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Originally Posted by nategesner
As for DRM, why don't they just assign a "license" to the individual, much like a driver's license, library card, social security number, etc. Every time the user makes a purchase, he is required to enter his individual user numer and the number is imbedded in the file. He also loads the number into his music player, book reader, etc. When the file license matches the player license, it functions.
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Unless I am mistaken, DRM is currently akin to Sony trying to do everything in a proprietary fashion (Betamax, minidisc, memory stick, etc.). I assume each different DRM implementation generates license fees for the owner of the DRM technology. An open standard means no, or greatly reduced, fees. DRM protects authors' and publishers' rights, but proprietary DRM only generates money for the license holder.
I'm still concerned about the longetivity of my ebooks. I have my father's collection of science fiction paperbacks from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Even though some of the older books now have brittle pages, I can still read all of them and will be able to do so thirty years from now. I doubt I'll be able to read any of my ebooks then, unless we have a common standard.