[WEB4LIB] Still More Copyright

[Lloyd Davidson]

At 14:38 03/21/2001 -0800, Dennis Moser wrote:


>NTK noticed this last December. "'Cannot be read aloud'? Look, it's not THE
>NECRONOMICON..."
>
>If I thought e-books were going to become wildly popular in the short term,
>I would worry about lots of beloved works disappearing from the public
>domain and being locked into private ownership like this.
>
>Since I don't feel that e-books like this are going to go anywhere, I'm not
>losing too much sleep over it.
> >

That is certainly true in the short run, but ebooks evince a creeping 
inevitability about them that will likely lead to their becoming 
ubiquitously owned devices within the next ten or so years.  What is 
holding them back at the moment is the lack of standards and a secure, high 
resolution, inexpensive reader.  While these are major obstacles, they are 
only technological in nature and will ultimately be overcome; probably 
sooner rather than later. When that happens, such units (probably as part 
of a general purpose device that includes a reader, phone, TV, and 
computer) will spread globally, in conjunction with the spread of wireless 
communication systems.  The attraction of being able to grab any reading 
material, from books to newspapers and magazines, at any time and from 
anywhere, will be a powerful incentive for their wide adoption, at least by 
those who can afford such connectivity.

Cheers,

Lloyd

(Your friendly prognosticator)