from time to time, but I've never been tempted to borrow from them. Usually there's nothing more than a random selection of popular novels from the last 20 years.

I wasn't really trying to make a qualitative point, but to that notion I have had considerable trouble in some public libraries as well. The first memory I have of a library was in school where I wanted desperately to find out how one "writes" software. After lots of probably very annoying begging, I was given a book on either COBOL or FORTRAN from the ~60s. It wasn't super helpful. The last book I borrowed (Alan Coo…

> The last book I borrowed (Alan Cooper's The Inmates are Running the Asylum on UX design, which I found compelling) was lost after I dropped it in the bin.

This frustrates me no end. After several such incidents, and comparable customer service, I now take pictures of myself returning the books. I'm sure it'll do no good when it comes down to it, but it lets me feel that I have some agency in the matter.

What really frustrates me is that our library just re-jiggered its return system so that it's metered, counting how many resources have been returned, perhaps in an effort to address (for them if not for me) concerns like this; but there's still no way to get a receipt indicating that you have returned any particular resource. When I try to get one from the front-desk staff by returning it in person, I'm told I have to drop it in the metered chute and, basically, hope.

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