In the past, the big four textbook publishers (Pearson, Cengage, Wiley and McGraw-Hill) made the educational experience better, by bringing the benefits of standardization and economies of scale to textbooks.
They are now preventing the educational experience from getting better, by fighting against the societal benefits of ever-cheaper information technology and an ever-more-pervasive network.
In fact, they are aggressively making the educational experience worse: they invest considerable resources to make textbooks harder to use (e.g., DRM, lawsuits)!
IMO these publishers are now net destroyers of societal wealth. What a shame.
[EDIT: I toned down the post, and got rid of unnecessary all-caps.]
They are now preventing the educational experience from getting better, by fighting against the societal benefits of ever-cheaper information technology and an ever-more-pervasive network.
In fact, they are aggressively making the educational experience worse: they invest considerable resources to make textbooks harder to use (e.g., DRM, lawsuits)!
IMO these publishers are now net destroyers of societal wealth. What a shame.
[EDIT: I toned down the post, and got rid of unnecessary all-caps.]