www/server/staging drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-l...

[Dora Scilipoti]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Dora Scilipoti <dora>   21/09/29 01:16:18

Modified files:
        server/staging : 
                         
drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html 

Log message:
        Some more editing.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/server/staging/drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.8&r2=1.9

Patches:
Index: drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html
===================================================================
RCS file: 
/web/www/www/server/staging/drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html,v
retrieving revision 1.8
retrieving revision 1.9
diff -u -b -r1.8 -r1.9
--- drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html  23 Sep 
2021 22:35:52 -0000      1.8
+++ drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html  29 Sep 
2021 05:16:15 -0000      1.9
@@ -83,7 +83,8 @@
 friend who was finding it difficult to study because he had managed to mess
 things up by leaving his textbooks in his locker over a mid-term break. 
 Silly mistake aside, I thought nothing of lending him a modified version of 
-my password so that he could access my copies of the ebooks. He'd be able to 
+my password so that he could access my copies of the ebooks, hosted at the 
+publisher's platform (the &ldquo;service&rdquo;.) He'd be able to 
 study and pass the upcoming exams, no harm done. Little did I know that, 
 according to the terms and conditions of the dis-service, I had just 
 committed the most vile, despicable act a human being could commit: 
@@ -103,29 +104,30 @@
 circumstance.</p>
 
 <p>Let me clear up one thing. I don't actually own the ebook. The physical 
-book proudly displays a notice on the cover saying you'll get a free ebook 
-version along with your purchase. That's misleading, at best. What I get is 
-a time-limited license to access its contents, exclusively on the 
-publisher's proprietary platform. I can't download it to get a local copy to 
-use offline because the publisher claims it's &ldquo;too big&rdquo; to fit 
-in removable media, ignoring the fact that I may just want it on my hard 
-drive. I decided to see if the claim was true and found that the grand total
-size of the book came in orders of magnitude lower than even the capacity of 
-a CD-R disc. Are we really to believe the reason we can't download a copy of a
-book is that it can't fit in removable media? In my opinion, the real
-reason they don't want people to download copies is to prevent sharing.</p>
+version of the book proudly displays a notice on the cover saying you'll get 
+a free ebook version along with your purchase. That's misleading, at best. 
+What I get is a time-limited license to access its contents, exclusively on 
+the publisher's proprietary platform. I can't download it to get a local 
+copy to read offline because the publisher claims it's &ldquo;too big&rdquo; 
+to fit in removable media, ignoring the fact that I may just want it on my 
+hard drive. I decided to see if the claim was true and found that the grand 
+total size of the ebook came in orders of magnitude lower than even the 
+capacity of a CD-R disc. Are we really to believe the reason we can't 
+download a copy of a digital book is that it can't fit in removable media? 
+In my opinion, the real reason they don't want people to download copies is 
+to prevent sharing.</p>
 
 <h3>Common Restrictions</h3>
 
 <p>Some new schools where I live in Ireland are using iPads (which have a
 whole host of <a href="/proprietary/malware-apple.html">privacy and ethical 
 concerns</a> in and of itself) with the goal of moving all their student's 
-books to these online services. Benefits cited often include reduced weight 
-in student's bags, ease of organization, and multimedia capabilities. All of 
-which are true, but what is often neglected is that the move to digital 
-devices requires students to agree to terms of service imposed by outside 
-companies. These terms restrict the student's ability to explore, research, 
-<em>learn</em>.</p>
+books to these online &ldquo;services.&rdquo; Benefits cited often include r
+educed weight in student's bags, ease of organization, and multimedia 
+capabilities. All of which are true, but what is often neglected is that the 
+move to digital devices requires students to agree to terms of service 
+imposed by companies. These terms restrict the student's ability to explore, 
+research, and <em>learn</em>.</p>
 
 <p>There are also a lot of practical downsides to ebooks on these platforms. 
 They have to be used with a constant connection to the Internet, which will 
@@ -173,16 +175,16 @@
 entitled to learn how the tools they use during their education work, or 
 to share information with their peers.</p>
 
-<p>Would you object to a student reading her or his schoolbook while on 
-holidays in France? If she or he reads it while traveling to Northern 
-Ireland? On a bus? In a public library?</p>
+<p>Would you object to a student reading her schoolbook while on holidays in 
+France? If she reads it while traveling to Northern Ireland? On a bus? In a 
+public library?</p>
 
 <p>Of course not.</p>
 
-<p>Would you also object to, say, a student lending a copy of her book to a 
-friend? Allowing someone sitting next to them to look at their book? If a 
-student copies a sentence from a book into her notes, is she a thief or a 
-pirate? Should the teacher report them for illegal activity?</p>
+<p>Would you also object to, say, a student lending a copy of his book to a 
+friend? Allowing someone sitting next to him to look at his book? If a 
+student copies a sentence from a book into his notes, is he a thief or a 
+pirate? Should the teacher report him for illegal activity?</p>
 
 <p>Of course not.</p>
 
@@ -226,10 +228,14 @@
 similar.</li>
 
 <li>Support the FSF's <a 
-href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/";>campaign</a> to abolish DRM.</li>
+href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/ebooks.html";>campaign</a> to 
+abolish eBook DRM.</li>
 </ul>
 
-<p>Let's make sure schools don't punish learning.</p>
+<p>Let's make sure schools don't punish learning. </p>
+
+<p>Let's make sure <a href="/philosophy/ebooks-must-increase-freedom.html">
+ebooks increase our freedom, not decrease it.</p>
 
 <h3>Thanks</h3>
 
@@ -244,23 +250,29 @@
 <a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Piracy">smear word</a>.</p>
 
 <p><a href="#terms-rev" id="terms">[2]</a> Some notes from the Terms and 
-Conditions of dis-services: <br />
-* Passwords must not be shared. <br />
-* The publisher reserves the right to later charge for access to the 
-dis-service.<br />
-* The reader can't distribute any information from the dis-service unless in
-ways explicitly allowed.<br />
-* It is forbidden to attempt to learn how the dis-service works by
-reverse-engineering, attempting to derive source code, or otherwise.<br />
-* The books are region-locked (only accessible in a certain area) to the
-Republic of Ireland. <br />
-* No warranties are provided. The dis-service shall not be liable for any
-damages, yet expects you to be liable for damages to them.</p>
+Conditions of dis-services: </p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li>Passwords must not be shared. </li>
+ <li>The publisher reserves the right to later charge for access to the 
+     dis-service.</li>
+ <li>The reader can't distribute any information from the dis-service unless 
+     in ways explicitly allowed.</li>
+ <li>It is forbidden to attempt to learn how the dis-service works by
+     reverse-engineering, attempting to derive source code, or any other 
+     means.</li>
+ <li>The books are region-locked (only accessible in a certain area) to the
+     Republic of Ireland. </li>
+ <li>No warranties are provided. The dis-service shall not be liable for any
+     damages, yet expects you to be liable for damages to them.</li>
+</ul>
 
 <h4>Footnote</h4>
 <p><a href="#barra-rev" id="barra">[*]</a> Barra O'Cathain is a young hacker 
 from Ireland. He is currently persuing a bachelor's degree in Computer 
-Science.</p>
+Science. His fascination with free software and programming began when he 
+came across the Quake III Arena source code, which was made available under 
+the GNU GPL in 2005.</p>
 
 </div>
 
@@ -323,7 +335,7 @@
 
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2021/09/23 22:35:52 $
+$Date: 2021/09/29 05:16:15 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>