the_trav ([info]the_trav) wrote,
@ 2009-04-09 09:36:00
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Wizard Of The Coast fail at business
Apparently they've sued several file sharers, halted all sales of their electronic books and instructed all vendors to prevent people who have ALREADY PAYED for their electronic copies from re-downloading them (for example if a hard drive were to fail and their current copy was lost).

It's roughly equivalent to Terry Pratchet suing you for lending your copy of THUD to one of your friends, it's insanity.

While reading about it, I came across yet another great argument with evidence that DRM is bunk and giving your stuff away for free makes you more money than it costs you: http://www.baen.com/library/

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[info]anfalicious
2009-04-09 12:38 am UTC (link)
It makes the most sense with books too. I'm still not convinced that a large portion of the book reading public are willing to switch from dead tree versions to digital. They probably will read a chapter or two to decide if the book is worth buying, something they couldn't do in a bookstore. Sure, some people will read it and never buy it, but I doubt that would reduce sales (which evidence shows it doesn't).

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[info]lucas_el_diablo
2009-04-09 07:37 am UTC (link)
I reckon people wont switch to digital in large numbers until the devices to read them on a: dont suck, b: dont cost a fortune and c: are easily available. from what I hear, Amazon's Kindle is making good progress on point a, not so good on points b and c.

reading books on a computer sucks; it is just plain inconvenient compared to deadtree books. the ebook switch for the mainstream public wont happen until we have the "iPod" of ebook readers for them to read them on. it will happen, it's just a matter of when. the idea of being able to carry around every non-fiction book I've ever owned in a device the size of a paperback has massive appeal to me. being able to do a text search through that collection to find the exact thing I want to know, when I want to know it... it's going to kick arse

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[info]nsanity_au
2009-04-09 12:42 am UTC (link)
instructed all vendors to prevent people who have ALREADY PAYED for their electronic copies from re-downloading them

Well it appears that the vendors would possibly be in breach of contract (contract of sale) during this - and whilst yes, WotC are responsible, they don't have to give 2 shits how the people reselling the product.

I also think DRM has absolutely nothing to do with this topic, at least not in the information presented by yourself - You can hate DRM all you want, but last I checked, the PDF's circling WotC published material aren't riddled with DRM.

Also your analogy is flawed, although the problem is difficult to reproduce in physical medium terms.

Furthering on from our discussion re: the music industry and record sales vs touring.

I don't see how authors can be compensated for their work in a "free" environment.

Book readings are hideously impractical for non-fiction works (outside of say... University lectures, etc but thats a narrow segment of non-fiction written material), and its not like we're all going to go pay $80-250/ticket for a seat in Rod Laver to hear the latest Harry Potter book read aloud to you...

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[info]the_trav
2009-04-09 01:35 am UTC (link)
The last sentence was an aside, sorry if I implied that DRM has a direct connection to the Wotc scenario, that was not my intention.

Did you read the article I linked to? It pretty specifically addresses how they can work in a "free" environment, and no it's nothing like the solution that applies to music

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[info]hypergirlie
2009-04-09 01:04 am UTC (link)
My dad has been telling me about how great it is to read books on his iphone. I got the program but haven't yet felt the compulsion to try it. I think part of reading a book is the tactile sensation of holding the book open and flipping pages. I don't see that tradition dying away all that quickly to be honest.

To me it's like voice recognition. Just because I can yell out the option I want when calling a utilities company doesn't mean I'm completely comfortable letting everyone around me know that I'm calling about 'billing issues'.

Just coz the technology exists doesn't mean everyone is comfortable using it. Books are a sign of intelligence to a lot of people so a well stocked bookshelf is desirable and you can't show off all your Stephen Hawking books on your electronic reading device without looking like a tool.

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