Our communications market is rapidly moving in the direction of this apparently utopian picture. As of this writing, many newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, allow readers to create "personalized" electronic editions, containing exactly what they want, and excluding what they do not want. If you are interested in getting help with the design of an entirely personalized paper, you can consult an ever-growing number of Websites, including individual (helpfully named!) and crayon (a less helpful name, but evocative in its own way).
In reality, we are not so very far from complete personalization of the system of communications. Consider just a few examples.
Adobe Digital Editions requirementsWindows
Macintosh PowerPC
Note: Mac OSX 10.5 is not yet supported. Linux
Adobe Reader 7 requirementsWindows
Macintosh
Why must I activate my Adobe Reader? Many publishers require powerful copy protection for their eBook titles. In order for you to be able to purchase and download eBook titles that have been secured for distribution, you first need to activate your Adobe Reader. Just as a credit card typically must be activated by a bank before use, your Adobe Reader needs to be activated before you can purchase and read eBooks packaged for secure distribution. Can I print or copy my Adobe ebook? To protect copyrights, publishers and authors establish their own guidelines for how much of their eBooks can be printed or copied. This means that these permissions will differ from book to book. Each ebook file has a differing level of encryption which is controlled by the author/publisher at creation. For example, a publisher might give users the ability to print several pages of a cookbook within a set period of time. You'll see specifc settings for the Adobe title under the ebook description.
