I recently had occasion to compare three approaches to digital rights management (DRM) for publications that are offering their magazines online to subscribers.

I have been reading the _Guardian Weekly_ since 1963, when I became interested in international affairs and found the breadth of coverage in what was then the _Manchester Guardian Weekly_ refreshing and stimulating. The _Guardian_ became a principal source of information about the battle against South African apartheid, a fight which I supported for many years as an active contributor to the International Defense and Aid Fund.

Recently, the paper (now based in London) announced that subscribers would be able to read the magazine online. I was delighted because I enjoy reading magazines on my big 19-inch-high and 22-inch-wide screens, because I value storing the publications in my archives directory, and because I like saving trees. The stored documents are a convenient place for reference material because they are easy to index and can be accessed even when I have no connection to the Internet.

The documents are available without having to download a special reader. The material is crystal clear on the screen and it’s easy to flip from one page (or pair of pages) to another with a single click. There’s also a search field.

However, the document is not available as a download at all and is thus readable only with a live connection to the Internet. The _Guardian_ is using PageSuite, “an online, interactive page turning software application created in the U.K., which allows all manner of reading material to be presented in a professional, user-friendly digital edition for all internet users to browse.”

Yes, and very nice indeed, except that using my StarBand satellite downlink, turning to the next two pages takes six to seven seconds ( I checked 10 transitions). As far as I can see, there is no way to store the pages other than printing each screen to, say, a PDF file and then combining all the separate files (yecchh). I guess that the _Guardian_ publishers may have chosen the non-downloadable form of electronic publishing to preserve their intellectual property rights. There is, however, a better way to publish electronic versions of magazines while protecting digital rights.

M. E. Kabay, PhD, CISSP-ISSMP, specializes in security and operations management consulting services. CV online.