I notice that O’Reilly (one of my favorite publishers) has started selling PDFs.

The program is described as follows:

O’Reilly loves publishing books and articles. But we’ve noticed that certain subjects need to reach you faster than book production can accommodate, yet requires more depth than online articles provide. We’ve settled on an agile solution with our PDF publishing program.

One of the selling points: “They’re formatted as standard PDF documents without any of that annoying DRM stuff, so you can enjoy them in your favorite PDF reader.” (emphasis mine)

I’m really glad to see that they are taking this approach. I also wonder whether the trend in publishing is moving toward more DRM or less. Does anyone know?

I also wonder whether the trend in publishing is moving toward more DRM or less. Does anyone know?

I have seen several online PDF sellers cancel their DRM programs, primarily because DRM is extremely delicate. It does work, and I’ve used it, but it is very, very picky about just what systems it will work on and how things are set up. It can be EXCEEDINGLY frustrating to get it working, and I can see how a great many buyers would just refuse to use it again after such an experience. I am one…