WotC is going ebook at DrivethruRPG...

[Cergorach]

WotC just added the Complete Adventurer to it's library, it's of course priced at the original book price. But what's really special is that it's not the only product that has been added to the catalogue, so have some older titles (all in their originakl electronic format) and even an title that hasn't been published yet, take a look:

Complete Adventurer
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1748
Deities and Demigods
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/coming_product_info.php?products_id=1749
Complete Warrior
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/coming_product_info.php?products_id=1750
Fiend Folio
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/coming_product_info.php?products_id=1751
Lords of Madness
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/coming_product_info.php?products_id=1752

ps. DrivethruRPG is also adding Talislanta to it's catalogue:
Original Electronic Format: Midnight Realm, Talislanta 4th Edition Guidebook
Scanned Image Book: Archaen Codex, Thystram's Collectanea, Sarista, Scent of the Beast, Quantrigue
They are also adding Empire of the Petal Throne (for those that find that sort of thing interesting).

 

[Zappo]

I'd get excited at seeing new PDF releases, but as long as they are the same price as a hard copy, there's just no way. Besides, there's the whole DRM thing.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I guess its (almost) safe to say that WotC has decided that even though they're charging full price, this is still profitable for them.

 

[Cergorach]

I'd get excited at seeing new PDF releases, but as long as they are the same price as a hard copy, there's just no way. Besides, there's the whole DRM thing.

What DRM thing? *looks innocent*

 

[Psion]

Complete Adventurer
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1748

Electronic source that I can just plunk into my NPC files. Must... resist... the... evil.

they're charging full price

Saved...

 

[Craer]

Seconded. What is DRM?

 

[Psion]

DRM = Digital Rights Management.

DRM pdfs or "ebooks" are encrypted and protected by a DRM scheme. It creates several restrictions on you being able to open the PDF. You are limited to 6 computers (to include rebuilt hard drives, new pcs, work pcs, etc), unless you can convince adobe tech support to deactivate one of your computers. To activate a computer, you must be on the internet and not behind a firewall that would block the appropraite port (read: if work has a firewall, unless they are friendly to workers using resources, you probably not be able to take advantage of your bandwidth to download it there.) I have also heard tales of people unable to get access to their DRM PDFs again after a hard disk crash, and Drivethrough RPG has no "replacement" policy.

DRM is hotly contented because it is widely considered to be:
1) Consumer unfriendly in that it requires you to jump through hoops to use your product and is potentially volatile for all practical purposes (the deal killer for me.)
2) Set a bad precedent with respect to consumer rights by removing right of first sale, and otherwise requires the user to grant the copyright owner or distributor de facto control of how you use the property.

That's probably the most flame free answer you will get.

Edit: Probably wouldn't hurt to check out the DRM discussion at wikipedia, though it is not specific to ebooks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management

 

[The Sigil]

For the DRM-curious, try this thread (found using Google-fu) - it's long, but it explains (for the most part) some of the drawbacks to DRM. DRM stands for "Digital Rights Management" but many in the tech field refer to it as "Digital Restrictions Management" because it limits the ways in which you can use and access the file (in much the same way your DVD player won't let you skip over the FBI warning - and sometimes the commercials - at the start of a disc). Basically, you didn't pay for something that you can use any way you like; instead you pay for something that you can use only in those limited ways someone else has pre-decided.

LINK: www.enworld.org/forums/printthread.php?t=90416

The short answer is that the default settings in DriveThruRPG's offerings (which cannot be changed by the downloader, only the manufacturers, and AFAIK only Malhavoc Press has changed these) put limits on how you can use the material:

1 - You cannot copy text more than 10 times in 10 days.
2 - You cannot copy more than 10 pages of text at a time.
3 - As of last week, Acrobat Reader 7 cannot read these files because it does not yet have Adobe DRM active; if you upgrade your reader from 6 to 7, you lose the ability to read the files. At some point in the future, Reader 7 is supposed to have these features re-activated, but AFAIK, there is no time frame for the release (this is NOT mentioned on the thread above, BTW, as the thread above is rather old and Acrobat 7 was released in the last month or two).
4 - Any computer on which you wish to view the document must have internet connectivity to "Register" with Adobe (i.e., you may not be able to do this on a laptop that has no internet connectivity). You may only register a maximum of six computers ever (and should you re-format your computer, restoring your stuff counts as a "new computer").
5 - If Adobe ever goes out of business, you will no longer be able to register a new computer.
6 - Other programs that can "normally" read PDFs (that you might use instead of or in addition to Acrobat Reader) cannot read DRM-enabled files... which leads to point 7 below.
7 - (Not sure on the accuracy of this one) Linux and Mac systems cannot read the files at all due to no supported DRM-enabled Readers from Adobe.

The ramifications, good and bad, etc. are in the link above, but these points are the "short version" if you want to save the pain.

--The Sigil

 

[Saeviomagy]

Of course the last reason that adobes DRM is stupid is:

It doesn't work. There are any number of ways to get around it if you want to look.

Basically it
restricts and annoys legitimate users
has no effect on illegitimate users
causes no end of troubles

 

[Thanee]

DRM & cover price. It cannot get any easier to say no.

Bye
Thanee