I really want to like ebooks, I really do, however I can't stand the thought of purchasing a device that assumes I am a thief. It's the digital equivalent of employees standing at the door of a store, checking bags and receipts. Except worse. The fact that I can't share books is terrible, I wouldn't be able to read books in open formats even more so.
The kindle is definitely the nicest reader, however it seems to Sony reader is the most open.
This is only an issue if you're buying e-books from Amazon. There are plenty of wonderful texts available in the public domain, already formatted for the Kindle [0,1], and plenty of other options for public domain texts in other supported formats [2,3].
But regardless, the Kindle natively supports PDF, HTML, and plain text, and should you want to, Amazon provides a tool to convert those and other formats (including ePub) to the Kindle's proprietary mobipocket-derived format. They even provide Linux binaries [4].
Don't want to deal with conversions and manually managing your library? Just use Calibre [5]; it's open source.
And that's exactly why I placed my order: I'm not willing to accept Amazon's DRM, which will force me to read older works to get value out of the device. A goal I've had since reading a quote dubiously attributed to Einstein: "Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else."
I have to agree. The receipt checkers at stores annoy me to no end.
But DRM is much worse. It prevents me from doing things that it seems like I ought to be able to do. If the kindle did not use DRM, I would buy one right now. As it is, I am staying primarily with physical books for the moment.
I can at least understand the convenience objections to DRM. "You bought it, so you should be able to put it on any device you want." I don't agree, but I understand it.
But this moral objection to DRM I don't get. News flash: actuarially speaking, "you" are almost certainly a thief. It's not like Amazon's suppliers are crazy for thinking their property might get stolen.
The assumption is not that you are a thief, but that some of the people who buy it are thieves.
When you visit the mall, there are security cameras. There are security guards, there are those beeper scanner things at exits. There are ink tags, there are locked cabinets. There are display models while the real item hides "in the back". Why are you not up in arms about how the shopping mall "assumes you are a thief"?
Sadly, lots of them are now $13, up from the flat $10 that Amazon used to charge for all best sellers. Those prices seem high. The fact that e-books involve no printing, binding, shipping, distributing or taking back and shredding unsold copies ought to save you something. And it’s outrageous that you can’t sell or even give away an e-book when you’re finished with it. You paid for it; why shouldn’t you be allowed to pass it on? (End of rant.)
Argh. This isn't how pricing works. If it was, Photoshop would cost 40 cents.
It will be this way until some upstart disrupts the industry taking a smaller cut for routing authors directly to customers side stepping the old publishing houses.
> Argh. This isn't how pricing works. If it was, Photoshop would cost 40 cents.
They aren't saying it should only cost what it costs to manufacture it. They are simply trotting out the discussion of why, when production costs are lower, an ebook has to cost $9.99, when the physical book is also $9.99.
Fortunately, I've been finding quite often that the eBook on Amazon is a sizable discount off a hard copy.
The music industry lost 10 years believing that DRM works and it may never recover. Now the publishing industry is looking to do the same . . .
Software is the only medium in which DRM has any hope of succeeding long-term, and that's only because it typically needs to be managed as a service. Video can tolerate it for now because the file sizes are too large to conveniently separate from the physical media, but that won't be true for long.
For most people, DRM doesn't bother them at all until stuff stops working.
So far, DVDs pretty much play in every DVD player. (If less PC makers would ship Windows without third party DVD software, more people would care.)
Music was closest to having real DRM problems, but almost every non-hacker I know is perfectly fine with Apple's DRM because they only listen to music in iTunes or on an iPod. If other devices ever really became popular, non-DRM music might finally become essential to the average person.
So as long as the average person only uses the Kindle (or Nook or Sony) and never tries to port their DRMed ebooks to a new, incompatible device, they won't feel the pain of DRM. But first we need average people to start using ereaders for a while, which I think is close to happening.
Sadly, I think book DRM could be successful. Amazon is trying to create a de facto platform - rather than just a device - and so long as they port it to as many devices as they can, it will do well. Many are avoiding Apple's book service for this reason.
Game consoles have been successful so far with closed systems, and they've learned over the years how to improve their security, a key one being forced firmware updates.
The music industry lost 10 years believing that DRM works and it may never recover.
I think it's fair to say that they still believe it - or rather, they haven't moved on to the only valid business model in this day and age: music as a service.
To wit, pg's advice to wannabe music startups: "Don't do it, and if you do, be prepared for a long and bloody fight".
I don't find the Nook's touch screen to be "balky" at all, at least in comparison to any touchscreen phone. In fact, I think that the use of a touchscreen instead of a hardware keyboard opens the door for a lot more design flexibility.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Based off pictures, it's a good deal smaller and by conjecture lighter than the Kindle 2, which is really quite small and light already. So much so I'm having a hard time saying "no" to one.
I understand the need for keyboard on smartphones where you might want to browse, type text, ssh or whatever... But what's its purpose on a reader?
UPDATE: Thanks for quick response. I really haven't thought of this, these uses make the device better than I thought. I really wish Amazon will start selling these devices here in Russia (and in 100+ other countries as well) so I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Meanwhile, the local market is owned by Chinese knock-offs sold for $300, while Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Sony don't seem to be interested.
I use it to write quick notes/thoughts inside the book as I'm reading -- new ideas, questions I have, follow-ups, etc (amazon stores the location of the note). It's much slower than pencil, but the benefit is that it's synced to the cloud, and you can actually find your notes afterwards (how often do you go through the margins of old books?).
[+] [-] cullenking|15 years ago|reply
The kindle is definitely the nicest reader, however it seems to Sony reader is the most open.
[+] [-] callahad|15 years ago|reply
But regardless, the Kindle natively supports PDF, HTML, and plain text, and should you want to, Amazon provides a tool to convert those and other formats (including ePub) to the Kindle's proprietary mobipocket-derived format. They even provide Linux binaries [4].
Don't want to deal with conversions and manually managing your library? Just use Calibre [5]; it's open source.
And that's exactly why I placed my order: I'm not willing to accept Amazon's DRM, which will force me to read older works to get value out of the device. A goal I've had since reading a quote dubiously attributed to Einstein: "Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else."
[0]: http://manybooks.net/
[1]: http://www.feedbooks.com/
[2]: http://classics.mit.edu/
[3]: http://www.gutenberg.org/
[4]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000...
[5]: http://calibre-ebook.com/
[+] [-] timwiseman|15 years ago|reply
But DRM is much worse. It prevents me from doing things that it seems like I ought to be able to do. If the kindle did not use DRM, I would buy one right now. As it is, I am staying primarily with physical books for the moment.
[+] [-] Supermighty|15 years ago|reply
Hardware wise I like the kindle over the nook, lighter faster, better experience, but I can't justify getting one when the moral cost is too high.
[+] [-] tptacek|15 years ago|reply
But this moral objection to DRM I don't get. News flash: actuarially speaking, "you" are almost certainly a thief. It's not like Amazon's suppliers are crazy for thinking their property might get stolen.
[+] [-] warfangle|15 years ago|reply
But until there is a way to digitally loan a book to a friend, I'm never buying a kindle book again.
[+] [-] sliverstorm|15 years ago|reply
When you visit the mall, there are security cameras. There are security guards, there are those beeper scanner things at exits. There are ink tags, there are locked cabinets. There are display models while the real item hides "in the back". Why are you not up in arms about how the shopping mall "assumes you are a thief"?
[+] [-] tptacek|15 years ago|reply
Argh. This isn't how pricing works. If it was, Photoshop would cost 40 cents.
$13... for a book! Egads!
[+] [-] Supermighty|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sliverstorm|15 years ago|reply
They aren't saying it should only cost what it costs to manufacture it. They are simply trotting out the discussion of why, when production costs are lower, an ebook has to cost $9.99, when the physical book is also $9.99.
Fortunately, I've been finding quite often that the eBook on Amazon is a sizable discount off a hard copy.
[+] [-] moultano|15 years ago|reply
Software is the only medium in which DRM has any hope of succeeding long-term, and that's only because it typically needs to be managed as a service. Video can tolerate it for now because the file sizes are too large to conveniently separate from the physical media, but that won't be true for long.
[+] [-] ja27|15 years ago|reply
So far, DVDs pretty much play in every DVD player. (If less PC makers would ship Windows without third party DVD software, more people would care.)
Music was closest to having real DRM problems, but almost every non-hacker I know is perfectly fine with Apple's DRM because they only listen to music in iTunes or on an iPod. If other devices ever really became popular, non-DRM music might finally become essential to the average person.
So as long as the average person only uses the Kindle (or Nook or Sony) and never tries to port their DRMed ebooks to a new, incompatible device, they won't feel the pain of DRM. But first we need average people to start using ereaders for a while, which I think is close to happening.
[+] [-] MC27|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tailrecursion|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] swombat|15 years ago|reply
I think it's fair to say that they still believe it - or rather, they haven't moved on to the only valid business model in this day and age: music as a service.
To wit, pg's advice to wannabe music startups: "Don't do it, and if you do, be prepared for a long and bloody fight".
[+] [-] motters|15 years ago|reply
a) I can be confident that books purchased will still be readable in ten years.
b) That I can still do all of the usual things I do with books, like lending and moving them from one platform (shelf) to another.
c) That at no time there is even the possibility of books being remotely deleted from my device without my permission.
d) That ebooks I purchased are owned by me, not rented or temporarily borrowed.
[+] [-] minouye|15 years ago|reply
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/08/31/staples-kindle/
[+] [-] unknown|15 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] turnersauce|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DougBTX|15 years ago|reply
I'd hold my breath on that one, at least until Thursday. Having said that, my Kindle is ordered and on it's way.
[+] [-] sliverstorm|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] listic|15 years ago|reply
I understand the need for keyboard on smartphones where you might want to browse, type text, ssh or whatever... But what's its purpose on a reader?
UPDATE: Thanks for quick response. I really haven't thought of this, these uses make the device better than I thought. I really wish Amazon will start selling these devices here in Russia (and in 100+ other countries as well) so I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Meanwhile, the local market is owned by Chinese knock-offs sold for $300, while Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Sony don't seem to be interested.
[+] [-] kalid|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] weaksauce|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] InclinedPlane|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] richchan|15 years ago|reply
I wonder if there will be Kindle apps (and app store??) coming any time soon.
[+] [-] georgecmu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|15 years ago|reply