Here’s a story at Geek.com about Apple’s plans to add DRM (Digital Rights Management) to the eBooks they sell at the iBookstore. We’ve gone over this so many times I can sleep-type it. Locking a digital item promotes piracy and file-sharing. (Especially if the prices are too high–and why else would you digitally lock an eBook?)
Now, we’re also hearing that they’re using the ePub format, but with their own added code to make the titles iPad-friendly only. This on top of Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s plans to deliver a free App for iPad (so iPad owners can access the titles at those stores) leaves me wondering why they don’t just go for a single open format. (Like ePub was before they started adding code…)
Oh, I forgot. These companies are unable to learn from history. Look at the damage that overpriced, digitally locked songs did to the music industry. (Same thing is happening to the movie industry.) I guess they always have to see how dumb we are, before they can just get down to doing business.
Ah well, as I’ve said many times, things are getting interesting.
