For someone like me that reads computer programming books, e-books are the way to go: they’re cheap, you can read them in your computer and they don’t take shelf space. But things are not yet too mature in this space. For example, DRM in e-books is still pretty pervasive and diminishes the value of such books in a very important way: your computer cannot index their contents and thus they won’t be taken into account when you’re searching for something. That defeats all the advantages that an e-book has over a traditional book!

The mobile e-book world is even more in flux. I bought a Kindle a year ago. I initially purchased a few books, and I tried to read them. They were mostly business strategy (borderline self-help) books, so lots of text and no graphics. Then I moved into buying books more related to software architecture and design; here is when things turned ugly. Kindle doesn’t display tables at all. Some editors turn those tables into an image, but then the image’s resolution is very low and Kindle doesn’t offer a way to zoom into images. Also, Kindle cannot correctly display code, as it mangles with the fonts and the layout of the text. Finally, I cannot read a Kindle book in my computer; that’s silly to no end.

But then comes Pragmatic Programmers and provides FOR FREE to all their customers a Kindle version of all the PDF e-books bought at their store (I have bought 10). No DRM. Now I can read their books in my computer, in my Kindle and my iPhone with Kindle for iPhone. Now my Pragmatic Programmers e-books have become 10 times more useful and thus ten times more valuable. That also means I am 10 times more likely to buy my next e-book on software development from Pragmatic Programmers than from anyone else.

To make things better, Pragmatic Programmers also offer another electronic format that lets you read their books on the iPhone that rivals and bests the Kindle book reader. Using Stanza for iPhone you can reach e-book heaven. Now when I am waiting for the train or in the train, I just whip out my iPhone and start reading a book right away.

Here is the thing: e-book publishers, please drop DRM from your books. That silly DRM is easy to crack anyway. Make your books 10 times more useful, and you’ll sell way more of them.