DITA/docbook vs your own schema

[Syed Zaeem Hosain (Syed.Hosain@aeris.net)]

Rebecca Officer wrote:

?  You can buy the electronic version from http://comtech-serv.com//index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_3&products_id=10<http://comtech-serv.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_3&products_id=10>.

?  I really like ebooks. I'm reading it already.
Thanks for the info, Rebecca!

1.     Do you know the ebook format for this book? What reader are you using? The site does not describe it as far as I could tell.

2.     If not a "downloadable" format, do you have to stay connected to the Internet while reading, or starting to read, it?
Z
<rant>
The reason I ask is that I prefer to read on my Kindle Fire and/or a Kindle app on my laptop - particularly when travelling on a plane or hotel. And Kindle books do _not_ require a live Internet connection while reading!
Last fall, my son decided to try an electronic textbook for a High School class "to save paper" and the result is _extremely_ disappointing. The protections on the file (whatever the format is) require a live Internet connection on his Mac whenever he starts reading the book ... apparently to check whether he has the rights to do so.
And, if he forgets to change his browser to allow cookies, the program will not even find the book on the site - the "download" mechanisms failed from the very beginning and the tech support cannot find a solution. This is ridiculous - particularly for such an expensive textbook.
This coming fall, we decided to kill trees rather than experiment with text ebooks again. If enough people feel the same way, it will probably make the publisher think that electronic textbooks are not a good market - despite the fact that it was their atrocious rights management system that made it less than useful!
And, I am quite leary if the Kindle version of a book is not available - and given that the paper book is sold on Amazon, but there is no reference to a Kindle version - it gives me pause. I have purchased many non-fiction technical books in Kindle format and the format has worked out well - particularly on a Fire HD where images and color diagrams are perfectly fine!
</rant>
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