NIST eBook 2000 Conference Expands Scope

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NIST eBook 2000 Conference Expands Scope Paul Hilts -- 10/9/00 *Commerce Dept. helps give an infant industry direction; new author involvement seen* EBook 2000, the third annual eBook Conference sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Information Standards Organization (NISO) was different from its predecessors in every way: grander, broader in scope, more useful in its lessons. While the first two conferences were held at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., and the audience comprised about 300 software and hardware engineers, the most recent show convened September 25-27 at the Department of Commerce's flashy new Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, and welcomed more than 1,000 attendees, including authors, publishers and librarians. The crowded program covered devices, file formats, rights management, experimental programs in U.S. schools and libraries, and international developments. The first NIST gathering, eBook 1998,proposed the formation of a forum for developing an open standard for electronic books, and last year's conference saw approval of a specification for e-book files, the Open eBook ( B) format based on XML, from the Open eBook Forum ( BF). This year, the BF took on digital rights management (DRM) as one of the still-missing ingredients to create a working industry, posting "A Framework for the Epublishing Ecology," a draft that is being made available at BF's Web site, openebook.org, simultaneously to the full membership of the Open eBook Forum and to other interested parties for a 30-day review and comment period. David Ornstein, president of BF, described the purpose of the statement. "We expect our framework and stakeholder requirements to provide measurable standards that can lead DRM strategy initiatives to meet the needs of authors, publishers and others vested in the e-book market." The framework indicates the expectations that BF will have if a DRM company wants acceptance among its members. While several companies could fulfill these expectations, BF has issued no endorsements yet. The Courage to Try Another aspect of the nascent e-book industry is the redefined relationship of authors and publishers. EBook 2000 was the first NIST conference to which authors contributed, but Warren Adler, author of 23 novels, including War of the Roses and Random Hearts, which have been made into movies, spoke on behalf of many when he issued an author's manifesto on the need for authors becoming their own publishers and marketers. "I will create a virtual bookstore Web site with links to individuals and partnerships with booksellers worldwide," he declared, "offering all my novels, plays and short story collections on all major platforms and in all languages, in text, audio or print, including print on demand where my print rights have reverted back to me, and promoting those books that are still in print where the rights are owned by other publishers. First chapters will be provided without cost, and a chat room will be created. Pricing has yet to be decided." Adler is not abandoning publishers, but expanding his own possibilities, he said. "I have begun the task of digitizing my books for all platforms through OverDrive, a company with much experience in e-books, and I am in negotiation with people who can create the Web site, the transactional and linking mechanisms and the promotional program to bring traffic to the site." Adler added: "It is a big, risky bet and I am making it on the premise that my work, exposed on a vastly larger scale than it had been originally, has the ability to attract a greater audience. I am convinced that my plan, or some version of it, refined as we go along, tweaked and nurtured, will be the wave of the future for all authors. All that is needed is the courage to try." Is e-Security Impossible? Martin Eberhard, founder and until recently CEO of NuvoMedia, gave an amusing, though technically illegal, talk on copy protection myths. Eberhard's talk was illegal because he demonstrated how to break into and copy an intellectual property (music, in this case) using Microsoft Windows Media Player software tools, with a special encryption-cracking file added. His point was not to embarrass Microsoft but to point out that dedicated reading devices have an important place in the e-book world. "Any time you have the full text, even encrypted, in the same place you have the key to the encryption, on a system that can run executable files," he warned, "security is impossible. Not because J Average will break in, but because Jane Hacker will find it a challenge to create the cracking software, and will give it for free to millions of J Averages." The peer-to-peer nature of the Internet, where each user's computer can run any software it wants, effectively abolishes security, according to Eberhard. The only way to protect copy is to run it on secure (sealed) devices, that will not run executable files and will recognize when an e-book file comes from a trusted partner. Speaking of closed systems, two dedicated reader devices debuted at eBook 2000: the goReader, a 121/2"Ã—91/2" color LCD device weighing "less than five pounds," which can be seen at goReader.com; and the CyBook, from the Paris-based Cytale S.A., aimed at the "French-speaking market, including Canada." Both devices should be available to the public by December and are expected to retail for about $600.

News

NIST eBook 2000 Conference Expands Scope
Paul Hilts -- 10/9/00
Commerce Dept. helps give an infant industry direction; new author involvement seen

EBook 2000, the third annual eBook Conference sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Information Standards Organization (NISO) was different from its predecessors in every way: grander, broader in scope, more useful in its lessons.

While the first two conferences were held at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., and the audience comprised about 300 software and hardware engineers, the most recent show convened September 25-27 at the Department of Commerce's flashy new Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, and welcomed more than 1,000 attendees, including authors, publishers and librarians. The crowded program covered devices, file formats, rights management, experimental programs in U.S. schools and libraries, and international developments.

The first NIST gathering, eBook 1998,proposed the formation of a forum for developing an open standard for electronic books, and last year's conference saw approval of a specification for e-book files, the Open eBook ( B) format based on XML, from the Open eBook Forum ( BF).

This year, the BF took on digital rights management (DRM) as one of the still-missing ingredients to create a working industry, posting "A Framework for the Epublishing Ecology," a draft that is being made available at BF's Web site, openebook.org, simultaneously to the full membership of the Open eBook Forum and to other interested parties for a 30-day review and comment period.

David Ornstein, president of BF, described the purpose of the statement. "We expect our framework and stakeholder requirements to provide measurable standards that can lead DRM strategy initiatives to meet the needs of authors, publishers and others vested in the e-book market." The framework indicates the expectations that BF will have if a DRM company wants acceptance among its members. While several companies could fulfill these expectations, BF has issued no endorsements yet.

The Courage to Try
Another aspect of the nascent e-book industry is the redefined relationship of authors and publishers. EBook 2000 was the first NIST conference to which authors contributed, but Warren Adler, author of 23 novels, including War of the Roses and Random Hearts, which have been made into movies, spoke on behalf of many when he issued an author's manifesto on the need for authors becoming their own publishers and marketers.

"I will create a virtual bookstore Web site with links to individuals and partnerships with booksellers worldwide," he declared, "offering all my novels, plays and short story collections on all major platforms and in all languages, in text, audio or print, including print on demand where my print rights have reverted back to me, and promoting those books that are still in print where the rights are owned by other publishers. First chapters will be provided without cost, and a chat room will be created. Pricing has yet to be decided."

Adler is not abandoning publishers, but expanding his own possibilities, he said. "I have begun the task of digitizing my books for all platforms through OverDrive, a company with much experience in e-books, and I am in negotiation with people who can create the Web site, the transactional and linking mechanisms and the promotional program to bring traffic to the site."

Adler added: "It is a big, risky bet and I am making it on the premise that my work, exposed on a vastly larger scale than it had been originally, has the ability to attract a greater audience. I am convinced that my plan, or some version of it, refined as we go along, tweaked and nurtured, will be the wave of the future for all authors. All that is needed is the courage to try."

Is e-Security Impossible?
Martin Eberhard, founder and until recently CEO of NuvoMedia, gave an amusing, though technically illegal, talk on copy protection myths. Eberhard's talk was illegal because he demonstrated how to break into and copy an intellectual property (music, in this case) using Microsoft Windows Media Player software tools, with a special encryption-cracking file added. His point was not to embarrass Microsoft but to point out that dedicated reading devices have an important place in the e-book world. "Any time you have the full text, even encrypted, in the same place you have the key to the encryption, on a system that can run executable files," he warned, "security is impossible. Not because J Average will break in, but because Jane Hacker will find it a challenge to create the cracking software, and will give it for free to millions of J Averages."

The peer-to-peer nature of the Internet, where each user's computer can run any software it wants, effectively abolishes security, according to Eberhard. The only way to protect copy is to run it on secure (sealed) devices, that will not run executable files and will recognize when an e-book file comes from a trusted partner.

Speaking of closed systems, two dedicated reader devices debuted at eBook 2000: the goReader, a 121/2"Ã—91/2" color LCD device weighing "less than five pounds," which can be seen at goReader.com; and the CyBook, from the Paris-based Cytale S.A., aimed at the "French-speaking market, including Canada." Both devices should be available to the public by December and are expected to retail for about $600.