Harry Potter vs iTunes
p2pnet.net News:- What does Harry Potter have in common with iTunes?
They’re both protected by DRM – digital rights management.
Harry Potter and the ring of steel around book’s American launch, says Britain’s Telegraph.
Old-Fashioned DRM Protects Harry Potter Book, says slashdot.
‘Protected’ they both may be, but there are obvious differences, the principal one being that J K Rowling’s latest Harry Potter book is definitely locked up tight whereas thanks to DVD Jon Lech Johansen and others, iTunes tracks definitely aren’t.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is about to be released and to guarantee the safe delivery of the 10.8 million US copies, the publisher, Scholastic, is “stacking the books in steel container lorries,” says the Telegraph.
Around the world, “anxious fans must wait for British clocks to strike 12.01am on July 16, when Rowling will start reading the book to children in Edinburgh, before they can get their hands on a copy,” says the story. “Until then, the millions of books, tantalisingly sealed in thick, black plastic on industrial pallets are under strict embargo.”
Truck driver Ronald Smith is quoted as saying he’d been ordered to drive Half-Blood Prince for 10 hours non-stop between a printer in Virginia and the Chapter 11 bookstore warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia.
“His truck was even fitted with a global positioning system to enable a satellite to monitor his progress and check that he did not deviate or stop,” says the Telegraph.
But, “Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just used an E-book s [sic] with DRM,” says RMX on slashdot.
“I’m all for Harry Potter protecting his rights; but it seems we keep getting closer and closer to the world described in Stallman’s visionary The Right To Read article.”
The problem, RMX, is: even that wouldn’t work. Anything you can see or hear can be copied by one digital or analog means or another.
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July 11th, 2005 at 1:11 am
Whats the problem?
I don’t love DRM, but heres a company trying to maintain control over its product – or an author who wants to do the same.
The stupidity in complaining that a company is selling a product one way, then appear to be clamouring to get it regardless – vote with your dollar, if you don’t like it.
Is this turning into complainers central? An excercising in whinging because the writer/s can’t deal with the economic processes of the world?
Its one thing to protest, a totally different thing to complain.
July 11th, 2005 at 1:55 am
These ppl are crazy! If they’d released a pdf or some other electronic format version of the book as soon as it was off to the printers, they’d have been able to start making money straight away, to help pay for the printing if nothing else.
Of course some ppl would pirate the electronic versions, but so what? They’d probly still buy the book when it did finally come out. And a lot of ppl would probly buy both the electronic and physical format versions of the book anyway!
So well done the publishers, you’ve just missed out on a growing source of revenue!! I’m sure the shareholders will understand your decision to deny them greater profits completely. You hope.
July 11th, 2005 at 5:40 am
You could sell the PDF version with special features, video clips, stuff like that, etc. You could even number each one, making them digital collector’s items. Registration to the original owner, with a centralized registry, could maintain the ownership lines of these digital collectors items. This would allow for legal backups, etc.
Then, you’d STILL be able to sell the book, cuz you’d be having DIFFERENT CONTENT. (Ever wonder why Star Wars was released in like 15 different versions over the years?? sheesh.).
The best part? They could FUND the publishing with the digital profits, since the digital distribution will cost pennies per release, vs dollars per book. They could EVEN reduce the cost, as an inducement/reward to those early adopters.
But then, they won’t, cuz they are dumb-asses.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
please explain how to make video clips of a newly-published book that hasn’t been filmed yet.
July 11th, 2005 at 11:31 pm
I am sure they could do things like have clips of behind the scenes type things, like they have on tv all the time.
July 12th, 2005 at 1:15 am
behind the scenes of WHAT? it’s a book, not a film. behind-the-scenes of the printing plant? what?
please explain how to make and include behind-the-scenes clips of a film that has not been made yet.
July 14th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
Try these, moron:
Author interviews
Fan interviews
Actor interviews
Director interviews
Movie clips from existing movies
Animated clips of scenes from the book
Audio version of author (or other) reading the book
I can keep going but I don’t want to waste anymore time on you.