Ebooks: The File-Type Wars
The world looks at the struggle to create marketable e-books and portable reading devices as bad remake of the music industry’s recent battle between the iPod and .mp3s. When Apple’s iPod soared past .mp3 players in popularity, the highly protected .aac file became the industry standard for DRM-protected music with the .mp3 lagging behind as the favorite for ripped (and sometimes illegal) music. Apple obviously dominates the music industry’s distribution channels in ways that Amazon seems to be desperate to emulate and improve upon. But is one file format enough to satisfy a world of readers? Can one file format protect content yet allow users the rights they’re used to claiming with books?
The following page lists brief overviews of several existing file-types and the DRM associated with them.
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
- Allows file owners to protect .pdf files through…
- Password protection – limit opening, printing, or copying of content from PDFs; password must be supplied to user. Requires management of password for protection of file.
- Certificate protection – define several levels of access for users with a recognized certificate file on their computer; certificate files must be registered with document at time of publication, so these files must first be created then distributed to users. Requires management of certificates for protection of file.
- Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management – online, dynamic security protection. May require users to be online to unlock access to document. This will allow the content owner to allow or restrict access even after the file has been distributed.
- General pros
- Well-respected, well-documented program
- Readable on free Adobe Reader platform as well as several other reading systems
- Produces both unrestricted .pdf and restricted .pdf files
- Increased compatibility across mobile and pda platforms, including steps toward strong reformatting of line breaks
- General cons
- Password and certificate security requires micro-management on the part of the publisher
- ANYONE who has the right password or certificate can get into the .pdf
- LiveCycle is an extra cost beyond existing price of Adobe Acrobat 9
- .pdfs created in free programs don’t have same security settings availiable to users; Acrobat 9 required to establish settings.
- Final Thoughts: .Pdfs have been a publishing standard since the dawn of digitization, so it only makes sense that Adobe offers strong security standards and an interoperable file type. The security seems to be geared for business documents more than for ebooks, though developers can pursue a license with Adobe to build widgets and add-ons for customers that will impose independent DRM. Is .pdf the format we should stick with for the future of e-books? I’m holding out hope for something better.
Microsoft Reader (.lit)
- Another proprietary format, though less widely recognized as Adobe’s .pdf
- Many tools for optimization, none immediately identified for security
- Operates on PCs, Tablets, UMPCs, and Pocket PCs.
- Sends customers to OverDrive for DRM services
- hosts files in several formats including, but not limited to .lit
- offers distribution systems for finished files
- security settings not available for review, but are listed as “dynamic;” may be partly based in hosted-download, partly in file-type protections
- General Pros of .lit files
- Partially interoperable across Microsoft computing devices
- Well-respected company name
- Hosted on a common server with only 60,000 other books (good for publishers as books will be seen more easily)
- Good features for user: ClearType for excellent resolution, bookmarks, searching, annotations, highlight, rotate, resize
- General Cons of .lit files
- Not interoperable across non-Microsoft operating systems
- Currently only 60,000 books available (bad for user)
- Lack of internally supported security features surprising, considering Microsoft’s usually high end security measures
- General Pros of OverDrive DRM services
- supports a variety of file-types for text interoperability
- distribution system in place; also allows for self-distribution
- support for ecommerce
- General Cons of OverDrive DRM services
- Another service to purchase; another service to manage
- Unclear how DRM works from initial reviews, so it’s unclear how strictly content will be managed
- Final Thoughts: Microsoft obviously means well, but information is too scattered to really hone in on the benefits and strengths of the system (or even the weaknesses for that matter). Most importantly: there are still too many limitations of the operating systems on which the ebooks can be read. They’re obviously not a front player at this point in time.
Amazon Kindle (.azw)
- Proprietary format for Kindle-published books and the Kindle device only
- books must be accessed through Kindle to read
- no backups allowed on other machines (Amazon will keep purchase history)
- no copies, no sharing
- very strong user agreement to ensure safety from large-scale hacking and cracks
- Player capabilities regarded as strong
- Wi-fi connection and web browsing for immediate downloads
- annotations and text search with keyboard
- can resize text
- text-to-speech ready for some files
- natively handles .azw, .txt, .prc (Mobipocket), .axx, .mp3, and unprotected .mobi
- can support the following file-types after conversion to .azw: .pdf, .html, .doc, .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp
- multiple Kindles may be registered with the same Amazon account
- General Pros
- Online distribution giant (“everybody buys from Amazon” assumption is prevalent and not entirely unfounded)
- 300,000 Kindle e-books available (good for users)
- General Cons
- Strict publishing contract, through Digital Text Platform
- publisher gets 35%, Amazon gets 65% of all ebook sales
- Amazon can set retail price w/o consultation (publisher does supply suggested retail price, which must be on-par with all other digital book sales from publisher); this price control can skew both ebook and print book sales, discouraging customers from purchasing books at all
- Heavy-handed DRM frustrating to users and some publishers, limits the purpose and possibilities of ebooks in the name of better business
- Amazon has proven its willingness to enforce strong user agreements, at the detriment to users if necessary
- Closed-platform limits ability to develop and improve features (like .pdf reading which won’t be natively available until the new DX comes out)
- Strict publishing contract, through Digital Text Platform
- Final Thoughts: I can’t tell whether or not Amazon has the best intentions for either of its sets of customers: readers and publishers. Readers obviously do not fully own copies of the work they purchase. Publishers don’t truly control the text they agree to publish through Amazon. So who wins except Amazon? I have yet to see convincing evidence that the Kindle will be a lasting benefit to the publishing world, if only because the business model continues to be problematic.
EPub (.epub)
- A standardized file-type developed by the International Digital Publishing forum that seeks to be completely interoperable and accessible.
- Adobe ADEPT DRM developed to compliment .epub, but is not a native part of the format.
- Sony Reader, Cybook Opus and Adobe Digital Editions compatible; the Sony Reader PRS-700 and the iRex will also run ADEPT very soon
- integrates “seamlessly” with Adobe workflows, even though .epub is not an adobe controlled format
- Mobipocket is derived from .epub, and has its own individual DRM scheme.
- Non-DRM .epub files are supported on several portable readers including the CyBook Opus, the Hanlin eReader V3, the COOL-ER reader, the soon-to-debut Plastic Logic eReader (Barnes and Noble’s answer to the Kindle), the BeBook Reader, the ECTACO jetBook, and Android cell phones (running Aldiko, FBReader J, or WordPlayer).
- Non-DRM .epub files are also supported on several e-library and softwar programs including calibre, O’Reilly’s Bookworm, BookGlutton’s Unbound Reader, the FBReader, Stanza, and Mobipocket’s Reader Desktop.
- Generic Pros
- Largely interoperable across mainstream readers and software; most popular readers seem to be instituting new compatibility even prior to new hardware releases
- Standards provide a familiar base for reading across platforms
- Optional DRM allows companies and individuals to more organically push the market toward the more desireable choice for quality and affordability
- Non-proprietary format allows for more development and input from outside parties and interested individuals
- Generic Cons
- DRM capability still allows for visible “imperfections” and weaknesses as any DRM system is likely to be cracked eventually; whether this speaks poorly of .epub or not is largely up to the opinion of the user/publisher
- Not yet compatible with all popular readers, namely the Kindle
- Final Thoughts: This could be a true winner. No one company is invested in the success of this format because they spent millions developing it. No one company can control its standards or its possibilities. It may develop more slowly than needed over time–if only because changes developed by the working group may take longer to gain approval–but it may also make more liberal and groundbreaking strides than formats guided by corporate interests.
Mobipocket (.prc)
- Developed only a few years before being purchased by Amazon, Mobipocket developed one of only three derivations of .epub
- Provides a free desktop reader to PC users, as well as being compatible with the CyBook Opus, the iRex, the Hanlin eReader V3, the BeBook Reader, Blackberries, Windows Mobile Phones, Symbian O phones, and Palm PDAs and Phones.
- Provides wizards to individuals and publishers who want to provide their content in .prc format.
- Mobile readers software compatible with annotations, highlights, search, and several reflow and redesign preferences including hyphenation settings, color and font changes, full screen, and automatic scroll.
- The Mobipocket Reader Desktop includes library management tools, full search, annotation, highlighting, format customization, sync with the mobile version, personal publishing tools, and an online dictionary search.
- General Pros
- Conforms to .epub standards and provides strong authoring tools for publishers desiring DRM or an interface that makes .epub more affordable than InDesign and less time-consuming than hand coding
- Strong backing from Amazon
- Interoperable in many mobile devices with growing support
- General Cons
- Not operable on the Kindle, nor are Kindle books operable on the Mobipocket devices
- Just a little less versitile than .epub itself
- Competes directly with ADEPT (devices can’t run both DRM systems at once, it seems)
- Final Thoughts: A strong contender, but not as strong as .epub itself. With more support from Amazon–at least interoperable allowances between the Kindle and the Mobipocket Reader Desktop–support for this file-type would skyrocket. As it is, the free authoring and publishing tools are a big draw, especially for small to micro-publishers.
Broadband eBooks (.lrf, .lrx; aka BBeB)
- The Sony Reader proprietary format; it cannot be used outside of the Sony hardware and software
- Allows readers to resize, reflow, and rotate text, as well as insert bookmarks. The PRS-700 will also feature a virtual keyboard for annotation, search, and highlighting, so format must accept input by this stage.
- “Tens of thousands” of books availiable via Sony eBook Store; advertises one million public domain books available, but only as Google publishes them in .epub not BBeB.
- General Pros
- takes greatest advantage of Sony Reader, as it is its proprietary format
- General Cons
- entirely non-interoperable
- Final Thoughts: Compared to the rest of the formats, this seems like a bit of a laugh. The Sony Reader happens to be my preferred device, but not because of its proprietary format or its current offerings. I’m looking forward to the development of the platform itslef to accept ADEPT and .epub in the future, but BBeB is likely to fade slowly unless the Reader takes a huge step foward in market share.
Of course, a plethora of other formats exist, these just happen to be the front-runners. For more reading, click the linked format names below.
Check out Wikipedia for a more comprehensive comparitive list.
