Old-Fashioned DRM Protects Harry Potter Book 513
RMX writes "The Telegraph has a nice article
about the steps that Scholastic is taking to
protect the content of the print version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. They're delivering 10.8 million copies and need to ensure that this content isn't accessable by anyone before midnight. Technology includes high-tech (GPS to monitor delivery trucks progress and check that they did not deviate or stop.), low-tech (steel boxes & locks), social engineering notes (crates stacked up in the warehouses of delivery companies across America are marked: Please Do Not Open Before Midnight), and legal threats (As a final layer of security, booksellers have been forced to sign legal forms acknowledging that if they break the embargo, they will never again be supplied with a book by Scholastic). Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just used an E-book s with DRM.
I'm all for Harry Potter protecting his rights; but it seems we keep getting closer and closer to the world described in
Stallman's visionary The Right To Read article."
It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:5, Insightful)
If the publisher wants to save money, they can simply distribute the book like any other book. No one is forcing them to have an embargo until an exact time; they have chosen to do that on their own initiative. So if it costs them lots of money to enforce it, that's their own problem. Why would you want to encourage the publisher to use DRM? How do you think it benefits you as a reader? Or do you have some other hidden agenda?
I'm baffled. If you don't want that world, why are you suggesting that the publisher should use DRM? To prevent it, you should not ask publishers to use DRM, and avoid buying DRM'd products. If DRM'd products sell poorly compared to non-DRM'd products, the publisher's decision as to whether to use DRM will be easy.Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:4, Insightful)
Course, tinfoil hat sells better on slashdot, especially when sprinked with crappy RMS sci-fi (no seriously, it's terrible writing. Terrible.).
One point to remember, however, is that this money on extra security isn't being wasted. First of all, it decreases the chance that a pirated copy will hit the net before the books hit shelves nationally. The ONLY way potter will lose sales is if an advance copy hits the internet a few days before its for sale, and eager readers read the entire thing online, and then no longer see a point in reading it. Otherwise, the convenience of a book far outweighs the extra cost, and people will just buy the book over reading it on their monitor, especially kids.
Secondly, the extra security has gotten Rawlings front page articles on CNN, NYT, BBC, etc. etc. building up the book hype. A SoHo Potter celebration wouldn't make all these news sources; but coupled with the extra security, all the other potter crap gets free press too as article fluff. Just gotta be savvy when playing the game.
And others do the opposite... (Score:4, Interesting)
Or you can wait until November when it's available in print. The trick is that the download is an "Advance Readers Copy", which they say is unproofed and may change before final publication.
Translation: Buy this one because you can't wait, and then buy the "release" downloadable version in August, and then buy the hardback in November.
At least on the site they admit up front they're taking advantage of you. But either "pre-release" or "strict release", the idea is to drum up interest and business.
Re:And others do the opposite... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm almost ready to buy it now, just for that honesty.
I've bought a number of baen e-books, preceisly because they have no DRM. You can download them in RTF & HTML, for pete's sake! You can't get any less DRM than that.
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:3, Insightful)
It isn't DRM at all! I think you missed the statement that the 'D' in DRM means 'digital'? Please state what parts of Scholastic's activities are digital.
There is nothing in the book that prevents the buyer from scaning pages or uploading them either. The 'RM' barely fits as well, being 'rights management'. It is only an elaborate system to try to prevent the sale of a physical item before s
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:5, Insightful)
...
Student 1: The dining service hates the coffee house because it's competition. They'd love to shut it down.
Student 2: Yeah, that's so fascist.
Student 1: Where are we supposed get coffee when we're studying late? They close the dining hall at 7:30.
Student 2: Yeah, those fascists want us to buy all our food from them, but they can't be bothered to stay open when we need it.
Me (to student 2): What exactly do you mean by "fascist"?
Student 2: Well, you know, like fascist.
Me: What I want to know is, can you actually define the word "fascist"?
Student 2: ** nonplussed **
Student 1 (indicating Student 2): "Fascist" is anything he doesn't like.
...
Now, I'm really against fascism. Or at least I was pretty sure I was against it until my brother in law, who is a college professor and thus a professional sower of doubt, managed to undermine my confidence in my definition of fascism. After all, what would people like Mussolini or me know about fascism? We can barely define "semiotics". But I'll go out on a limb and say that despite my highly unscholarly view of what fascism is, I'm inclined to hate and despise it.
It also happens to be true I'd really get pissed off if I couldn't get a cup of coffee at 1AM in the morning.
And, if I'm brutally honest with myself, I'll have to admit it's more probable that I'd do something about the coffee house getting shut down than the country going fascist. I don't like believing this, but the truth is, we feel the loss of our comforts and pleasures keenly. Maybe not more keenly than the loss of our rights, but certainly more keenly about the erosion of our rights. That's what makes authoritarianism so insidious: they promise you it won't affect anything you want to do, they won't curtail your pleasures and comforts. If anything they promise to make you more comfortable and prosperous. Any pain that you might feel is in the fuzzy and undefined future. When the consequences become clear, it's too late. Fuzziness is key. You might not believe they can make the trains run on time, but if you don't see any real cost to yourself, you aren't going to be inclined to to stop them from trying.
For that reason, people like my friend Student #2 above are highly useful to the authoritarian. Consciously or not, they actually accept and promote the questionable premises the authoritarian wants to foist on the public. Suppose the premise is fascism is about efficiency and practicality. Most people would agree that it would be nice if the dining hall were open 24 hours, but don't think of it as a moral evil if it doesn't. They understand that if the dining hall were open 7x24, that the meal plans would be more expensive. It's something you can live with and work around. That's exactly what the fascist wants you to think about uniting the powers of the state and business so they can serve each other's interests: it's efficient and you can work around the downside. It's a double bonus: the more people who think A is like B, the more credible the idea feels. The fact that people who don't like B are nutjobs makes people who don't like A seem like nutjobs too.
The cumulative result of years of this is that, while we can all agree we hate and despise facism, we can't agree on what it is. So you can promote any piece of the facist agenda you want, so long as you don't actually call it fascism. If somebody else calls it "fascist", then so much the better: the term is so useless now that only political wackos use it.
We're pretty close to this point with attacks on freedom of expression. Choosing when to publish a book is not digital rights management. It's something that virtually everybody can agree is within t
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:5, Insightful)
With large volume books by big name authors (JKR is currently the biggest name out there right now), strict release dates are set to make sure that the giant suppliers (who pay more to get quicker shipping and more copies) don't snatch up the customers from smaller bookstores by having the book two to three weeks earlier than the smaller stores.
Basically, it's there to make sure that every bookstore has an equal chance to make a sale on a high-demand book. Normal books aren't like this: they just get put on the shelf whenever they arrive. You've got to be somebody BIG (we're talking multiple titles on the bestseller lists at the same time here) to earn the right to a release date.
I have friends who used to manage bookstores. That's why this is done. It's simply a way of leveling the playing field so that small stores can compete.
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:4, Interesting)
Do you really think publishers are worried about the plight of the little book store? if you do then I have some land to sell you. A laydown date ensures a smooth launch. Could you imainge the chaos if for example poter was released by book stores as it came in? A shipment comes in to one barnes and noble but not another, it'd be chaos and people would just give up and wait.
By your argument, why don't movie theaters just start playing movies the day the reel comes in (which is typically a couple of days before it airs) or why movies (dvds, etc) and games are released on specific days?
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, because if all the little book stores go out of buisness the publishers would be at the mercy of the few big bookstores and have to jump through hoops to get their books carried.
A diversified customer base is definatly in the interests of any supplier
By your argument, why don't movie theaters just start playing movies the day the reel comes in (which is typically a couple of days before it airs) or why movies (dvds, etc) and games are released on specific days?
I don't know about games but it would be a lot harder for a theatre to quietly show a movie a couple days early. As it happens another poster mentioned with movie rentals (a better analogy) this apparently happens a lot.
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:5, Interesting)
It's all about revenue. By having a well publicised street date, they create a false scarcity and a sort of frenzy in the consumers (not the readers -- the consumers, the people with the money). The consumers know they can't get it until whatever date, and when that date comes, they jump on it and pay their 30 bucks for the hardcover. Without the artifical frenzy of the street date, they might not buy the hardcove the day it comes out. They might not buy it at all. They might go for the trade or - god forbid - the mass market paperback. Worst of all, they might borrow it from a friend! Imagine that, all that enjoyment without paying Big Media a dime. It's criminal! Don't even get me started on libraries. Little pinko Bolshevik communes, every one.
Protexting the small bookstores might be a nice thing for the publishers to talk about -- it makes the proles feels fuzzy inside -- but if it wasn't for the fact that they can make twice as much at Barnes & Noble by having a big, hyped midnight release like Revenge of the Atttack of the Phanton Clones, they wouldn't be doing it. Fuck the small retailers. If doing a big release meant twice as much BN revenue and the smaller bookstores had to sell their children to stay in business, they'd still do it.
It's not about small bookstores. I doubt JK's publishers gave them a second thought. It's revenue. And it's not revenue from Fran's Book Barn, either.
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyhow, I have to agree. By pushing not only a big new release, but also a date around this release, you build up a lot of anticipation. By doing this, the marketing people can ensure all the hardcore fans are all lined up at once, buy the book right away, and start blathering to friends about how they should read it soon. The previous big date and single release time will more then likely generate news coverage, and the person being
half right (Score:4, Insightful)
Anticipation yes, restricted supply no. They get as many books out there as they can, so they're not playing the whole "beanie baby" trick where you sell someone a piece of shit, but they want it because it's "rare." Scholastic gets as many copies of HP in stores as they can. In fact, one reason they choose the date is because they *don't* want a restricted supply issue - they don't want either 1) pirates or 2) stores who get the book first to have an advantage.
They want supply to go from 0 to near infinite immediately, so everyone can get a book, pirates have no mathod of making money, and they don't have to play favorites as to which stores get the book first. That way no one gets pissed off.
This is a big event for young people (Score:5, Insightful)
A new Windows release midnight sale is just a dud fest for insomniac nerds. But a new Harry Potter release is a big event for young people, bigger than Christmas. For most suburban 12 year olds, it's the first time being at public gathering late at night outside their home. They probably won't be downtown again after midnight until they're old enough to sneak into clubs with fake ID.
So what's to stop a 1000+ people... (Score:3, Interesting)
Then what, by 12:15, the book is electronic and free on the net. What was that about DRM?
I wonder if something like that could be pulled off, and just how quick everyone of those posters would receive their legal notices. Yikes! =8^O
Well, screw it, Amazon is delivering my copy, and it's hiding away till my kids birthda
Re:It's not DRM, nor would I buy it if it was. (Score:4, Insightful)
None of the measures given in summary have anything to do with DRM or keeping the book from being read. They are about keeping the book from being sold before the release date set by the publisher. A bit like movies usually open in multiple theaters simultaneously.
The book in question is a paper edition, so why did the summary mention Digital Restrictions Management ? And what was that nonsense about "Harry Potter protecting his rights" - was this entire article a troll ? Or is someone trying to discredit Stallman's "The Right to Read" (mentioned in the summary) by getting it connected with this kind of nonsense ?
So yeah, this is bullshit - from Slashdot, not Rowling :).
Now lets see how many times this story, which is libelous (talking about DRM where there is none) bullshit and not related to technology in any way, gets reposted.
They shoulda used... (Score:5, Funny)
inanicus librarius!
Baloney (Score:2, Insightful)
I have another idea (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I have another idea (Score:2, Insightful)
I think not there is a machine to run and it all leaves the station on the same day.
Re:I have another idea (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I have another idea (Score:3, Insightful)
Customers practicing something called self-restraint [reference.com] would also acheive this. But no, it's much better to have customers need publishers to stop themselves from being screwed over.
Adults are able to control their desires to a degree, and not need something as soon as it's available. Creating an artificial release date is just silly, and if it truly is
Re:I have another idea (Score:2)
Why not?
Hell, they should do that themselves!
Anyone stupid enough to pay 10x as much to read the exact same content 12-40hrs earlier... Well, I think an old adage about a fool and their money applies here.
Now, someone else's point about merchandising opportunities seems quite a lot more likely. This has nothing to do with making it fair to all the happy little Harry P fans, and everything to do with not undercutting the massiv
What's wrong with price gouging? (Score:2)
Seems like a very nice way to get a little additional revenue & a lot of extra profit.
And before complaining that this isn't fair to poor people, please consider that this is exactly the same as what they do when they sell a hardcover first and a paperback later.
Street Dates are Important... (Score:5, Insightful)
They're trying to prevent two things:
1) Price gouging..."yeah, you can buy it 3 days early, it'll only cost you 10 extra dollars!"
2) Retailers who get the books earlier from having an unreasonable advantage over those that don't. This often translates to large retailers versus small retailers...Target already has an advantage on price, now imagine if they also had it on the shelves 2 or 3 days early.
Street dates are nothing new, and certainly not a bad thing. This has been an accepted practice on movies, music, and books for quite some time, long before Harry Potter was ever concieved. When you're releasing something like a book or a movie to thousands upon thousands or retailers, it's impossible to get it to all of them the same day...street dates are established so the item appears on everybody's shelves at the same time, thus promoting fair competition.
We do like fair competition here, right?
Re:Street Dates are Important... (Score:5, Interesting)
Books generally don't recieve this kind of attention, because there isn't that much marketing associated with them. However, you have probably known the street date for movies or music you've bought (assuming you buy these things) even if you didn't realize it. Street dates for movies are well advertised, especially big releases. And that "this item won't be released until" notice you see on Amazon.com is also letting you know the street date. The only reason you are seeing this with Harry Potter is because of the large popularity of the book...the concept is nothing new. Walk into a Barnes and Noble and look around...you'll see signs posted announcing the street dates of various upcoming books. The only reason it doesn't make news is because nobody cares...they aren't as popular as Harry Potter.
The publishers did not create the frenzy on this on, sorry to say. The customers did. And they are only enforcing their release dates this strictly because the more popular the item, the more likely the street date will be broken.
This whole schmegegy has little to nothing to do with fair competition, but a whole lot to do with marketing, drumming up the fervor of the torch and pitchfork bearing mob that makes it appear the security measures are necessary in the first place.
I can say it is very much about fair competition. Think of it this way...do you think that Harry Potter would sell that many less copies if a few stores sold it a day or two early? I don't. So it does NOT affect the publisher. But by enforcing a release date they can protect themselves against accusations of favoring one chain of bookstores over another, for instance, because they got their copies first and it gives that bookstore an unfair advantage.
You may or may not have ever worked in retail, so this might seem like it's a new thing to you. I was once manager of a Blockbuster Video (evil bastards that they are). We would sometimes get movies as much as a week before their release date. But our agreement with distributors forbade us from displaying them until the official release date. Not only did we honor that, but at random we would actually send employees to other stores to make sure that nobody else broke street date either.
Again, street dates and the strict enforcement of them are nothing new. The advertisement of them is nothing new either. Walk into any video store (and even many bookstores, as mentioned) and you'll see posted the dates of upcoming releases. The only reason this is news at all is because of the gigantic popularity of the Harry Potter book that's coming out. And that buzz was _not_ created by the publisher for the release of this book...it was created by the widespread popularity of the previous books. The Harry Potter books are as popular as many blockbuster movies, and they are being treated as such. I personally find it uplifting to see a book getting this kind of treatement; I had long since gave up and figured that most people in the US were just illiterate.
Already Redundant but... (Score:5, Insightful)
There is no "Digital" in PRINT books.
ARGGGGHHH! Please Mr. Submitter, know the terms you are using. Yes DRM is bad, but the first DRM I am aware of is floppy disks with copy protection. That's the oldest there is, everything else before that was just "rights management".
Re:Already Redundant but... (Score:2)
And all are just simply, "restrictions."
Re:Digital != binary (Score:2)
As for the DRM - there are perfectly good equivalents. Haven't you seen the 60's Bond movies? Where the messages *always* selfdestruct? :)
Re:Digital != binary (Score:2)
Don't give the MPAA and RIAA any ideas please. Can you imagine what the next home rental media will look like if they read that!
Re:Digital != binary (Score:2)
Red paper? (Score:2)
As an additional layer of security, why not print the books with black ink on red paper so that most photocopiers cannot read them?
Re:Red paper? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Red paper? (Score:2)
Some would disagree
Re:Red paper? (Score:2)
This person [lasttrumpe...stries.org] would disagree.
Re:Red paper? (Score:5, Informative)
Tell that to the fundamentalists who burn Harry Potter books and try to get them banned from school and public libraries. Witchcraft and wizardry are prohibited by scripture, and the Harry Potter series paints such occult pursuits not only in a positive light, but places people who practice these evil arts in the role of hero and role model.
I'm not saying I agree with that point of view. But in some people's minds, Harry Potter is closer to Satan's Bible than you may realize.
- Greg
Re:Red paper? (Score:2)
Then I couldn't read them!
Perhaps it's a color blindness thing, but the worst thing in the world for me to read is black text on red paper, or visa versa.
I've got an even better security measure. (Score:2)
Don't print them at all.
Er? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Er? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think that the author JK Rowlings [forbes.com] would beg to differ with you.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Correction. (Score:2)
Security at the press (Score:3, Funny)
Counter Charm (Score:3, Funny)
-Peter
What's with the allusions and conspiracies? (Score:5, Insightful)
What exactly is wrong with protecting your product? In a world of rip-offs and general immorality it's not very uncommon for products to be ripped off before release, or stolen from trucks/docks/etc
I myself know of workers who admit to stealing the cargo they're supposed to be loading.
There's a lot planned around the time release of the product, and realistically while they are securing to get the biggest "bang" for their own bucks, the publisher is also making things more fair for the distributers by ensuring that everyone gets the same release date, and thus no one store can steal the business from others early
Re:What's with the allusions and conspiracies? (Score:2)
Seriously though, I think you are right on the money. This is simply about making a dramatic release for a very popular book and cashing in as much as possible on the current hoopla about it. I really don't see why this is such a bad idea. Hell, even Dickens had a lot of hoopla about his latest releases. And, as others have pointed out, it is a print book. Once it is releas
This is idiotic. (Score:5, Insightful)
I read that essay and this has nothing to do with it--and everything to do with a company trying to keep up the suspense of a massive bestseller right until the publishing date. And then after that all the locks go off and this will be distributed just like any other book.
Re:This is idiotic. (Score:2)
Well, I suppose that they get lots of press out of it.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:ahh.. no.. (Score:2)
I imagine if they decided to watermark the papers with faces of presidents that closely resemble that on currency so to trip anti-counterfit measures in some scanners and printers that it could be called DRM after a fashion.
If they did this, I wonder what effect the fundimentalists who burn Harry Potter books.
Sorry (Score:4, Insightful)
Thomas Jefferson said it best:
Jumping on the bandwagon (Score:5, Insightful)
Shameful.
Re:Jumping on the bandwagon (Score:2)
Re:Jumping on the bandwagon (Score:3, Funny)
This is a good troll (Score:2)
Re:This is a good troll (Score:2)
Whew I just made my first Slashdot bashing post. Feels good!
Huh? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not digital rights management, because there's no digital product being managed.
Also, putting a sign up is not social engineering as others have pointed out. As the word "engineering" implies, usually more thought and cleverness is required before people consider something to be social hacking or social manipulation.
Actually, it is (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Absolutely correct.
To qualify as "social engineering" the sign would need to be misleading such as:
"DANGER Do Not Open, Contains Ebola Virus!"
Of course then there might be a problem getting people to open the boxes after the release date too.
Release Dates. (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason you have release dates is so that ALL dealers have a chance to sell the book. Otherwise the stores with better distribution systems would get it in stock first, while the others would have to wait.
Then the publisher would have to worry about which store to ship to first, because the first store who receives it has a massive sales boost.
Eventually, every small bookstore goes out of business.
This whole submission makes no sense. It has nothing to do with DRM.
Re:Release Dates. (Score:5, Interesting)
This is also the reason many home video arms of the studios have "street dates" for video releases. Right after college, I temped in various studios in Los Angeles. One interesting job was calling up video stores that had "broken street" (started selling or renting a video before the authorized date), getting the manager on the phone, and then transferring them to a mid-level Disney exec, who would reduce them to jello.
What was interesting, though, was the water cooler talk. If Costco or Walmart broke street, they didn't get the intimidating phone call. While the little guys couldn't afford to lose Disney, Disney couldn't afford to lose Costco and Walmart.
- Greg
Re:Release Dates. (Score:3, Interesting)
It has gone even further than that.
Best Buy gets to "break street date" by a couple of months on such series as: Battlestar Galactica [tvshowsondvd.com] and Space: Above and Beyond [tvshowsondvd.com] and charge full MSRP too -- why wouldn't they when they don't have to worry about competition for months?
Re:Release Dates. (Score:2)
Eventually, every small bookstore goes out of business.
Or they could, of course, adapt to the situation and offer services that the big chains don't (such as stocking books from smaller publishers that the big chains won't stock by default).
Despite what you read on slashdot, creating ar
I want PAPER (Score:4, Interesting)
Anyway, DRM based on a "do not read before" timestamp would be hard to effect. It would require that any reader be set with an unhackable internal clock that knows the time zone the reader is in, otherwise people could circumvent the "do not read before" settings rather handily.
I think the argument here is a bit difficult to support.
- Greg
Re:I want PAPER (Score:2)
It would require that any reader be set with an unhackable internal clock
https://time.gov/ [time.gov] anyone? (No, the link doesn't work ... yet.)
that knows the time zone the reader is in
The author lives in UK, so use UK time (which during the summer is not GMT [wikipedia.org]).
Re:I want PAPER (Score:2)
So you would have every ebook reader contain an internal atomic clock? Or would you have them connecting to a central server to synchronize their time?
Option 1: The screen wouldn't be the only thing glowing after a while.
Option 2: Not necessarily unhackable, and additionally gives rise to huge privacy concerns. My reading material should not be connecting to government entities for any reason. It shouldn't be connecting to private commercial entities. The connection alo
Ebooks?? (Score:2)
But seriously, I don't think ebooks have a hope of getting further than they have so far. I'm not saying that the book as we know it will never change, because they have (though extremely little in many centuries. Stone tablets to scrolls to bound books to printed books.) Reading on a screen will simply
Wouldn't it be better... (Score:2)
Why? (Score:2)
Are parents really going to line up at midnight to buy a kids book? Why bother? the kid should be in bed at that time anyways.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are parents really going to line up at midnight to buy a kids book? Why bother? the kid should be in bed at that time anyways.
You're kidding, right? For the last few books' midnight release dates, the lines have looked like the childrens' version of all of the l00sers lining up for Windows 95 oh-so-many years ago.
Any parent whose kid is THAT eager to read a book--any book--should be encouraged, even if it's staying up late on a summer night. Beats the hell out of them staying home playing GTA or something else equally mind-numbing.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
did you seriously post that? Yes.. those darn fat unhealthy book worms. Kids shouldn't be allowed to read or even be excited about books. Shame on those uneducated book readers!!!
Oh.. and smarty pants.. it's "more important than" Not then.
seriously, perhaps if you read more you would know this.
i couldn'
That's fine... (Score:2)
Oops, these laws are garbage. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Oops, these laws are garbage. (Score:2)
Nice try, but it isn't quite that bad in the book industry. Authors do actually get a percentage of books sold. They get an advance, which is sort of a loan. The company keeps track of how much money is made and the author's percentage of it. If the author's share exceeds the advance, then he'll start getting checks. The advance is partly the publishers guess on how much the author's share will be, so it's unlikely for the author to get more. This is of course for medium-s
Holy ... (Score:2, Funny)
Has Steve Jobs taken up a position at Scholastic?
Thought he was the only man to go to such extremes.
-c
Why ? (Score:2)
Oh, I remember: last time, there were pirated copies in print before the official one came out. I guess this is just their overreaction to that.
Still, it sounds like a way to generate false interest. Rather than just saying, "Hey, we've got a great book coming out!", they go to all this trouble (and make sure everyone even the slightest bit interested in Harry Potter knows about it).
But don't worry, (Score:2)
Point Missed (Score:5, Informative)
Out of Touch with Reality? (Score:5, Funny)
Just a little nit to pick but... uhm you see Harry Potter is a fictional character. J. Rawlings in the author of the Harry Potter books and she is protecting her rights. Now as to Richard Stallman being real or a work of visionary fiction, well, that is a moot point.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.... (Score:5, Insightful)
The point of the embargo is so that if store A gets the book three days before store B they don't mark it up by 200 percent.
Now eBooks, more importantly DRM ebooks - there is some serious erosion of rights.
With the physical book I can read it, then I can give it to others to read. It is really a hell of an investment. What $25 - $30 and the usefulness is unlimited when you consider that once it is bought there is no limit to the number of individuals that can read it.
But the entire point of DRM eBooks is to force the public to purchase one book per reader.
I stand behind Scholastic on this one.
Besides, you are talking bad about Harry Potter. Rowling deserves a medal. She has written a series of books that CHILDREN WANT TO READ. That is so cool.
Re:Stupid, stupid, stupid.... (Score:3, Insightful)
My youngest daughter started reading the books when the third one came out, is now 16 and can't wait for book 6. She even got my wife and I to read them, along with her older sisters. Not a bad story at all, and yes Rowling deserves a medal for getting a large par
Timothy, or Katz? (Score:2)
Submitter is an idiot. Scholastic is right. (Score:3, Insightful)
I fully support Scholastic's decision to take what steps are necessary to try to ensure that everyone gets an equal shot at reading the book before it gets spoiled all over the press.
It is too bad that they need to do all of these things to give everyone an equal shot, but that is hardly Scholastic's fault. If they didn't take these measures, we would be calling them morons for not taking reasonable precautions. In fact, they would probably get their asses sued off by unhappy readers.
Mind-blowing (Score:2)
Hey, here's an idea! (Score:5, Insightful)
Think how much cheaper and easier it would be if they just shipped it out like other books and didn't fucking worry about it.
Naww, crazy idea, don't know what came over me!
No, it doesn't (Score:5, Insightful)
No, they want a big release. Since when has building up a little anticipation been a crime? Scholastic is enforcing this in a fine fashion. They are stepping on nobody's rights, all they said is "if you mess this up for us, we're not doing business with you again.".
Non sequitur (Score:5, Insightful)
After you buy the book, your rights are the same as with any other book.
Your rights are not being infringed upon.
There is nothing to see here.
Have a nice day.
It's Your Fault. (Score:3, Insightful)
Create and/or participate in a non-commercial culture if this stuff bothers you.
Well, um, who gives a fuck? (Score:4, Insightful)
She wouldn't be a millionaire with e-books (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, except that e-books are only used by a small and to my mind somewhat confused micro-minority, and for good reason -- you are not going to sell 500 trillion of them, or whatever the number is they are aiming for this Harry Potter (full disclosure: I have the whole series, too). E-books are a pain to read in the sun, are a risk to read in the bathtub, can't be dog-eared (my book, my rules), won't survive having your backpack thrown in your locker, writing a note on the second page when you give them to your kid sister is sort of hard, and you can't include them in your Delicious Library [delicious-monster.com], just to name a few real-life problems. In other words: E-books are good for the publishing company, but not for the customer.
I would like to predict they are going to die like web push technology. But unfortunately, capitalism in the 21th Century is not about what the customer wants, it is about what big multinationals can get away with. When you buy an e-book, you are helping them screw you. If you want a tech toy to look cool, get a frigging iPod, that's what they are there for. But please don't support the attempt to kill something that has served the human mind for more than 2000 years.
If I ran a book shop (Score:4, Interesting)
2. sign legal document declaring they will never give me any more books if i break the contract
3. start massive advertising (pre-planed) campaign: Internet, tv, driving a van around with a poster and megaphone all within minutes of getting the book in stock
4. offer the books to the absolute highest bidders, take advantage of rich kids, yank the prices up as high as they can possibly go.
5. Call up scholastic say: "If you want me to stop selling these books I will sell you my remaining stock.. for a fee, and even give you a list of people I sold them to."
6. Proffit
This isn't real DRM, and it certainly isn't to stop piracy, this is just their hype machine and if you play it right you can make some serious profit off it and probably quite legally except for that pesky civil court.
Re:If I ran a book shop (Score:4, Funny)
I'd just turn up at the back of the crowd somewhere with a digital camera taking pictures of all the spoilt brats screaming at their parents at 1am, when they finally decide to give up queuing.
All the more fun if it's pouring with rain then also...
From my customer: (Score:3, Informative)
Dear Bookseller,
Now that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is arriving or has already arrived in your warehouses and stores, and especially with the weekend before the release upon us, we want to ask your continued vigilance in maintaining the highest level of security around the books. We do not want any "spoilers" to change the readers' experience of the new book!
We ask that you confirm that all procedures are in place and, in particular, that the following steps are implemented
* Insure the product is segregated from all other stock
* Insure all security measures are in place in all stages of the process, and that access to the product and processing areas are appropriately restricted
* Insure your entire staff is aware of the restrictions that are in place
* Particularly over the weekend, insure appropriate staff, including security personnel, are on site
* We recommend you implement, if you haven't already, the following in the secured staging areas and communicate this to your employees: no cell phones or recording devices and no lunch boxes or coolers, only clear bags
* Please contact us prior to any communication with the media or other third parties, concerning your operations and security
We greatly appreciate your cooperation and look forward to a successful launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on July 16th for all booksellers!
Sincerely,
Scholastic Sales Management
Idle Threats (Score:3, Informative)
Re:and who cares? (Score:2)
A bunch of monkeys using Apple computers could write better Shakespeare than this. Of course, if they were using PCs, they could make William Shatner look good.
Re:No DRM = more readers (Score:2)
Here's one publisher [silverlakepublishing.com] that understands this (and one publisher that will see more business from me because of this). Not everyone is trying to screw you over. Much as in the music industry, small publishers/small time authors do understand that not screwing over customers is important.
Re:Stallman a visionary?? RMS factoid/defense (Score:3, Interesting)
Tell that to the MacArthur Fellowship people.
They gave RMS one of their 'genius grants' back in 1990.
Strange, a year later, Linus Torvalds began work on the software kernel that 'bears' his name.
Is he a crackpot too?
IBM doesn't think so. They invested heavily in Linux making it more that some obscure 'hobby OS'.
Then there is '(Ex) Chairman Bill' who happened to be at the right place at the right time and made the 'deal of a lifetime' at the dawn of th
Re:Potter To The Sheeple (Score:3, Interesting)