David H. Rothman writes “Libraries, beware. The Sony Reader in many ways shows signs of being Gemstar II, with its focus on a proprietary e-book format called BBeB. Libraries would do well to steer clear of the Reader unless Sony wises up. So confusing is the eBabel situation that both BusinessWeek and a Sony tech person screwed up on the issue of whether the Sony Reader can read DRMed PDF. It can’t–so you’re out of luck if you want to enjoy your existing “protected” books in that format.
More at TeleRead.
Reminder: I’m a ringleader of the OpenReader Consortium, which seek to raze the Tower of eBabel. OR welcomes library participation, especially in the standards-setting process.”
Not quite locked up
My understanding is that one can put their own documents, including PDFs of their own work or others, on the new device. So it’s not completely locked down.
I would be nice for them to offer support for an open format specifically for ebooks also, but it appears that the device will be compatible with various formats, instead of locked to a single proprietary one.
Re:Not quite locked up
“My understanding is that one can put their own documents, including PDFs of their own work or others, on the new device. So it’s not completely locked down.”
Thanks for your thoughts. As we know, most books that libraries use are DRMed. So, in that sense, the Sony Reader is very much locked up–just like Gemstar. Either go with Sony’s BBeB format for the books from big publishers or you’re out of luck. Custom content and public domain works have their place, via nonDRMed PDF, etc., but patrons want to read books from HarperCollins, Random House and the rest.
Bottom line: Libraries should tell Sony, “We already have DRMed Adobe, Mobipocket and the rest. Please don’t add to our problems. If you want a different format, then go with one that’s truly standards based.” The OpenReader standard will build on years of work by librarians and and publishers and others in the standards area. It could save millions. Librarians need to speak up and tell the vendors, “We’re sick and tired of the Tower of eBabel. We want a full-strength, versatile format that’s superior to the existing ones and standards-based.”