Unlike VHS tapes, the contents of DVDs can't be easily re-recorded on a VCR or computer. The reason for these precautions seem sensible enough. Broadcasters and movie studios don't want their products to be uploaded and spread all over the Internet or copied and resold illegally. All the better to make sure each copy is paid for and each program is watched with commercials intact. The same control fetish can be found in the publishing world.
Electronic books come with restrictions that their paper predecessors never enjoyed.
Another company, goReader , is trying to convince colleges and universities to replace all those heavy textbooks with electronic versions that can be read on the company's lightweight electronic reader. While this will no doubt be considerably easier on students' backs, it might not be so easy on their wallets, as goReader is promising textbook publishers that its service will eliminate the used-book market. Heck, maybe goReader can even rent its wares by the month. Instead, consumers will be charged monthly subscription fees for a set number of songs. Songs cannot be transferred to portable players or computer hard drives.