Simply put, physical books are taxing. They require the cutting down of trees, consumes ink to print, and are heavy. The advantage is they are invaluable to authors. If you buy one book, then you compensated the author one time. If you lend a book out to someone, you can’t read that book until it returns to you. Simply put, you have one copy, and one copy only. Something similar must be applied to digital books. This however requires some additional features that are simply not available with the current ebook formats.
So, how will this work? Well, first, any public domain books will likely remain as .epub format. There is no value in converting these books to .klib. An author wishing to sell his works in .klib format will go to klib.ka, and register as an author. All ebook devices that supports .klib files will also need to meet the standards of the klib format. This will give the device a unique 20 digit number. This number will also be the user ID for the klib.ka address. The author will upload their .klib file to the system. Anyone wishing to buy a .klib book will signup for an account, and add their device(s) to the account. When the person finds the author’s .klib book, they will purchase it, and set which device is the primary device. The .klib file will then download to that device once it has internet access. Keep in mind, the device owner must have a micro-SD card in the reader which will likely be sold separately. Now that the device owner bought a copy of the .klib file, they can do with as they want. They can use an ebook tablet to write notes in the book (just as writing notes in a physical book). When switching between devices, the buyer will go to the device the .klib file is on, and select transfer. They will then select the device they want to transfer the .klib file to. Within seconds (assuming both devices are connected), the .klib file will simply transfer. On the original device, the buy will see “transferred”, and the new device will host the .klib file.
So what if the buyer wishes to lend the .klib to someone else? Well, the buyer will need to know the device ID for the ebook device. He will then select the book, and then select lend. He provides the 20 digit device number, and that .klib will download to the borrower’s device (notes and all). During this time, the buyer does not have access to that .klib file. Instead, he will see that the file is on loan. If the borrower is using an .klib tablet, then he can write his own notes in the .klib file. Once the lend period expires, the borrower will lose access to the .klib file, and any notes written in it. The buyer will receive his .klib book back with not only his written notes, but any written notes the borrower wrote.
So what happens if the device expires? This will obviously happen. This is where a Klib.ka account comes into effect. The buyer will log into his account, and mark the ebook device as expired. He will be prompted to confirm twice, and from there – the device will show as expired and not be able to receive anymore .klib files. In addition, the email address associated with the device will no longer work. The buyer can then transfer the .klib files to another device. If he is concerned that a device might expire, he can transfer early. When using the original device, the buyer will see transferred on the book’s cover. This means that the .klib file can only be on one device at a time. This in turn insures the author that he is being properly compensated for his works, and that alone might be good enough to convert his books to .klib format.
How will this work with the education system? First, all manual and study material will be in .klib format. A student will receive a smaller reader, and a larger tablet. Once the student assigns their device to their credentials, the student will see 2 copies of the file. One will be sent to the reader, and the other is sent to the tablet. This will allow the student to write notes on the file within the tablet if that helps them study. Both devices will get an email address as well.
So what good is the email address? If someone wants to email a ebook file to the person, then this will be done. The person receiving the ebook will provide the email address of the device they wish the ebook to deliver to, the sender will attach the ebook file to the email, and send it off. The device will receive the file, and download it to the receiver’s device. They can do with it as they see fit. If it’s not a .klib file, then there is a chance that the file can be duplicated.