One of the biggest concerns when deciding which eReader to go with is the DRM. If you get a Kindle, then that means that you can’t read your purchases on a Nook, a Kobo, or pretty much anything else that happens to be competing with Amazon. The same is true of Barnes & Noble and, to a greater or lesser extent in varying ways, to everybody else. This isn’t news, and it isn’t necessarily a problem that can be addressed right now. The only way we’ll see a change is if somebody realizes that DRM-free eBooks are great enough to not cost publishers money. Not going to hold my breath there.
What happens when the Kindle moves on from its current, already somewhat dated, proprietary eBook format, though? We have to assume that the technology will evolve, as will the formats available, and that in time Amazon will want to give up on backward compatibility for their eReaders. Should we just assume that this is another opportunity for retailers to sell us yet another copy of our favorite things? That sort of logic annoyed me enough over the course of the VHS -> DVD -> BluRay cycle, especially since I got an HD-DVD player as a gift along the way. It doesn’t really fit with books in my mind. What we buy in an eBook is not necessarily analogous to video or audio. You don’t have to worry about reproduction quality in a text-based medium, generally. There is no reason, therefore, that we should have to repurchase our books, having acquired the digital copies once already.
Believing as I do on the topic, I wondered how to avoid the cycle. DRM is specifically meant to keep you from copying or converting what you purchase, after all. Theoretically, if your favorite platform dies off, you’re just out of luck. Realistically, though, why would a company move to a new format and DRM scheme? Generally, and call it cynical if you must, because the old one does not control customer interaction as well as it used to. Once the DRM can be casually broken, it isn’t worth using anymore. This line of thought led to an experiment.
Sure enough, all of the books I purchased from the old Sony Store when I first bought an eReader are still there. Even Sony doesn’t use BBeB anymore, though. A quick search provided me with details on how to remove the obsolete DRM and convert my old books into a Kindle compatible format. There are even scripts available that made the batch of just under 100 eBooks take just a few minutes. Sure enough, the text is the same as it would be if I bought the book again.
My advice to anybody who genuinely who is worried about their purchases being rendered obsolete is to think the problem through. Short of a complete end to the use of electronics, it is fairly clear that eReaders and Tablets aren’t going anywhere. So far none of them, as far as I know, has been audacious enough to suggest that you shouldn’t be able to side-load your own files onto your device. It probably wouldn’t go over well for whoever tried. Get yourself a Kindle, a Nook, or whatever suits you best. Make backups if you are afraid of the service just abruptly disappearing one day. Don’t worry too much about the end of the line for your chosen platform, though. There is always another one and it only gets easier to switch as time goes on.
Learn how to open BAK file.
Amazon.com helped kill DRM-free music a few years ago by offering unrestricted MP3s for download. (Walmart.com was the other coffin nail, though I don’t recall which came first.) Perhaps Amazon will begin to realize enough overall revenue from eBooks, perhaps with a big chunk from indie authors, to tell Big Publishing exactly where they can stick their DRM restrictions.
Isn’t the risk-avoidance option to hold everything in Caliber or something similar?