[bookport] Re: NLS Beta Program
- From: "Don Barrett" <donter@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 04 Nov 2006 17:30:36 -0500
Sorry Walt, but this is completely different; NLS is ready willing and able
to provide the digital keys to its DRM system to any vendor who sells
products to the blind so players can be modified to include the NLS schema.
If NLS felt as you imply, then they would only distribute players and
cartridges and would not be taking such pains to establish a download site
where patrons can readily and easily get digital books.
I am not picking on NLS nor APH, but I am saying that APH has some
obligation to ensure us that the Bookport will in a timely fashion, support
this new medium, which NLS also wants to be supported by as many vendors as
possible.
Don
"-----Original Message-----
"From: bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
"[mailto:bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Walt Smith
"Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2006 4:47 PM
"To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Subject: [bookport] Re: NLS Beta Program
"
"I don't necessarily think there's any need for forthcomingness
"on their part. In fact, in the long run, the less forthcoming
"they are, the better they protect the security of the new
"technology. Remember that once the program actually goes into
"operation, they're going to be supplying all the hardware and
"the user will have no reason whatever to have to know anything
"about the technical side of things _unless_ they (legally or
"otherwise) want to circumvent the NLS system. That is, the
"technology is being designed for use on a specific
"NLS-supplied device about which the user has no reason to know
"anything. The only reason a user _might_ want to know anything
"is that said user wants to convert the NLS-format material
"into something else and that's illegal and an abuse of the
"program. We all know, being real-world inhabitants, that
"somebody's going to at least try developing a ripper that will
"extract the audio from this new format and the less
"forthcoming NLS is, the more difficult that illegal activity will be.
"
"And I don't agree that we have some kind of "right" to "know"
"that the Book Port; or any other off-the-shelf device, for
"that matter; will support NLS digital books. NLS is going to
"supply their own players and that's all they need to do. It's
"not their responsibility; and it may not even be their legal
"right; to disclose information that would permit these new
"books to be played on any device whatever other than the one
"they supply. A parallel might be the four-track cassette. In
"the beginning, NLS had to go directly to Phillips, who owned
"all of the patents and rights to the cassette format, to get
"special permission to use the non-standard four-track format
"they wanted to implement. Eventually, through what kind of
"negotiations I don't know, APH was able to get the same
"permission to introduce the first generation four-track
"recorders (and I still have two of them circa 1978).
"Other vendors have, over the years, come out with players that
"will play the special-format tapes, but I have good reason to
"know that in some cases, at least, these players were illegal
"to the extent that the vendor did not get permission from
"_anyone_ to produce them--they were just able to do so because
"the details of the technology (which weren't all that
"difficult to figure out, after all) were more or less in the
"public domain already. I support NLS in any attempt they may
"be making to keep anything similar from happening with regard
"to digital books and think that all this "consumerist"
"rhetoric is just so much entitlement noise.
"
"----- Original Message -----
"From: "Don Barrett" <donter@xxxxxxxxxxx>
"To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
"Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2006 11:52 AM
"Subject: [bookport] Re: NLS Beta Program
"
"
"Right, I just wish they would be a bit more forthcoming about
"discussing it.
"Their silence seems unnecessary if they are truly getting
"ready to support
"this medium. My concern is that upper management may be
"stalling things
"since current bookport sales are probably good, and they don't
"want to do or
"say anything that will stop sales and make folks want to wait
"for new units.
"That's very commercial thinking and ok for them, but not very consumer
"oriented. As blind consumers, we have the right to be assured
"that a device
"such as the BookPort will support what is a truly revolutionary step in
"digital book reading. This is much bigger than Audible, and
"will change the
"way we read talking books forever.
"
"I agree with you that it is unimaginable that they won't
"support the NLS
"scheme, but as consumers, we have the right to assurances on
"that front.
"APH's lack of information in this regard is quite
"inappropriate in my view.
"Other vendors may be woefully ignorant about the NLS
"developments, but APH
"isn't, and that makes their silence all the more confounding.
"
"Consumerism is like democracy; we have the right to question
"the companies
"which sell us devices in the same way we have the right to question the
"officials who serve us in government, while at the same time
"maintaining the
"highest level of respect for them and what they do.
"
"Don
"
"
"
Other related posts:
