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I Finally Bought a Kindle Book...

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Renegade:
I don't have a Kindle reader, and was pretty pissed when I saw that the only electronic option for a book that I wanted was a Kindle version (no PDF or anything), but that quickly died off when I looked for and found Kindle available for Windows and Android. (Yeah... I tend to keep my head in the sand regarding some things until I'm forced to confront them...)

So, grudgingly I download and install Kindle for Windows, buy the book, login to Kindle for Windows, get the book, start reading, walk to the grocery store, download Kindle for Android on my phone, get to the store, do my shopping, login to Kindle for Android, pay for my groceries, start walking home, search for, find, and download the book, and begin flipping through where I was in the book and reading on my walk back. How's that for a run-on sentence? :P

In any event, it all turned out to be a pretty good experience. Things worked ok, and the reader software seems quite good -- nothing special, but it works. So nothing to complain about.

While I was walking, I got to thinking that the whole experience/convenience is quite nice. Yeah... DRM blows... And I'd certainly have paid to have some versatility... But just getting it on my phone that easily was very nice.

Normally I would simply say pfft and moved on, but I really really wanted this book, so even DRM'd, I wanted it.

Which got me to thinking... Just how much of my pissing and moaning about DRM is practical? Yeah, it ticks me off. Yeah, I'm philosophically opposed to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yadda, yadda, yadda... Apparently I'm not THAT opposed to it because my actions certainly speak fairly loudly. But does 1 purchase make me a "free media traitor"? Or whatever sort of traitor you'd like to call me...

Then I got to thinking... There's no way any opposition to DRM would/could ever stem the tide. It's here whether we like it or not, and it's not going away.

Anyways, the convenience was very nice... Which got me to thinking again about the cloud... but that's another topic entirely...

zridling:
I really, really, really want a tablet, but I spent my money on a lawnmower this year. I'm happy you're happy.

Just how much of my pissing and moaning about DRM is practical? Yeah, it ticks me off. Yeah, I'm philosophically opposed to it. There's no way any opposition to DRM would/could ever stem the tide. It's here whether we like it or not, and it's not going away.
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Don't sell yourself short on whether you can make a difference. The capitulation you're feeling is exactly what they want you to feel! The reason you oppose DRM is (for me) quite simple: Why does a corporation need DRM? You got my money -- I'm clearly not a thief -- now give me my purchase without further conditions. If I pay you and then you claim the good I bought is still not mine, then I don't want it. I won't redistribute it, I won't resell it, but I don't want a corporation to tell me where and how I will read my books. I want them when and where I want them, which is everywhere! Moreover, I don't want to be forced -- as you were -- to buy a corporation's specific device to read a corporation's specific format.

You wouldn't buy a car that could only be driven on interstate highways, so why do we effectively do the same thing for smaller tech purchases?

In the meantime, don't fret. Enjoy it. Life is short.

eleman:
Just how much of my pissing and moaning about DRM is practical?
-Renegade (June 28, 2011, 12:58 AM)
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All the dead trees of my grandfather are still readable, even though their publishers are mostly out of business. What will happen to the books I "purchase" from amazon when that one goes the way of some not so feasible businesses?

See this one for instance, and replace "H.B. Fenn"s with "Amazon":

Canadian publishing was shaken yesterday by news that H.B. Fenn and Company, Canada’s largest book distributor and a stalwart in the industry for 30 years, had begun bankruptcy proceedings and appears to be shutting down, leaving its clients and authors scrambling. Fenn issued a brief statement Thursday, saying that it had filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

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You think you bought the book, but DRM'ers think you just "license" it. You didn't "license" the money you gave them for the book. Did you?

Renegade:
Moreover, I don't want to be forced -- as you were -- to buy a corporation's specific device to read a corporation's specific format.
-zridling (June 28, 2011, 01:11 AM)
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I didn't buy a Kindle device. I only downloaded the Windows reader. I'm still not anywhere near buying into that level of control yet...


You think you bought the book, but DRM'ers think you just "license" it. You didn't "license" the money you gave them for the book. Did you?
-eleman (June 28, 2011, 01:30 AM)
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Good point. Given the author gets a 70% royalty for the book (and it's been quite good -- I'm just over half way through now), I'd only ever want to revoke 30% of my "license" to them. :P :D

wraith808:
^ What book is it?

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