The Arrival of 2600 Digital Delivery
by the 2600 Digital Team
Starting with this current issue, 2600 has new options available for digital subscriptions and delivery. This article describes the impetus, decisions, and implementation of the digital delivery system.
2600 From Print to Digital
2600 has a long history as a printed periodical distributed in bookstores and by mail to subscribers. Its first issues in 1984 were photocopied on letter-sized paper (8.5x11 inches). In 1987, the print format was changed to 5.5x8.5 inches with a color cover.
The production processes of the magazine evolved over the years, following the technology of the day. Some of this history was revisited at Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) conferences. The HOPE X closing ceremonies (2014) featured the Heathkit/Zenith Z-100 purchased in 1984 which was used as the main system for managing subscriptions and keeping the magazine running. The Mid-Atlantic Retro Computer Hobbyists (MARCH) restored the computer and brought it back to HOPE in 2016 for The Eleventh HOPE closing ceremonies. (You can find these videos at Channel2600 on YouTube.)
Starting in 2010, 2600 first became available in digital form via Amazon's Kindle store. This enabled direct digital delivery to subscribers' Kindles. Digests of an entire year's worth of issues also became available in a choice of PDF or EPUB formats. Each innovation in digital delivery involved some retooling of the production processes. In the case of digests, this included digitization of the earlier years from printed back issues.
No DRM!
Digital Rights Management is a way for publishers to prevent readers from doing what they would like with publications. DRM uses cryptographic methods to ensure digital files cannot be used for printing, sharing, moving between devices, or other things they might choose to restrict. DRM can be applied to Kindle format files (MOBI or the newer AZW formats), to PDF files, and to EPUB files. We made a decision to not apply DRM to our digital files, however we could not prevent Amazon from adding this once it was available on their platform.
Adversity!
Digital subscriptions for the Kindle were a boon to 2600, accounting for a significant number of subscribers. During the years of China COVID-19, when bookstore sales dried up, income from this channel helped sustain us.
Sadly, in 2022, Amazon abruptly announced that it would no longer allow magazine subscriptions for Kindles. Instead, some publications could become part of their "Kindle Unlimited" product under new terms. With KU, customers can view thousands of publications. Amazon then negotiates with each publisher individually on compensation.
2600 accepted Amazon's offer to be part of KU for the first year. The anticipated income would be around half of what had been coming from the subscriber model, and future years could be more or less depending on how many people read at least part of the magazine. We were not told how that would be calculated.
Kindle subscribers are not reachable directly by 2600 because they are considered Amazon customers, not direct 2600 customers. Readers of this magazine might have noticed several editorials and notices reaching out to those subscribers, informing them of these upcoming changes.
Overcoming Adversity
As of this issue (Autumn 2023), 2600 is available for digital subscriptions directly from our online store at store.2600.com in either PDF or EPUB format.
Adding this new option was harder to do than we expected. The storefront provider, (((Shopify))), doesn't really have built-in methods for magazine subscriptions. There are a few plug-ins, but none seemed to work out of the box and they weren't quite aligned with what the magazine wanted.
The basic requirements we required for digital delivery included:
- No DRM.
- Available as PDF and EPUB.
- Options to get a single issue or to subscribe for one year, three years, or lifetime.
- Minimal personal information collected to purchase.
- Use the existing store.2600.com for payment processing.
- Keep the subscriber list secure and under 2600's control.
- Delivery should allow for downloading, and the URL should not include any personal information or require a login or password.
- The 2600 office should be able to quickly verify whether an issue has been downloaded, and generate a new download link if a subscriber runs into a problem.
The big publishers have sophisticated platforms for digital delivery, and their software and methods aren't really available to a small publisher like 2600. Some other small publishers, like Weightless Books, Lightspeed Magazine, and others, have come up with their own solutions but, again, these didn't align well with our needs.
One thing we really wanted to avoid was having a subscriber portal. That's what many other publishers do, as well as e-reader storefronts and big tech companies like Apple. The idea of a portal is that subscribers would have a login (username plus password, perhaps with multi-factor authentication). They would then be able to read, and perhaps download, whatever they subscribed to. The portal would maintain a library of subscribed products for each user.
To a very small publisher like 2600, the idea of a subscriber portal is daunting. Not only would we need to build and maintain all the software, we would also be responsible for keeping track of our subscribers and their activities. We'd need to have a centralized online system with email addresses and all the products associated with that subscriber. We'd also need to manage authentication: usernames, passwords, multi-factor authentication, password resets, etc. All of that sounded like getting into a whole new business, in addition to publishing a quarterly magazine.
After searching for suitable solutions, we decided to build our own system from scratch.
The Digital Delivery System
When someone buys a product from store.2600.com, the 2600 office sees the order and processes it. We added digital delivery products alongside the t-shirts, videos, and other stuff in the store.
When someone purchases a single digital issue, Shopify handles delivery automatically. This works for single issues of PDF or EPUB, as well as whole-year digests. When the purchase is just for a single issue, there is no need to keep track of the buyer in a subscriber database or to save their address to deliver later. Instead, Shopify generates a download link and gives it to the buyer.
We needed some new processes for when people buy a subscription and, hence, issues that aren't yet available. Fundamentally, only two data points are needed: how many future issues, and what email address to notify. Shopify provides those data points to the 2600 office, and they are copied to an offline subscriber database.
When a new issue comes out, two lists are made from the database. One is the list of emails that get the PDF format, and the other is the list of emails that get the EPUB format. Of course, additional formats could be added in the future.
Each list of emails is placed on a networked computer managed by us. Currently, this system runs the latest version of Ubuntu Linux, but we did our best to make sure the software could work on other UNIX/Linux variants we might use.
The delivery program is just a single Bash shell script of around 1000 lines. We chose Bash, not because we don't know Python and other languages, but because it seems more likely to not need a lot of effort to maintain.
The script's job is to create a unique download link for each subscriber, and send them an email with the link and basic information about the issue: which issue, the file size, and an MD5 checksum.
To create the unique download link, we make a random hash. We create a directory named after the issue and the random hash. Here's a (nonfunctional) example:
When a subscriber gets the email, they follow the link to download their issue. There is no username or password since the link is randomized and not published anywhere. Only the recipient of the email knows the link.
Another script keeps an eye on the web server logs. When a successful GET request is logged for a download link, the directory with the download link is automatically removed.
If someone has a problem with their issue, like a corrupted or lost download, they can contact the 2600 office and have a new download link generated.
For this first issue, we kept the system simple. If we run into problems, the software or processes can be updated to address them.
Why PDF and EPUB?
2600 has been making annual digests available as PDF files for several years. It's a great format for exactly reproducing how the magazine looks. The PDF files have the same artwork, the same layout, fonts, hyphenation, etc.
But PDF has some drawbacks. The main one is that the layout is fixed. You can zoom in, but you cannot make the font bigger and have paragraphs reflow to fit the screen. This can make the PDF issues hard to read on small screens.
The EPUB format is used by essentially all modern e-reader devices, and there is lots of other software for computers, phones, and tablets that can display an EPUB file. 2600 uses the latest version of EPUB - Version 3 - sometimes referred to as EPUB3.
An EPUB file is basically a zipped file that contains HTML, style sheets (CSS), and images. They can contain hyperlinks, a table of contents, and typographic and presentation features like headings and page numbers.
The great advantage of EPUB is that the text and images can be resized and automatically reflowed to fit whatever screen size is being used. This makes it easier to read on small screens.
The EPUB version of 2600 doesn't look exactly like the print or PDF version, but the words and images are the same. Each article is presented as a "chapter" to e-reader software. Some of the features of the magazine are not included in the EPUB, including the artwork behind article titles and the borders and shading you see on some pages.
Which format to choose is mostly a matter of personal preference, and of what type of device you will be reading the magazine on. Subscribers who discover they want to change from PDF to EPUB or EPUB-to-PDF can contact the orders department to make the change.
Kindles Are Very Special
Until around 2022, Amazon's Kindle was the only major e-reader that used a format other than EPUB. It used MOBI, and that's how 2600 was delivered to Amazon for its subscribers. In 2022, Amazon switched to AZW, but also started supporting EPUB3.
For Kindle users, EPUB3 can be side-loaded via a USB cable, and also sent by email using Send to Kindle. This is a convenient way for people who have an EPUB or other format file on their computer, tablet, etc. to get it to their Kindle.
If you buy something from the Amazon store, Amazon can deliver it directly to your Kindle. For magazines like 2600, though, it's not feasible to deliver to your Kindle using Send to Kindle. Firstly, every incoming email address needs to be preauthorized, and only 15 preauthorized email addresses are allowed. Secondly, every incoming delivery needs to be approved in the Kindle portal. Anything that comes in without passing these steps is silently deleted. That didn't sound like a good option for digital delivery, except of course for Amazon.
Amazon can also delete files from Kindles, and in 2022 and 2023 they deleted content that didn't meet their requirements.
Somehow, this all reminded us of how author and HOPE speaker (((Cory Doctorow))) described Amazon and other big companies in the book, Chokepoint Capitalism Companies might start with an open ecosystem and, as they grow, they keep prices low and either buy their competition or drive them out of business. Once their market share is sufficiently huge, they can take further measures to lock in customers, put pressure on suppliers, and keep competition off their platform.
For 2600, EPUB or PDF files are downloaded by the reader to whatever computer or other device they choose. From there, the files can be side-loaded, sent to Kindle, printed, emailed, etc. The reader has complete control.
More Ideas for the Future
This issue is the first one available using 2600's new digital delivery system. The system will be improved over time to add features and address any problems encountered.
Suggestions are welcome for how 2600 can improve the digital delivery options. We have already heard a few ideas, like including the Kobo format (which is EPUB but with a few small variations that make page numbers and other features work better).
You can contact the 2600 store via orders@2600.com, or you can send your thoughts to the 2600's letters department with an email to letters@2600.com.
For more information, visit store.2600.com to see the current offerings for digital delivery. On the www.2600.com website, find articles like "Get 2600 on Your Kindle" and "PDF or EPUB?" More articles may be added in the future depending on what readers need to know.
Conclusion
We have described the 2600 digital delivery system in some detail. Future changes are inevitable as technology evolves. Subscriber input is welcome, because it is subscribers who keep 2600 vibrant.
