Re: Interesting approach to secure ebook--opinions sought

*** Margulis wrote:

Ralf,

Thanks for the thorough analysis. I'll pass your comments on to the developer and the author. Incidentally, what I had recommended was that the ebook be served by one of the commercial DRM outfits that are set up for just this purpose. Their methodology may not meet all of your objections either, but at least they don't rely on Flash.

With regard to the book we're dealing with, anyone who is stymied or annoyed by the way the ebook is provided can buy the paperback. And the risk of theft is minimal, given the content and the audience. So they author may decide to go ahead with the current plan regardless. But at least he'll be aware of the risks, thanks to you.

***

If it's only for *online reading*, seriously (!) think about HTML format. It's the most accessible and used by O'Reilly ("Safari" offer) and many other publishers for their online "books".

They do the security stuff with standard HTTP authentication, cookies, IP adress checks, all the conventional stuff.

They keep an eye on their logs to identify 'mass spider' acitivities. They don't have restrictions like: "don't print" etc. because the content is formatted for online reading (one page a section) and users typically don't spend half the day to print each one separately.

They have access restrictions at the book level, not per view, not per click.

This is the first serious 'pay-for-content' stuff that I use. Good accessible content with full-text search and stuff, no DRM sh*t.

Ralf
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