One of the things that I wonder is, how is DRM different from traditional software licensing? They're so similar... A lock via DRM vs a lock via a license/key/whatever. I can see some differences, but in other ways, they are so similar...

-Renegade (July 07, 2011, 10:12 AM)

I asked this question before, but I don't think anyone can really draw a line between licensing/copy protection/DRM, it's all "angels on the head of a pin" if you ask me. That's why I don't think the law will try to differentiate between different forms of copy protection.

I think, for most people:

licensing = copy protection I don't object to.
DRM = copy protection I don't like.

It may be breaking the law to "un-DRM" your ebooks, but I see it as no different from music CD copying.

I have literally 1000s of music CDs going back to the first CD releases. Some of my earliest purchases have disintegrated with age and become unplayable -- in practical terms, the equivalent of your ebook "vanishing" from your ereader.

Now as I understand it, I didn't so much buy a CD as a "licence to listen". So I could theoretically go back to the music companies and ask for a free replacement CD so that I can continue to enjoy my licensed music. We all know how far I would get.

These days, most people are clever enough to make backup CDs of their purchases, to protect the originals, to use in the car etc.

Again as I understand it, this is protected under "fair use" law in the US. But it's illegal in Britain. However everyone does it. And the law is so discredited that the record companies have made it clear that they would not prosecute individuals in the UK for making copy CDs for personal use.

An update to UK law is on the way, and I'd be surprised if the plan to legalise "format shifting" does not apply to ebooks as well as music and films. I think stripping DRM from legally purchased products will become as common as copying CDs. And the DRM debate will gently fade away...

Yes, you shouldn't have to do it, but it makes for a simpler life just to work around the problem.

I'm a fan of v1 of Bvckup and I took part in the testing and gave feedback in the Bvckup forums. So it pains me to say this, but I don't like the new web site.

Others have said it, but if you didn't already know Bvckup, you would assume from the web site that it's a Mac program. I would take one look at the page (without scrolling) and close it.

I find I do this all the time. I read about an interesting program, click the link to it, and then can instantly tell from the design of the web site that it's a Mac-only program, and I close the page. I'm sure I can't be the only one who does this.

This is not touchy-feely branding nonsense, it's basic design. There is a Mac look. Your site has it.

And the scrolling thing is a terrible idea. Design should never come before content.

Sorry, apankrat, you know I'm a fan of the program, but I really think for your own sake you need to reconsider. You've spent a long time on this design, you're very close to it. Take a step back.