[h2o-discuss] Re: Electronic publishing

["James H. Johnston" <jimjohn@erols.com>]

     I have several additional facts and observations on
electronic publishing and Fatbrain.
     First, Fatbrain plans to use Adobe's software to display and
provide copy protection.  Microsoft and possibly others will have
similar software on the market.  The user will have to have
software capable of reading the documents, so presumably he will
have to use software from the same company.  Microsoft and Adobe
apparently intend to battle it out.
     Second, the copy protection systems will allow you to read
the "book" only on the computer you used to buy the book.  If you
transfer the file to another computer, you'll have to pay to use
it on that computer.  Moreover, the copy protection works only as
long as the book is kept in electronic form.  Printing defeats
copy protection since you can scan the printed copy back into
digital form and peddle it as your own.  Therefore, the software
either will not permit printing or will permit printing only if
the author has specially authorized it.
     Third, since people generally don't like to read books on
their computer, the thinking is that the technology is best
suited for technical books and reference manuals at the moment. 
People don't read such books cover to cover.  People use manuals
to get information and the computer allows people to find what
they need.  Thus, Fatbrain has principally been a seller of
technical and reference books in hard copy.
     Fourth, it is expected that eBook hardware will improve in
the near future.  Instead of a desktop or laptop computer, you
will be able to read electronic books on something more closely
akin to a paper book.  The new software will make text as
readable on eBooks as the printing in real books.
     Fifth, once eBooks are cheap and widely available, the
market for electronic publishing will take off.  The market would
no longer be primarily for technical publications and reference
manual.  The general public will start buying novels online and
reading them on portable eBooks.  Once this happens, the copy
protection scheme pays off.  People will not need to be given the
option of printing them to paper.  Hence, authors will not have
to worry about this source of infringement.  The software will
protect them.  This also means that uncopyrightable works can be
profitably marketed.  If you own the only copy of a book for
which the copyright has expired, you can still market it online
without fear that someone else will copy it and compete with you.
     Sixth, when this stage of development is reached, eBooks and
digital audio become indistinguishable from a marketing
standpoint.  eBooks may be capable of playing sound.  So, you
will have a light, portable entertainment device which can play
music in MP3 or similar format, display a book, or play an MP3
file of a "book on tape."  
     Finally, once the display and copy protection software is
widely available, anyone can set up his or her own Web site to
peddle music or writing.  Nonetheless, central Web sites like
Fatbrain offer several advantages.  First, the general public
seems to prefer going to a single Web site for such things rather
than searching the Internet.  Second, the Fatbrains of the
Internet will have advantages in billing and collection.  Third,
the public may feel that a Fatbrain is more trustworthy than an
individual's Web page, just as it seems to trust an auction on
eBay more than it does an individual's auction.  Fourth,
Fatbrains can offer reviews from other readers, so the potential
buyer can get a sense of what he is buying.

Jim Johnston
jimjohn@erols.com