Slightly off topic - Ebooks

[Robert Krawitz]

   Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 11:09:03 -0500
   From: John Abreau <jabr-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org>

   On Sat, Feb 6, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Edward Ned Harvey <blu-Z8efaSeK1ezqlBn2x/YWAg at public.gmane.org> wrote:
   >> Counterexample: Baen releases its books in a variety of formats,
   >> including zip'ed HTML, but with no DRM of any kind.  And that includes
   >> a lot of back catalog, not just new releases.  Try
   >> http://www.webscriptions.com.
   >
   > Don't care about one counterexample.  It's barely significant, that is, if
   > the material is even copyrighted.  Show me Harry Potter, or Twilight, or
   > O'Reilly's IPv6 available publicly for free.  You can't because they won't
   > do it.  They would never allow that to happen because their livelihood
   > depends on the revenue.

   While you're technically correct that O'Reilly isn't giving away their
   DRM-free ebooks, that doesn't change the fact that they do indeed
   sell ebooks without DRM:

   http://oreilly.com/ebooks/

   """When you buy an ebooks thru oreilly.com you get lifetime access
   to the book, and whenever possible we provide it to you in four,
   DRM-free file formats — PDF, .epub, Kindle-compatible .mobi, and
   Android .apk ebook — that you can use on the devices of your
   choice. Our ebook files are fully searchable, and you can
   cut-and-paste and print them.  We also alert you when we've updated
   the files with corrections and additions. """

   Also, the books in Baen's free library are indeed copyrighted. Jim Baen
   persuaded the authors of those books to release them for free.

There are two issues here: free of charge and free of DRM.

Most if not all of the Baen catalog is released in electronic form,
and ALL of that -- no exceptions whatsoever -- is released free of DRM
in a variety of formats.  I always download them in zip'ed HTML, but
once you've bought them, you can download them in any of the supported
formats.

Baen also releases some books (with the author's permission) on its
free library, as John noted.  These books are free of charge, and some
of them are very good sellers, such as the first few _1632_ books.
For everything else, the first 20% or so of the book is free (beer).

They basically follow the "crack dealer" business model -- give you a
freebie and make you want to come back for more.