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Losing my e-Book religion

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J-Mac:
I buy ebooks ONLY when there is no other version of the book in print or available used (for a price less than my arm and leg!). And I buy only PDF ebooks that I can read on any computer (Keep 'em on Dropbox).

Otherwise I have found that I still prefer good old-fashioned books, you know - made with paper? I like using bookmarks, holding a nice hardback, turning real pages with my grubby little fingers.  :) I experimented with MobiPocket when I was using Windows CE / Windows PPC / Windows Mobile (11 different devices over the years!) Then I was an "early adopter" of the original Kindle.  Blah! (That was a short, unexpected, reflexive BARF!) I found that I really just don’t LIKE reading "books" on a flat screen. I do keep reference books that I might need on the road, and I have a ton of free ebooks from Project Gutenberg. But give me a good old paper book that I can legally give away, sell, or whatever when I wish. And that I can stick a nice paper or even fancy brass bookmark in!

Jim

johnk:
Although I originally bought a Kindle mainly to read my own documents while on the move, I have started to buy ebooks recently (mainly the cheap 99p offers). I find the service excellent and reliable. For those concerned about Amazon unilaterally wiping their ebook collection, it is always an option to use a program such as Calibre to strip DRM from the Kindle files (i.e. creating a MOBI copy of the Kindle books), so that you always have a usable copy of your Kindle books if the worst happens. Against the T&C, I'm sure, but as the first rule of copyright enforcement is that the prosecutor has to demonstrate "economic harm" to the copyright holder (i.e. loss of a sale), you are on safe legal ground pretty much anywhere in the world.

TaoPhoenix:
make a non-ideological Linux Distro
-TaoPhoenix (February 22, 2012, 10:12 AM)
--- End quote ---

Government mandated censorship. Rampant government corruption. Blatant censorship. Tolerance of nationalist hackers and cracker teams. Cyberwarfare bellwethers. Outright disregard for international law whenever it suits them. Poor civil and worker's rights records. Manipulation of their currency exchange rate to boost their balance of trade at the expense (and impoverishment) of their own citizens. Persecution of ethnic and religious minorities. A very loose hand when it comes to passing out capital punishment...

And all this in the name of creating a "Worker's Paradise?"

Non-ideological? Them?

This is China you're talking about right? 8)
-40hz (February 22, 2012, 12:59 PM)
--- End quote ---

Countries can be multifaceted. I'm talking about "500,000 Sq ft of manufacturing for hire, no hidden games" China. I have my MyMusic Mp3 Players, my Craig Mp3 Players (20 of them on a fluke deal, long story), and my six Radio Shack (Chinese) Alarm Clocks that are the best clocks I ever saw so I bought EIGHT of them so that when 4 gave out I have 4 left. I lost 2, still two left.

That China.

So If they get their ideological act together, drill out the component pieces while ducking the political crap, yes. I'd do it, under advice of 7 other Grade A Nerds that no other crap was going on.

It's either Them, Russia, or India. Not sure of the exact political climates. But once some company ANYWHERE gets a grip and decides to wag the dog, watch out.

IainB:
For those concerned about Amazon unilaterally wiping their ebook collection, it is always an option to use a program such as Calibre to strip DRM from the Kindle files (i.e. creating a MOBI copy of the Kindle books), so that you always have a usable copy of your Kindle books if the worst happens.
-johnk (February 22, 2012, 06:32 PM)
--- End quote ---
Ahh! Thankyou for that tip. New info to me.

xtabber:
In addition to Calibre, you need the plug-in deDRM tools. See the Apprrentice Alf blog for information on how to get and use them to remove DRM from various ebook formats.

Calibre will also convert between mobi and epub, which allows me to buy books on Amazon and read them on my Nook Touch (e-ink). Removing the DRM also allows me to read Nook books in the Mantano or Moon+ readers on my Android phone and tablet (Nook for Android sucks big time).

My first choice for reading most books is usually the e-ink Nook Simple Touch, if I can buy them in any ebook format. On the other hand, real Android devices (Not Nook or Kindle color tablets) allow much easier management and navigation for a large collection of ebooks.

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