Ted » DRM doesn’t work for books either, as Adobe demonstrates

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06 Jan 2008Technology

DRM doesn’t work for books either, as Adobe demonstrates

I love the library. It is so convenient for regular books. They also have this cool digital collection, which takes a little getting used to, with all the hoops and all, to get materials. In the end, it has been worth it. But now?

The saga started when I placed a hold on an electronic book I had previously checked out successfully, using a combination of the Library’s web site and regular old Adobe Reader.

This time, though, they’ve added a new piece of software to the mix - “Adobe Digital Editions.” No big deal, except for a few red flags, namely that the software doesn’t install where it’s supposed to, in the Applications folder. What you get in the Applications folder is an alias to the software, which has been placed somewhere else on your hard drive. Nice and standard (not really). The application is bare bones, with a different UI from Acrobat, and not much help. Okay, so onward.

It’s not entirely clear what to do next, but I download a file (is it the book, or just a ticket to get the book? It doesn’t say). The file downloads and I’m asked to pick an app to open it with, so I go for digital editions. And then…DRM error. I go back and repeat the process - maybe I should have chosen Adobe Reader? Another DRM error. Maybe my digital editions software is not up to date (there’s an arcane reference to this in one of the errors). Can’t download it, “page not found.”

On the final attempt to get it from the Library to try again, error on the library side. Even though the book is checked out to me, too many attempts.

I understand the theory behind Digital Rights Management (DRM) in this setting. At this point, it’s more convenient to just go to the library and pick up the book physically and read it whenever and wherever I want.

Wait a minute, isn’t DRM failing in another consumer industry, too? Obviously, there are a lot more important things in the world to focus on, but as a huge fan of the libraries, I think a concerted effort should be made to have books as accessible as possible to the public. In essence, we are denying this vital resource to those who need it most.

Screen shot - cavalcade of convenience (click any to enlarge)

First Screen - Adobe Digital Editions - Click on Download now

Second Screen - Download means clicking on this image

Which took you back to the first screen, and then this

Going back to try and download - no luck

Popularity: 12%

Matt - 06 Jan - 10:09 am,

Plays For Sure ™

John Dowdell - 06 Jan - 5:06 pm,

Hi, so you saw an error message? Do you remember its actual full text, and have you been able to successfully view free downloadable books in Adobe Digital Editions?

(nb: I’ll keep this browser window open as long as the browser is, but apologies in advance if it crashes. Depending on what the actual error message was, system config info might be useful.)

jd/adobe

Ted - 06 Jan - 5:29 pm,

Hi John from Adobe! Thanks for your help. I don’t have the option of opening this book anymore because the library site says “bad request.” I’ve e-mailed them about this.

I have read books successfully (this very same one, as a matter of fact) using this software.

When I try to go to the Adobe Digital Editions site to download a “sample book” - I get caught in the loop presented above - which ends up at a page that doesn’t exist.

I recommend you try to do this yourself so you can experience it.

I am on Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.1).

John Dowdell - 06 Jan - 9:11 pm,

Thanks for the word, Ted, and I’m sorry for the hassle.

I’m not sure how I can help right now, with the info we have, but I’ll make sure others inside Adobe read of your unhappy experience here.

(I came into Adobe from Macromedia, and from what I see of the entire effort here, we want to make publishing “just work”, and part of that is in offering encryption options to content producers. But this can’t be at the expense of content consumers! I’m sorry you lost time on this, but I see a commitment inside Adobe to getting things right, if that personal context is of help.)

jd/adobe

Ted - 07 Jan - 4:58 am,

Hi John,

Thanks for dropping by to take a look, and I understand if it’s beyond what you can do to fix things right now.

This experience has seemed very “un-Acrobat” like, which is really about simplicity. It seems that some other processes /interests have gotten in the way to make this over-engineered and ultimately unusable. About a year ago, digital downloads used to open right into Adobe Acrobat (albeit requiring an Adobe Digital ID, which I don’t think is confidence inspiring if the public library is the license holder).

My 2 cents is that if you really want this to take off, to be the norm for people getting access to content that they wouldn’t be able to afford or otherwise access, you should look at other industries where DRM is falling by the way side in the interest of bringing critical mass to the legal use of content.

Like the overwhelming majority of people, I want to pay for good content (and in this case, I am, through my taxes). I don’t want to pay for content I can’t use.

My concern is that even if Adobe wants to make it right - your status as the “middle person” is at cross purposes to doing so.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

In the meantime -> back to regular books.

John Dowdell - 08 Jan - 2:09 am,

If you don’t like the choices made by your local government’s book-lending service, then getting involved with your local library might help change that decision.

The management of rights and permissions over digital files is intrinsic to privacy. Copyright may need to change, but each person should have access to encryption and other means of protecting the bits they create.

Ted - 08 Jan - 7:48 am,

Hi John,

I think there’s a misunderstanding of my points above.

1. Other industries are learning a different lesson, and are adapting accordingly. Look at iTunes. No DRM’d files anymore. I respect that work no less than the previous DRM versions. DRM doesn’t work.

2.The choice made by my library is to use a product that Adobe has developed. I am happy to speak with them about this. I thought by following the dead link on your Web site to report the problem, that it might be a way for Adobe to participate in improving the customer experience . That is, of course, a choice for Adobe to make.

In the meantime, my experience is what it is, for others to look at and make up their mind.

Matt - 08 Jan - 9:39 am,

John,

I’d also like to point out that “management of rights and permissions over digital files is intrinsic to privacy” argument is propaganda straight from the mouth of Bill Gates. When people bring up the fact that music DRM is bad, Bill Gates asks them if they want their medical records open to the public. This is the same fear your trying to make Ted feel.

We’re not talking about privacy here, were talking about books from the _public_ library. Nothing about Ted’s “privacy” is at risk in this situation and certainly nothing that’s “protected” by DRM. The only thing at very minor risk is the profits of copyright holders. And Ted is saying that there’s more risk to them when using DRM because people, including Ted, will go elsewhere.

DRM is not about privacy. Encryption may at times be about privacy, but we already have a word and tools for that and none of them involve the term DRM.

Ted - 09 Jan - 5:38 am,

A little update on this. I think the library reset the download, and I was able to get the actual error, here it is:

Adobe DRM Error
System: 5
State: 4
Class: 800
Code: 6
Message:

Adobe DRM client Error: 806
Local voucher engine error:
VE error code 6
Requested URL: http://207.54.136.76/fulfill/ebx.etd ?action=lend &orderid=XXXXXXXXX &bookid=ContentReserveID:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

— end —

I’ve removed the order ID and Content Reserve ID (I can’t tell what personal info is contained in them), but can furnish them to anyone.

I tried redownloading Acrobat 8.1.1, and attempting to download DigitalEditions, no luck on Acrobat, and the Digital Editions download goes to a dead link.

Mauricio - 13 Feb - 1:36 pm,

I got exactly the same error. Any update about this issue ??

Ted - 13 Feb - 2:23 pm,

Hi Mauricio,

Not that I can tell. I sent a note off to the public library and have received no response. I downloaded the very latest Adobe Reader and no luck.

There’s a note on the Overdrive site about “whether you should upgrade to Adobe Reader 8 or not.” I guess it’s a question….

Alan - 22 Mar - 8:56 am,

Hi - I just wondered if you had had any luck in fixing this problem since your last post? I’m getting the same error when I try to open a purchased ebook.
Adobe Digital Editions 1.0.464
Mac OS 10.5.2

martin - 04 Apr - 10:24 am,

Same problem here!!
I am so pissed off, you can’t imagine. I paid my money for nothing than trouble! I am angry about myself because I had nearly the same problems one or two years ago: nothing changed!
I assume, the main problem is: there are too less idiots that buy ebooks!

Ted - 04 Apr - 11:26 am,

I haven’t had any luck, but on your prompting, I have placed a hold on the book again, to see if it’s fixed.

I should probably identify the library involved, which is Seattle Public Library. I’m mentioning them because I did not get a response to my last request for assistance. While I am overall (very) pleased with this library, I am disappointed that they have not followed-up on this issue.

But, let’s see what happens and if there’s still no resolution, I’ll send them another note.

Ted - 04 May - 10:02 am,

As I mentioned above, I did put in another request, got the download put in my cart, and I can confirm that this is still broken at the Seattle Public library. I’ll send them a note about this.

Sorry and hope this helps.

Ted - 07 May - 7:24 pm,

After some communication back and forth, here’s the response from the Seattle Public Library that consolidates the information better than the past few have, so I removed those.

I think our Library recognizes the needs of its patrons and I hope Adobe will improve the usability of its products to support us, too.

“For the most part, those subscriptions work “as advertised” and are resources commonly used by many libraries. Also, the problem that MAC users are having with Adobe Digital Editions and Adobe E-books seems to be a new development and not exclusive to the Overdrive products.

IT does have a MAC for trouble-shooting problems that do turn up, and as I said, I will run some tests myself with the Overdrive Adobe E-Books. I imagine I will have to same type of experience that you are having and I will report the details to Overdrive. Hopefully, they will be able and willing to work on the problem with the Adobe folks. In the meantime, I hope all you MAC/Adobe E-book users out there are reporting the problem to help desks at both companies.

Your comments about the expanding use of the MacIntosh platform certainly have implications for libraries. I will forward that information to a couple of key decision-makers here though I doubt that this trend will be news to them. I don’t think I mentioned this to you before since your issue was with Adobe E-Books, but the following bit of information does relate to the growing demand for library offerings that are compatible with Apple products. Sometime this Summer, Overdrive will become the first of the major vendors of digital content to offer digital audio books that will be compatible with Apple products.

Thank you for your continuing support. I’ll be in touch when and if I have anything to report.”

Ted - 14 May - 10:22 pm,

Update: Apparently there is a movement against DRM in libraries across the nation that by coincidence is just starting up. Several librarians are chiming in that they don’t support DRM either. I’ve posted this story on Digg, and recommend that libraries look at this issue seriously. It looks like my experience is not that unique.

Digg: Libraries - No DRM

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