An Open Letter to Barnes & Noble:

Greetings. I've been a customer since I first decided to take the plunge and
enter the world of digital books (e-books), and I made a conscious decision to
buy from Barnes and Noble over Amazon for two important reasons: First, your
epub format is an industry standard usable on a wide variety of devices when
the books are unencumbered by DRM, and second, your web interface allowed me to
download copies of my purchased books to my desktop for archiving and backup.

Two years later, I'm back to Amazon. Why?

First of all, the download feature was removed: I can only access purchased
books via your web interface or on authorized devices. And those devices only
stay authorized for as long as I have a valid credit card on file. Late last
year my credit card expired and to my surprise, I was no longer able to read
any of my purchased books. Sound like a bad deal to you? It did to me!

Secondly, though formerly it was possible to remove the DRM using my user name
and credit card number (essentially within the bounds of fair use, I'd say),
your new encryption algorithm makes it impossible for me to remove the DRM from
purchased books and archive them. This may sound to you like the right response
and a moral imperative that keeps publishers happy by preventing piracy. In
reality, like most DRM schemes, it annoys honest, well-intentioned users while
driving the real pirates underground where they continue to steal what they
like, and with an increasing sense of moral vindication, too.

So I'm back to Amazon, whose books I can keep a copy of locally and decrypt
using the serial number of my device. I'm not a fan of the AZW or MOBI formats,
but they are easily converted.

It's simple: I invest big money in books I expect to keep forever, and I don't
want to rely on your credit card policy or even on the fact that you'll be
around: I want my digital files stored on my home device, where I can read it
on whatever device I choose. The digital music industry learned this lesson
ages ago, and even Apple has been selling DRM-free music for several years. I
am not aware that it has led either to legal battles or the bankruptcy of any
record labels.

I'm not afraid to root for the underdog, and let's face it, standing in the
shadow of the likes of Amazon.com, you are the underdog. But when you're the
underdog and provide poor quality service, you won't be around long. (While I'm
at it, I tried to use your LendMe feature to share a book with my father, and
it roundly failed to work: c'mon, these things matter!) There is room for
radical innovation in this field: open up your systems, let consumers keep the
things they buy: that's the way to carve out your niche in the burgeoning ebook
universe. Get that simple advice wrong, and you'll disappear.

Good luck!

Randall Wood is the author of Moon Handbook Nicaragua, Living Abroad in
Nicaragua, and the Dictator's Handbook: a practical manual for the aspiring
tyrant. (The Dictator's Handbook is DRM-free, and sharing has led to increased
sales).