[vicsireland] Re: Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
- From: Jim Dunleavy <jim.dunleavy@xxxxxx>
- To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:02:08 +0000
Hi Stuart,
It is not the business of the South Dublin Library to "protect copyright".
Copyright law is encoded in legislation and statute. Trying to do it
through such ineffective measures as DRM is an abuse of the copyright
system.
If I borrow a book from a library, do the copyright police follow me
around to make sure I don't photocopy and distribute copies? no,
of course not.
If I borrow a cassette from the library, do the copyright police follow me
around to make sure I don't duplicate them? certainly not.
If I borrow a CD from the library, does the librarian make me swear
an oath not to rip it to mp3 and upload it to PirateBay? No!
Using this defective and discriminatory DRM scheme is like printing
books on paper that can only be read by special eye-glasses which can only be
purchased from a single optician.
The whole idea is rotten to the core.
--Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: Stuart Lawler
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 8:42 AM
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
Hi Jim,
You've an interesting take on this.
What then, in your opinion, do you think the South Dublin Library service
should have done to make audio books available and at the same time to protect
the copyright of such material?
Regards,
Stuart.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jim Dunleavy
Sent: 05 December 2007 17:17
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
Hi Robbie,
The service is discriminatory on the following grounds:
The use of OverDrive Media Console discriminates against those
who don't use the Windows platform.
The use of DRM discriminates against those who don't have media players
which support the right kind of DRM.
There's also the question of using tax-payers' money to promote
an agenda which is not vendor-neutral, i.e. the requirement of Windows
and the use of the WMA codec.
This is as if the government chose only to accept bids from
Paddy the Plasterer for the construction of public utilities.
The interoperability problems and uncontrollability of DRM by the
libraries make the service totally unsustainable.
--Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: Sandberg, Robert
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 4:22 PM
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
Hi Jim!
Could you elaborate on what triggered this response? They actually made these
digital audio books available in response to a blind client who asked them how
he could access their books.
Cheers,
Robbie Sandberg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jim Dunleavy
Sent: 04 December 2007 16:12
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
Thanks for nothing, South Dublin Library!
Is it appropriate to use tax-payers money for such a discriminatory service?
--J
----- Original Message -----
From: Sandberg, Robert
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 11:40 AM
Subject: [vicsireland] Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
Hi folks!
I've downloaded several books from the South Dublin Libraries website since it
was introduced at the VICS Open Day. They have a good assortment of audio books
and, importantly, many new releases.
The process of downloading books is quite simple, once the OverDrive Media
Console has been downloaded and installed. This software is necessary to manage
the downloaded books. It looks a bit like the Windows explorer. In the tree
view you can select a title for instance and when you tab down to the list view
you will find the actual audio files.
The software uses Windows Media player to play the files and it requires you to
install a security update for the media player, without which you won't be able
to play them. This is done automatically after the OverDrive Media Console is
installed. You just need to confirm that you want this to happen.
It's possible to play the files in Winamp, but only on the same computer, due
to the copy right protection. And here we come to a wee crux. You can't copy
the audio files to another device using the Windows Explorer. That is, you can,
but they won't play. You need to do it in the OverDrive Media Console using
ctrl.t for Transfer. The software then searches for portable media players
plugged into the computer. Only it doesn't recognise Rockbox as a media player.
I reckon this is because Rockbox replaces the original firmwhere and
consequently the device is not identified as a portable media player by the
OverDrive Media Console. For Rockbox users this means you can't listen on the
move.
Apart from this little set-back I'm quite happy with the program and the
download process. The OverDrive Media Console is accessible and has easy to
remember key strokes for play and pause, transfer and burn ETC. Once it is
installed you just click on "Listen, Read, Digital Books" and use the
categories on the website to locate a book you want and click on "Add to my
basket". You can then either click on "proceed to check-out" or on "Continue
browsing". If you proceed to check-out the books are listed in individual
tables with a button for download underneath each book. When clicking on
"Download" you first need to confirm the target folder. Then the OverDrive
Media Console opens and you need to select which parts of the book you want to
download. The parts are simply the individual audio files. You can tab down to
the "Check All" button and press enter, then tab further to OK.
Note that if you have checked out a book, it appears in the "My Loans" section
and the 3 weeks count-down begins, even if you haven't yet downloaded it.
You can find detailed installation instructions for the OverDrive Media Console
at the following URL.
www.overdrive.com/software/omc/download.asp
The URL for the library website is:
www.SouthDublinLibraries.ie
For those of you from the outer regions who weren't at the Open Day, you don't
have to be from Dublin to join. You just need to obtain a library membership
number and a PIN. The trouble is I couldn't find an email address for either of
the 2 ladies who attended the Open Day. Can the committee help there?
Cheers,
Robbie Sandberg
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