It's kind of creepy how they responded (and that they can do it at all), but some of the coverage has omitted that the copies were essentially pirated by the seller, MobileReference, and that the books are still available for the Kindle, just not at that price from said unauthorized seller.
I don't care if the books were improperly "printed" or not, that's the book seller's problem, and they can stop selling them. If I bought a paper book for which the publisher did not have a copyright, the local book shop owner is not going to break down my door and burn my copy. It's preposterous that they would do this, and shows that Kindle users do not own the books, but merely lease them. I'll never buy one now. Ever.
Your point's taken, I just think some people have overstated the incident to make it a juicier story. It wasn't a case of a legitimate publisher "changing their minds" about who could and could not have their product as has been widely reported.
That said, though, do you also boycott software with end-user license agreements? Technically speaking, Microsoft can zap you at any time with your Windows XP or Vista install if they so wanted -- DRM e-books are essentially no different from software in this regard, the model that you do not own Windows or Photoshop or Word but are simply licensed to use them, and activation or "genuine" software checks may wind up zapping your software in a manner I find much more egregious than this particular case (e.g. if I change more than X percent of my hardware, Microsoft no longer trusts me to run the software I've purchased and requires I dial a phone number to re-activate).
I hate those sort of licences too, but in my line of work they are unavoidable, and somehow feel less intrusive to me. It's irrational, but to me a book is nearly sacred.
Comments 6
Reply
This article provides a good breakdown of it.
It's kind of creepy how they responded (and that they can do it at all), but some of the coverage has omitted that the copies were essentially pirated by the seller, MobileReference, and that the books are still available for the Kindle, just not at that price from said unauthorized seller.
Reply
Reply
That said, though, do you also boycott software with end-user license agreements? Technically speaking, Microsoft can zap you at any time with your Windows XP or Vista install if they so wanted -- DRM e-books are essentially no different from software in this regard, the model that you do not own Windows or Photoshop or Word but are simply licensed to use them, and activation or "genuine" software checks may wind up zapping your software in a manner I find much more egregious than this particular case (e.g. if I change more than X percent of my hardware, Microsoft no longer trusts me to run the software I've purchased and requires I dial a phone number to re-activate).
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment