Anti-DRM Kids’ Book
From Boing Boing: a writer or entity called MCM has released a new edition of an anti-DRM kids’ book called “The Pig and the Box.” PDF downloads are available, non-DRMed of course, for both $2.99 and $0.00. I suppose this is one possible future for kids’ books.
This comes through Cory Doctorow, who does a lot of great work with copyfight and Creative Commons, and the struggle against DRM. He releases all his books as free downloads when they’re published, and he’s widely admired (including by me) as a pioneer in the field of ebooks. But…
The only thing I disagree with him (and this release of “The Pig and the Box”) about, is his assumption that DRM-free must mean cost-free. I think this is a flawed model, just as overpriced, DRM-laden is a flawed model.
Releasing work digitally for free is a practice founded on Doctorow’s assertion that people don’t like to read things on screens (link to be edited in when I find it below), and digital editions are mere previews, which then encourage people to go out and buy the “real” book.
After the Great eReader Adoption, of course, ebooks will be “real” books, and giving them out won’t really help emerging writers without followings.
But it will let me download and review “The Pig and the Box,” which I’ll do soon. I wonder which one symbolizes DRM.
See the original at Boing Boing
UPDATE: I found Cory Doctorow’s argument for giving away ebooks for free, and I misparaphrased him a bit. From the introduction (the section called “The Copyright Thing”) to his novel Little Brother:
[...] I don’t see ebooks as substitute for paper books for most people. It’s not that the screens aren’t good enough, either: if you’re anything like me, you already spend every hour you can get in front of the screen, reading text. But the more computer-literate you are, the less likely you are to be reading long-form works on those screens — that’s because computer-literate people do more things with their computers. [...] The more you do with your computer, the more likely it is that you’ll be interrupted after five to seven minutes to do something else.
[...]
So ebooks sell print books. Every writer I’ve heard of who’s tried giving away ebooks to promote paper books has come back to do it again. That’s the commercial case for doing free ebooks.
That makes sense for computers, and the current state of ebooks. And I certainly can’t say it doesn’t work for Doctorow. But ereaders aren’t computers, and the experience of reading long-form on an ereader is comparable to paper books, and arguably has the potential to be better than paper books. You also can’t get distracted by a specialized reader which is meant only for reading books. (And this gives more weight to the argument for ereader producers to keep them specialized.)
The time is coming soon to take ebooks as entities of their own, and to treat them as viable publishing options, and not just marketing tools for paper books.
Ah, dear Nico. I can’t wait for you post about this Great eReader Adoption so I can argue with you. While books will certainly go digital, at least in the mainstream, there’s no way big clunky $400 things with the screen output resembling and old Game Boy are gonna catch on as a mainstay to be found in every briefcase and backpack. When the transition to digital happens, it will be on devices that are not yet here (hint: they will have the functionality of a smartphone and pocket computer, with the ease-on-the-eyes of your precious readers–and they will not be built solely for eBooks). You’re right about the DRM silliness though.
Of course the devices aren’t here yet. That’s why the Great eReader Adoption hasn’t already begun. Basically the devices that exist today are just good enough to see how great they have the potential to be. Kindle 2.0 will be a great yardstick to see how much longer we have to wait until a really viable ereader comes along.
But I disagree that all devices will merge into one smartphone/reader/computer. Amazon and Sony will be much better served–at least in the short- to mid-term–to optimize their readers for reading, and not try to make them the answer to every problem. That kind of thing only results in products that have a bunch of mediocre features.
Down the line, maybe. But I think the Adoption will happen when somebody makes an excellent ereader that’s just an ereader.
Here are my demands:
-I want to be able to read any ebook on my reader device.
-I want to see it without eyestrain, without it flashing black for a second between virtual page turns.
-I want to be able to manage my collection on my computer, where I manage everything else, and sync my reader as I see fit.
-I want color.
-I want to be able to access the internet through wifi (I’ll concede the phone functionality to you) and get a book from anywhere when it strikes my fancy.
-I want periodicals that update automatically.
-I want a device that weighs less than a paperback and is about the same size too.
-I want basic extra-ebook functionality, even if it’s only email and a calendar.
-And here’s the coup de gras, I want to pay less than $200.
You might say I’m being picky or over optimistic about technology. And yes to pull all that off in a single device we’ll need at least a few years. There’s no way Sony and Amazon and anyone else who gets involved is going to woo the masses with out some major R&D, and software support.
I want an eReader, and I have every intention of getting one, but to be honest in my research I’ve seen nothing that makes me consider pulling the trigger on the outrages price. Yeah yeah e ink is new and pricey. Doesn’t matter, to pay $3-400 bucks for a machine I have to tilt just right at the light to see comfortable, only to buy more books at hardcover prices like you noted in another post. I’ll stick to my shelves. This technology is at least one generation away from being viable for the masses. For now, in every category besides bulk mobility and text searching: advantage real book.
It’s a great idea that I want to work and I’m confident it will eventually. But not until someone actually tries to make a product intended to create a user base, not placate those who are already going to buy the next Kindle even if its just a heavy Wooly Willy.