Scott Catalog 2015 Digital Plans

This is a good discussion of the issues as they exist today. I anticipate that most of them will be resolved in another 5-10 years (at which point everyone will be clamoring for something else). Wireless internet access will be even more ubiquitous than it is now, much faster than it is today, and storage capacities will continue to increase. That doesn't mean these issues go away completely, it just means they get a lot easier to deal with.

But...since we are living in today, Amos is stuck trying to deliver a workable product with the technology as it exists. Maybe they could do some kind of hybrid, where alphanumeric data is stored locally on the device, but high-res images require an internet connection? I know that's not ideal, either, and many people would find it frustrating.

Hi ClassicStamps,

Thank you. I see your problem. I have yet to get to grips with this epublishing thing. I am currently working on a Sci-fi graphic novel, when stamps and other stuff allow, and have been tentatively thinking of digital publishing. I am assuming (correct me if in error) that this will be simpler than what you are faced with.

I will be conventionally putting out the linework at 1.5x size, scanning into Photoshop Illustrator or InDesign for the colouring, text graphics, lettering, and so on in prep for putting up on a host site. There are clearly several experts here, so am I underestimating what is ahead of me? My apologies for branching off the thread a bit.

Terry

Not really revenuecollector. Remember my last line:

"For myself, a digital version of the Classic catalog would be just fine."

And what you say here:



I somehow think that may be sooner than later.

The best solution they had was the PDF on CD. Which they had problems with, with piracy.

Now, I fully believe that people that are going to illegally download stuff, are going to do it no matter what. If you cut off the illegal content, they just won't bother to get it. But they definitely won't buy it.

The issue that they had was people making copies of the CDs and selling them on ebay and other sources to people that would have bought an actual copy from them. So, in that respect, they lost money.

But the modern tools available to them, such as selling eBooks through Amazon, or offering a database completely eludes them, because of their current methods of generating the catalog.

While I'm sure some instances of piracy of the CD were highly visible to Amos, I have to believe it had to be a pretty small percentage of their total sales. I have no way of knowing that of course, but if you look at the typical demographics of a stamp collector, they tend to be older, stable, law-abiding types. As with any group of human beings, there will of course be exceptions. My point is that they should compare potential lost sales to piracy of an electronic catalog vs. lost sales of people who want a good electronic version. If everything is done via secure login, there really should be very few issues with piracy.

For my part, I'd like to be able to export alphanumeric data to Excel and be able to save that. I suppose that would make it easier for me to violate Scott's copyrights/trademarks somehow, but I can't believe there would be a huge market for Excel files of their catalog data.

PDFs are one of the notable solutions if security is a concern. There are many solutions for securing a PDF including stamping a serial number of owner name into each file (so that if multiple copies appear in the market place they can be tracked to the original source). At one end of the scale a PDF can be secure with some of the built in features, but frankly this takes about 30 seconds to crack or circumvent. At the other end are key based (public/private) methods in which an electronic 'key' is passed each time the file is opened. The simplest way to think about PDF security is that the higher the level of security the higher the cost and end-user hassles.

And of course a PDF is simply a conversion of a another source file. This added layer also adds costs to the process since you have to maintain the original versions and then the matching PDF versions.

So while a PDF solution does have some benefits I would never recommend to a company like Amos that this is the best direction for them. In my opinion they need to have their catalog in SQL database format as the foundation. This provides them with the most cost effective and flexible foundation for providing whatever user interface they may need to provide for decades to come. Once the SQL foundation was in place they would have the opportunity to develop user interfaces in web-base apps or a stand-alone app. It would support just about any type of selling approach (outright purchase, subscription, piece meal, etc.). To be honest it astounds me that a company their size has not already moved to this architecture 15 years ago since it would also support the hard copy publishing that is their bread and butter.

So if this is such a 'no-brainer' why have they not done it? Why have they previously played around with a PDF solution? The answer is simple, money. Playing games with PDFs is a cheap way to look like they are trying to embrace the digital age. Moving to a SQL backend and building apps to interface with it is 'jumping into the deep end', a full blown commitment that would easily reach 6, if not 7, figures. Developing a PDF catalog is something they probably did for less than $50k.

Unless Amos has the budget, vision, and courage to invest in an SQL foundation and new user interfaces I see no way for them to survive long-term. They may be able to scratch out another 10-15 years by partnering with another company via licensing, but the longer they wait the deeper the hole they will have to dig themselves out of.
Don

The average older stamp collector who is not tech savvy. If they see someone selling Scott on CD On ebay for a reasonable priced they'll hop on it. I don't think Amos was worried about the guy that knowingly illegally pulled it off the Internet. Their concern was more the guy looking to buy a legal copy from someone who got it from Amos, but is instead unknowingly paying for a pirated copy.

Artful,
A SQL solution makes it child's play to exchange the data in just about any format but this is no doubt a concern for Amos. All digital stamp catalogs (EZ Stamp, Stamp Manage, etc.) have to address this issue. Do you allow access to the database foundation itself to the end user? If end users can catalog their own collections this is a very desirable feature, users have more time invested in entering their data then they do in purchasing the program. In most cases they demand the ability to be able to port (import/export) their data into other useful formats such as Excel.

Stamp Manage allows this but EZ Stamp does not. Stamp Manage database is fully exposed, with a bit of knowledge and work a user can export everything (not just the data they have entered) into another format such as Excel. For obvious reasons I doubt that Amos would ever make it this easy to port their entire catalog data into other formats. It would be giving away the keys to the castle.
Don

30 seconds? Not if password encryption is used and the password is of decent length. The password-cracking tools for PDFs, at least the ones I have tried, will take months if not years to accomplish a brute force attack and open the PDF. I've tried it. There may be more clandestine governmental software that can accomplish it quicker, but I'm not privy to those.




Amos already tried that and it failed miserably.

The first CDs they put out just used standard PDF-based security measures. When people started copying and selling them, Amos shifted in subsequent generations to a system that used electronic keys, and it was the biggest fustercluck you could ever imagine. I bought one, tried using it, and ended up screaming bloody murder until Amos would allow me a return:

1. If memory serves, you had to be connected to the Internet in order to open any of the content.

2. It was buggy and sluggish with respect to the security handshaking process.

3. It only worked with certain versions of Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat. If you upgraded your version of the Adobe product you were using, the system failed. Amos's solution was to recommend going back to the earlier version of Adobe. Idiots.

4. If you needed to reinstall on a different computer you were hosed.

5. I could be misremembering, but I *think* that in order to access the content, the CD always had to be in the drive. You couldn't just install it and put the disk in a drawer.

Amos from top to bottom is NOT progressive in any of their thinking. They are trying to deal with 21st-century technology using a 1980s mindset. Destined to fail.

Dan,
Yes, 30 seconds. For obvious reasons I wouldn't name the cracks/hacks that do this but be rest assured they are readily available.
Don

Nice play on letters revenucollector.

It's 30 seconds if you want to remove the owner password and enable functionality like print.

If a user password is set, which requires you to login to even view the document, the time is significantly longer. The original PDF spec called for a 40-bit key, which can be circumvented pretty quickly. The newer spec allows for some insanely long keys. I brute forced the PDFs in the original iPad app and, after a month, the key was still not revealed. So, I gave up.

I totally agree with Don on this one. Pdf really is just a distribution layer on top of whatever the catalogs are produced in. That's why it is the "cheap and easy" solution. Don is talking about actual content organization and I too am surprised they hadn't developed a SQL database years ago. Don, what do you think they are doing at this point? The content must exist in some type of database I would think. What then? I'm only familiar with old Framemaker, Quark Xpress and what I currently use, Indesign.

Terence, I recommend you get a copy of "Kawasaki - APE (Author Publisher Entrepreneur)". Great book - it contains all you need to know about (self) e-publishing. Good luck with your project!

As far as I know, PDF's can't be secured in a way that is transparent to the average user. Remember, most collectors are not techies. If you try to implement DRM, you will upset the average user, while the techies will circumvent it (for example by using software with Rainbow Tables).

The solution to piracy is not DRM in my opinion. It is creating superior products at a fair price that people will support the continuous development of. If you make a crappy product and charge 100$ for it, you're asking for trouble.

Randall,
In another forum the Amos editor stated that Amos Scott catalog was not a in database of any flavor or type! If my memory is correct, I believe they do it Quark and simply update it each year manually for publication.
Can you imagine what a task this would be to do it that way?!? Wow. Of course I guess there are section which do not get touched each year which means they save some time on proofing that section before going to print. But still, what a massive job.

Obviously with nothing to start with, moving to a database format is an expensive proposition. Not only would they have to put all the back-office server and software in place, but they would also need a database d3signer to develop a robust schema. Data entry would consume a substantial amount of resources and then they would still need to develop the application interface(s) before they sold anything.

Note that the resulting foundational database would also be able to be used to print various albums too. This would save them money in the long run since the originating data is all the same. If they needed to update anything, they would only have to go to a single place to make the change across both the catalog and any album page they print.

It also sets them in a perfect position for moving to real-time values. They would be able to design the value part of the database to reflect actual prices paid for items from various auction houses and other online resources.

Sorry we haven't gotten together for lunch lately, the better half is now home after 4 grueling months of hospital stays and 3 major surgeries. She is recovering but my time (and funds) for enjoying stamps has obviously taken a back seat to helping my best friend!
Regards,
Don