The secret, I think, is to create information packages that cannot be economically stolen. In other words, the product being sold needs to have more value than a copy. For example, it's currently easier and cheaper for someone to buy one of our books than to photocopy a book — in its entirety. So we try to design our books in a way that makes all the pages valuable, and not just a few pages.
We would like to sell our books online — in PDF format — but have not investigated ways to keep buyers from re-distributing the files. Maybe this is possible through encryption. But we don't know how to do it.
= What is your best experience with the Internet?
Meeting experts and authors who have contributed to our publishing ventures.
= And your worst experience?
Being insulted by a stranger — someone who assumed that I was bad without knowing anything about me.
*Interview of October 10, 2000
= What has happened since our last interview?
Our company — EDVantage Software — has become an Internet company instead of a multimedia (CD-ROM) company. We deliver educational material online to students and teachers.
= How much do you still work with paper?