More Publishers Phase Out DRM on Audio Books

"The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely transfer these digital files between devices like their computers, iPods and cellphones — and conceivably share them with others. Dropping copying restrictions could also allow a variety of online retailers to start to sell audio book downloads".

I'm posting this because I made an earlier post about how I started using Audible. I've so far purchased and listened to 10 audio books from Audible since June '07, and have been mostly happy. The only gripe I have with Audible is the DAMN DRM. A big part of reading books is sharing them with friends and family. You can do it with the dead tree versions, but not with Audibles'. It feels like I don't actually own the book, even though I paid for it. When I tell someone I read some book (that I actually listened to in audio form from Audible), I feel bad because I can't lend it to them because of the DAMN DRM. I'm being alienated by Audible, and my friends are being alienated by me. It is also a pain to shuffle around my various audio players and computers. At least they let you download books you purchased from their website as much as you want. Hopefully Audible/Amazon will free their audio books from the grasps of that DAMN DRM.

read more | digg story