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Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Harry Potter breaks eBook lockdown

If J.K. Rowling's new web store proves a success, it could provide a model for other authors and publishers and undermine the clout of Amazon.com Inc.

When the Harry Potter books finally went on sale in electronic form on March 27, it was as if Harry himself had cast the “Alohomora” spell on them—the one that unlocks doors: In a break with industry practices, the books aren’t locked down by encryption, which means consumers can move them between devices and read them anywhere they like.

If “Pottermore,” J.K. Rowling’s new web store, proves a success, it could provide a model for other authors and publishers and undermine the clout of Amazon.com Inc., which now dominates eBook sales.

“I think it’s a very large crack in a dam that’s going to collapse in the next nine to twelve months,” says Matteo Berlucchi, the CEO of an independent British-based online bookstore, aNobii.…Read More

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eBook restrictions vex users

"DRM will be no more effective at preventing unauthorized copying of books than it was for music..." said the EFF.
Publishers suggest that eBook restrictions are the result of device makers’ policies.

As more and more eReading devices flood the market, users are beginning to feel the restrictions imposed by copyright and digital rights management (DRM)—restrictions that some fear could hold back the use of eBooks in education.

Imagine this: You’re in the market for an eReader device and decide to buy a Kindle. Books for your Kindle must be purchased through Amazon’s eBook store. You can download the books you buy to your computer and/or your Kindle device.

Now, imagine that you’d like a Barnes & Noble Nook instead: Can you upload your Amazon eBooks to your Nook? Can you lend the books you’ve downloaded on your computer to friends? The answer to these questions is no, leading some to question whether purchasing an eBook for an eReader device is really buying the book at all.…Read More

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Apple and e-book DRM: Will they? Should they?

With Apple already firmly entrenched in the realms of digital music and video, it was only a matter of time before the company got into the future of the printed word, reports Macworld. But aside from the few hints Apple CEO Steve Jobs dropped at the iPad unveiling last month, relatively little is known about the company’s forthcoming iBookstore. Case in point: will the e-books that Apple sells contain digital rights management? And, given that Apple has made such a big push to sell music free of DRM restrictions, should the company enforce it on books? Will they?

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