Sony to link Readers with libraries, allow e-book borrowing

arstechnica.com

11 points·timwiseman··4 comments

What I find even more interesting is Sony's use of a standard book format (DRM appears to still be involved, however).

So very un-Sony like. I guess fear of Amazon Kindle has made Sony take a different path than usual. Or maybe just finally realized that tightly controlled proprietary "standards" don't fare well in a well-informed market (BetaMax, MiniDisc, Memory Stick, BlueRay--which, despite "winning" the HD disc format war will never replace DVDs for the majority of customers, since we'll mostly go straight to digital delivery before that happens--etc.).

Good to see, since Amazon has taken the tightly controlled DRM-filled path. I wouldn't want the ebook market to naturally flow that way.

According to Sony's Haber, the new version of its online book store will allow users to enter their ZIP code and determine whether the local library offers electronic versions of its books. These books can be downloaded, at which point they'll have a 21-day expiration date—no late fees, as Haber was happy to point out.

Wow, these people are stupid. They're stuck using the constraints of the physical world. Amazing.

Borrowing bits. Pointless.

You may laugh at the idea, but I had to wait to "borrow" a downloadable audio book from the Phoenix library until a copy was "returned".

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