Topic: The latest example of why I hate DRM (Read 8660 times)

EmeraldEdge · « **Reply #20 on:** August 02, 2009, 12:43:36 pm »

Well, I love the feel of a book but I had kind of started to eye this little gadget. Kind of an interesting novelty, but I can guarantee they aren't going to be selling me one anytime soon now. I have never been a fan of any of the "we hold the product (usually video) and you can see it anytime you want. It's just like owning it." stuff. If they can remove it remotely then you don't really own it, you're just leasing it for a small one time fee revocable at their discretion and leisure. I always thought it was bogus in the case of the videos too, because what if the company goes under or stops offering the service. You're stiff out of luck, I'd imagine.

Nemesis · « **Reply #21 on:** August 02, 2009, 05:46:10 pm »

Quote from: Sirgod on August 02, 2009, 11:46:23 am

Theft for one.

Stephen

The customer bought from a "reputable" dealer and in no way did they commit a theft.

Sirgod · « **Reply #22 on:** August 02, 2009, 07:01:28 pm »

Oh no, not the customer bro.

What amazon did was theft, and they are the OJ in this case.

Had they followed criminal law, they would have been prosecuted for selling stolen property, and then the courts could have ordered the books removed.

Had it been an individual selling stolen goods, you bet his ass would be in jail.

Stephen

Nemesis · « **Reply #23 on:** August 02, 2009, 07:15:08 pm »

Quote from: Sirgod on August 02, 2009, 07:01:28 pm

Oh no, not the customer bro.

What amazon did was theft, and they are the OJ in this case.

Had they followed criminal law, they would have been prosecuted for selling stolen property, and then the courts could have ordered the books removed.

Had it been an individual selling stolen goods, you bet his ass would be in jail.

Stephen

As I understood it Amazon had it provided by someone who claimed to have the right to do so. If so then at most it could be shown that they didn't do their "due diligence" to check out his (or her) assertion as to the rights.

Sirgod · « **Reply #24 on:** August 02, 2009, 07:52:21 pm »

I agree. It lead to them selling stolen goods. Just like the guy who was selling TV's he said fell off a truck.

Anyways, Amazon did wrong, but I did like there apology, It actually reads like one.

Stephen

Age · « **Reply #25 on:** August 07, 2009, 04:05:32 pm »

Quote from: Cptn_Pestalence_XC on July 31, 2009, 08:32:45 pm

I still can't believe people are stupid enough to pay for stuff like this..

the book 1984.. Free download

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt

the book Animal Farm

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/o79a/

Don't idiots know how to use a search engine..

No they don't that is why they are idiots why do ppl need to use this anyway just go to you pulic library or book store.

Dash Jones · « **Reply #26 on:** August 07, 2009, 06:49:15 pm »

Does Kindle read text document like the Sony ereader?

knightstorm · « **Reply #27 on:** August 07, 2009, 07:09:11 pm »

Quote from: Dash Jones on August 07, 2009, 06:49:15 pm

Does Kindle read text document like the Sony ereader?

File formats
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle#File_formats

Quote

The original Kindle supports only unprotected Mobipocket books (MOBI, PRC), plain text files (TXT), and Amazon's proprietary, DRM-restricted format (AZW). It does not fully support Portable Document Format (PDF), but Amazon provides "experimental" conversion to the native AZW format,[26] with the caveat that not all PDFs may format correctly.[27] Amazon offers an email-based service that will convert JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP graphics to AZW.[28] Amazon will also convert HTML pages and Microsoft Word (DOC) documents through the same email-based mechanism, which will send a Kindle-formatted file to the device directly for $0.15 per MB or to a personal e-mail account for free. Users may also convert PDF and other files to the first-generation Kindle's supported formats using third-party software. The original Kindle supports audio in the form of MP3s and Audible audiobooks (versions 2, 3 and 4), which must be transferred to the Kindle over USB or on an SD card.

Initially, Kindle 1 only supported the ISO 8859-1 (Latin 1) character set for its content; Unicode characters and non-Western characters were not supported. The firmware update of February 2009 added support for additional character sets including ISO 8859-16.

Kindle 2 added support for Audible Enhanced (AAX) format, but dropped support for Audible versions 2 and 3. Using the experimental web browser, it is possible to download books directly on the Kindle (in MOBI, PRC and TXT formats only). Hyperlinks in a Mobipocket file can be used to download e-books[29] but cannot be used to reference books stored in the Kindle's memory. Kindle DX added native support for PDF files.

Dash Jones · « **Reply #28 on:** August 09, 2009, 07:26:52 pm »

So basically Kindle STINKS...I suppose the only reason Kindle is doing so well in comparison to the Sony Ereader which reads PDF and Text (which the Kindle can read) and other documents without having to put it through a web conversion process is because it's being pushed via Amazon already.

knightstorm · « **Reply #29 on:** August 09, 2009, 09:44:57 pm »

Personally, I don't see why anyone would buy either when you could just use any smartphone or pda to read the non-restricted content.

marstone · « **Reply #30 on:** August 10, 2009, 01:31:50 am »

Quote from: knightstorm on August 09, 2009, 09:44:57 pm

Personally, I don't see why anyone would buy either when you could just use any smartphone or pda to read the non-restricted content.

well, I hate trying to read on those tiny screens you get on a smart phone or PDA. A PDF file (or a book page) doesn't look right and can be hard to read if you have a graphic to reference. Having a book reader the size of a book would be nice.

I'm saving my caps for when one I really like comes out. 'til then, paper for me.

Nemesis · « **Reply #31 on:** August 10, 2009, 06:46:25 am »

Quote from: knightstorm on August 09, 2009, 09:44:57 pm

Personally, I don't see why anyone would buy either when you could just use any smartphone or pda to read the non-restricted content.

I've read books on my PDA but the screen is inadequate. 320x480 and I have to set it to constantly scroll as there is too little displayed at a time. Can't read it outdoors. Very hard on the battery life.

Nemesis · « **Reply #32 on:** September 07, 2009, 09:07:44 pm »

Update:

Link to full article

Quote

Kindle customers who saw George Orwell's Nineteen-Eighty-Four disappear from their screens have received an apology from Amazon's CEO, along with a copy of the book or $30 of restitution.

Amazon sent out the apology, signed by CEO Jeff Bezos, saying the way they handled the situation was "stupid, thoughtless and painfully out of line with our principles". Customers are offered the option of having the book reinstated, or an Amazon voucher to the value of $30, by way of apology.

candle_86 · « **Reply #33 on:** September 07, 2009, 09:41:20 pm »

Quote from: Cptn_Pestalence_XC on July 31, 2009, 11:22:44 pm

Quote from: Nemesis on July 31, 2009, 09:27:43 pm
Quote from: Cptn_Pestalence_XC on July 31, 2009, 08:32:45 pm
DRM has absolutely nothing to do with this..

If it wasn't for the DRM Amazon could not have removed the books and caused the problem. That makes it clearly a DRM issue.

What I am trying to find out is how is it a DRM issue when the books are free to everyone with half a brain to use a search engine..

Amazon recalled the book through a service that people agreed to the terms of service before they used it.. People got their money back, which was solicitated most probably against the publishers Terms of Service, and the media that was paid for was recalled, most probably due to a violation of TOS , and as such Amason pulled the ill be gotten material back the only way they had legal recourse to do so.. however the harm is not present as people have their money back and the works have been free public access on the net for at least 7 years...

so you tell me.. is recalling and refunding a product that is free elsewhere a problem of DRM or is it being used to protect consumers (not just Publishers / Artists)?

Its still DRM, free or not, sevral old games are free today as the publisher and game company vanished leaving the software license defunct, but you still pay for these from some sites, lets say you bought an old dos game form the early 80;s thats freely avaibile online, you downloaded it into your computer system, then one day they say we cant let you keep this then pop goes what you paid for. Money back or not does not mean no harm done.

People with bad eyesight use ebooks because you can enlage the text so its easier to read than the normal book. Some books are not forsale in nonebook form anymore, try to find some old Star Trek novels these days, the easiest way is ebook. As someone else posted a kid was using it for homework and it deleted his notes also, this cant be covered by money. Or if there isnt a local bookstore around, I used to live in a town with only a Wal-Mart 15miles away the nearest bookstore was 130 miles away, to replace recalled book costs more than what they refunded because of gas. So yes this is DRM, they recalled the ebook because there afraid people will share this specfic recently published version. Remember a book or other written work is copyrighted for 50 years from last revision, so as long as revisions kept being made copyright stays. Now these free ebooks could be revision 1, but the amazon books revision 6 or 7, with spelling corrections not caught in revision 1, yes this does happen, could include illistrations not included in revisision 1 or any other stuff. So this is DRM on this publishers revision of the work, so there specific version is harder to pirate.

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