merryandrew

Google's eBook strategy is excellent. Google licenses eBooks at prices that rival Amazon and B&N, and the eBooks can be read in browsers, on cell phones, on eReaders from B&N, Sony, and now iRiver, etc., and if and when Amazon enables the Kindle to read ePUB eBooks that employ Adobe Content Server DRM (e.g., eBooks that Google, B&N and Sony sell, and public libraries lend), then Google eBooks will be accessible practically anywhere. Pretty shrewd move on Google's part.

The iRiver device looks pretty good, but as duiker101 points out, the Kindle has the unique 3G advantage.

Owning something gives you legal rights.

Allowing a standard, open format to work on the Kindle would make sense for users; Amazon currently chooses to disallow it. Imagine having a DVD player that could only play Amazon-formatted movies and not standard DVDs.

Buy an eBook "from Google's eBookstore, you'll be able to read it on your desktop PC, your iPhone, the Nook, the Kobo eReader, the Sony Reader, or a garden-variety flip phone — just not your Kindle."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20101206/tc_yblog_tec...

We can't read Amazon eBooks on other devices, or in applications not authorized by Amazon, which locks users in. Evil.

Can you convert any ePub to the Mobi format? No. Try to convert a DRM-enabaled ePub from an Amazon competitor like Google into a Mobi file, or try to convert a library eBook into a Mobi file. Amazon's Kindle platform is a prime example of an evil, locked in system.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20101206/tc_yblog_tec...

Since we do not own eBooks from Amazon, Apple and the like, maybe a Netflix-like service for eBooks needs to be created. I read 6-10 books a month, and if I could pay $10/month to read them like I do with movies at Netflix, it would be nice. Instead, Amazon and the like charge users to license each copy at $10/each and up, usually, which is such a ripoff. Amazon can sell virtual goods to us, but we can't resell them after we finish using them? Such a ripoff. At the most, Amazon should charge a small rental fee for their eBooks.

If your public library offers the Books24x7 service, you might just borrow these too. KCLS offers it and it's great. http://www.kcls.org/downloads/

Not necessarily O'Reilly, but many popular publishers -- Apress, Cengage, Cambridge University, Wrox Press, etc.

Pulling a fast one on Amazon is possible, sure, but does this maneuver violate the Amazon terms of service? Speaking of the TOS, it would be worth checking to see what is actually written.

Interesting. I imagined Amazon would update the Kindle firmware to support ePubs in addition to the Amazon content. We'll see I guess.

Saying the Kindle does not support ePubs is simply a literal statement. Interestingly, the Kindle will support ePubs soon, and thus libraries that lend ePubs, but the paper was written last year, before Amazon even hinted at supporting ePubs.

Ownership is a legal term, and it grants rights. You own some things, but not eBooks. We're talking about owning what you pay for, not becoming the copyright holder.

Selling something means you relinquish your ownership rights. e.g., selling your house, your car, etc.

You have no ownership rights when licensing, renting, etc.

Why would you want to own anything?

Good question. Can people inherit eBooks? I think not.

When you buy a hard copy you actually own it, you do not license it, and you can do with it as you please as long as you do not infringe on the rights of the copyright holder. You can sell it, lend it, etc.

eBooks are licensed. You cannot sell them, or lend them unless the right to lend is granted in the licensing agreement. I like the eBook format, but ownership is superior to licensing. Far superior.