Life in the Electronic Age

E-books are a wonderful idea. It’s easy for anyone to get published…which also means it’s easy for anyone to get published, even people who have no idea what they’re doing, but that’s not what I’m here to complaintalk about. This time. No. Rather, the wonderfulness of being able to carry around a thousand books in a e-reader, often (but not always, yet another digression) purchased more cheaply than a print edition, is offset by the fact that you’re buying that copy of the book only for that particular e-reader. Legally, you can’t transfer it to another tablet/computer. Ever. Even if your old one is woefully out of date, you can’t download your purchased e-copies to your new model.

It’s called DRM—Digital Rights Management. It’s designed to protect media producers, whether they be writers or musicians or whatever, making it illegal for you to purchase something and then email it to all your friends so they have copies they didn’t pay the artist money for. In theory, it’s a good idea. Having an e-copy isn’t like purchasing a book in the store. If you loan that out, the person probably isn’t going to spend six hours at a copier to make their own book they didn’t have to pay for. Until DRM came along to lock it out, copying an e-book was just as easy as hitting Ctrl-V.

The only thing is, now you can’t even transfer it among your devices, or give your copy away. I get that piracy is a bad thing and is difficult to deal with, but in an age where computers and game systems last maybe five years before the new model is announced, it’s unfair to consumers to have to trash all their previous purchases if they want a new device. It’s especially sucky when Apple has been accused of price gouging with e-books and the new Xbox One won’t be backwards compatible.

Sadly, this isn’t going to change anytime soon, and things will probably grow more restrictive. Say goodbye to copying songs from your laptop to your desktop to your new laptop. If you break your e-reader, you break however many books you bought with it. Oh, and in the United States it’s illegal to try and get around a DRM scheme (seriously, that’s what they’re called). So have fun with that.

The Case of Paper v Ereader

A comment by Liz got me thinking: which is better, reading a paper book or using an ereader? Yes, you can say “Oh, but both have advantages and drawbacks, it all depends on your taste” etc. etc. But that’s a cop out for those not willing to relentlessly analyze everything to the point that it’s no fun for anyone anymore.

Ereader

Pros

---Usually, books are cheaper.

---More environmentally friendly.

---Does not need external light source.

---Can store thousands of books in one easy to move tablet.

---More durable for small things, like spills.

Cons

---The books that aren’t cheaper are usually the most popular ones, and they’re ridiculously overpriced. JK Rowling.

---Can run out of power.

---Format incompatibilities.

---People will steal tablets.

---No autographed copies.

---The light of electronic screens tends to make it difficult to sleep afterwards.

---Can lose thousands of books if something happens to tablet.

Paper books

Pros

---Generally induces fewer headaches.

---No power requirements.

---People rarely steal books.

---Less worries about breaking it.

Cons

---Usually more expensive.

---Not all books are out in paper.

---Harder to transport a thousand paper books than one ereader.

---Can rip pages or spill.

Do you have any pros or cons to add to either side? Also stay tuned for next week, when I try to coax people into rating said pros and cons because that’s just what I’m like.