Enterprise software provider Adobe Systems, Inc., US, has announced Adobe Content Server 4, an upgraded server software that copy protects downloadable e-books for Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe's free client software for purchasing, managing and reading e-books. The latest tool, which enables publishers, retailers, libraries and other distributors to leverage hundreds of thousands of titles for sale or loan, was developed along with more than 30 industry partners worldwide.
Adobe Digital Editions is looking to popularise the digital reading experience on both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh systems and emerging platforms such as Sony's Reader Digital Book. The new server software supports PDF and the EPUB file format, an XML-based industry standard with broad support from the publishing industry and the Association of American Publishers. With support for the EPUB format, publishers, libraries and content aggregators can expect to securely distribute reflowable digital content to the smaller screens of mobile devices. Adobe InDesign CS3 software helps publishers to easily export the content to the EPUB format and PDF.
The latest version of Adobe Content Server is projected to improve file security and flexible permissions, as well as retail and library lending support, directly benefiting aggregators, online distributors and publishers of e-book content through copy protection. E-book files can be hosted in existing web infrastructures and business processes, providing easy and seamless integration with media servers, databases and e-commerce systems. The software features a pay-as-you-go pricing model for content distribution, and quick downloads for consumers.
The tool is fully compatible with Adobe Digital Editions 1.6 software, a free, lightweight desktop application. Adobe Digital Editions is claimed to allow users to manage and read documents and rich, interactive digital content in an intuitive user interface created using Adobe Flash software. It delivers enhanced flexibility through named activation and enables users to move content across platforms and supported mobile devices like the Sony Reader Digital Book.
