The Kindle Monologues

elephantsandmangoes:

So, I bought a nook recently. I bought it primarily for reading the results of my exhaustive archival research, but in the process I’ve also discovered that e-books are evil. Here’s why:

- E-books are platform specific. You cannot read a nook book on a kindle and you cannot read a kindle book on a nook. I downloaded Calibre because I was under the impression that this was just a question of file format and that the software would help me change that enabling me to read any book on any platform and on any device. According to Calibre, however, it can only convert books that are already under the public domain or those that are not protected by DRM. Most publishers digitally protect their books through DRM so the books cannot be converted from one format to another. (Apparently one can download a plugin for Calibre to remove DRM, but honestly why should I be unable to read an ebook I’ve purchased using any medium I want?)

- DRM is evil in more ways than one. It also prevents you from lending your book to anyone or sharing it with others. This also means that you cannot borrow books from others. Nook has a way to share some books with other nook users, but how many people do you know who own a nook? And you definitely cannot leave an ebook on a park bench for someone else to discover.

- DRM also prevents you from printing your ebook. This I do not understand at all. I want to print a chapter from an ebook I purchased so I can make a hand out for my students. But because this is not possible, I have to go to library, get the book from reserve, scan it and then make the handout. Sort of defeats the purpose of buying the ebook, right? (I’ve submitted a refund request with Google)

- Most websites will not let you return an ebook. Barnes and Nobles will not. Amazon gives you up to 7 days. Google Books also gives you 7 days, but you have to submit a “request.” You will get your money back only if the request is approved. If your request is denied, then you won’t.

- Ebooks are expensive, often more so than physical books. I do not understand why any ebook is worth more than $4. I can’t imagine that the authors make much from royalty anyway, so when an ebook is priced $14 I am guessing that the profit margins for publishers are incredibly high.

- You cannot buy a used ebook.

- You can borrow some ebooks from libraries, but the selections are limited and you need a $100-$200 device to read the ebooks. I can just go to the library and get a physical book for free.

Ebooks are essentially a way for corporations to ensure that we do not share (a fundamentally human thing to do) and that if we want to read a book, we have to purchase our own individual copies and our own individual devices, thus ensuring maximum profits for them.

I am not buying another ebook unless I absolutely need to. In fact, I would recommend against buying a kindle or a nook unless you can find some other use for these devices other than reading ebooks on them.

Le sigh…

So, I bought a nook recently. I bought it primarily for reading the results of my exhaustive archival research, but in the process I’ve also discovered that e-books are evil. Here’s why:

This comment here perfectly encapsulates my thoughts on the notion of books having souls.

E-books are platform specific. You cannot read a nook book on a kindle and you cannot read a kindle book on a nook. I downloaded Calibre because I was under the impression that this was just a question of file format and that the software would help me change that enabling me to read any book on any platform and on any device.

Firstly - that’s more of a failing on your part, than anything. If you’d been given the device as a present, then I could understand not knowing all that much about it, but as you purchased it yourself, didn’t you think to do a little research?

A five minute [if that!] Google query would have not only told you about the different “main” or “Commercial” formats the devices use. [epub for the Nook, AZW/Mobi for the Kindle] but also the interoperability of said formats - while it’s true [to an extent] that Amazon eBooks are somewhat restricted to the Kindle / Kindle Apps, you can read epub files on a variety of different eReaders / their respective Apps [assuming, you’re buying commercial epub files that are wrapped in Adobes’ DRM]

According to Calibre, however, it can only convert books that are already under the public domain or those that are not protected by DRM. Most publishers digitally protect their books through DRM so the books cannot be converted from one format to another. (Apparently one can download a plugin for Calibre to remove DRM, but honestly why should I be unable to read an ebook I’ve purchased using any medium I want?)

Anyone who has ever watch develop in real time - or read about, the emergence of new platforms, will tell you this is nothing new. When Amazon, and Apple before them, started selling music, the files were “protected” with DRM - Apples’ video content still is; If I buy a TV Show from iTunes, it’ll only work “out the box” on an iDevice, or within iTunes, unless I remove the DRM.

But it’s not something that’s exclusive to digital downloads - look at blu-ray. It’s the industry standard method of delivering physical copies of video content in HD, but it had to battle against HD-DVD; neither system was compatible - you couldn’t, for example, play a HD-DVD copy of Transformers on a blu-ray player.

Similarly with DVD - it had to beat competition from MMCD and other formats, to become the format of choice - try playing [or finding!] an MMCD disc on a DVD player - it’ll just spit it out.

Then there’s the classic VHS vs Betamax.

The thing they’ve all got in common? If you buy one device / one format, you’re effectively “tied into” it. Which is why most people wait until one format “wins” over the other [For example - I waited to jump on the HD wagon, until Blu-Ray had clearly won]

Now, addressing the actual ethics of applying DRM - that’s surely a criticism that should be levelled at the publishers who apply it, rather than the format itself? You can quite easily spend years reading books - public domain and commercial, that are free from DRM.

DRM is evil in more ways than one. It also prevents you from lending your book to anyone or sharing it with others. This also means that you cannot borrow books from others. Nook has a way to share some books with other nook users, but how many people do you know who own a nook? And you definitely cannot leave an ebook on a park bench for someone else to discover.

When talking about DRM - especially with regards their application to eBooks, it’s important to remember that the eBook industry [at least in terms of the industry as it is at the moment] is still somewhat in its infancy. Again, going back to the example of digital music - ALL music twelve / fifteen years ago had DRM for the exact reason you mention - to prevent people sharing it.

The multi-billion dollar industries behind these forms of entertainment - Music, Film, Books etc, etc - of course they want to curtail the amount of sharing that goes on, as they [foolishly] believe it’s detrimental to their business practices - the music industry, for example, tried not only to ban cassettes, but also MP3 players, as they believed such technology would irrevocably damage the industry.

To address some specific points within your point:

Nook has a way to share some books with other nook users, but how many people do you know who own a nook?

I’ll be coming back to this later - specifically your seventh point.

And you definitely cannot leave an ebook on a park bench for someone else to discover.

This applies to all forms of digital content, it’s not specific to eBooks. It also ignores the [I would hope] seemingly obvious - by the end of the decade, you’ll be able to buy eReaders that make the current models look positively archaic in comparison, for around $20. Were you so inclined, you could always leave those on a park bench for people.

DRM also prevents you from printing your ebook. This I do not understand at all. I want to print a chapter from an ebook I purchased so I can make a hand out for my students. But because this is not possible, I have to go to library, get the book from reserve, scan it and then make the handout. Sort of defeats the purpose of buying the ebook, right? (I’ve submitted a refund request with Google)

Obligatory Disclaimer: I’m from the UK, so I’m far from an expert on U.S. copyright laws, though I’d imagine they’re somewhat comparable to the laws we have over here.

Firstly - putting aside the fallacy of buying eBooks to print out sections of them - what your’re describing surely falls foul of copyright laws?

I worked in Further Education [Colleges] and, for a brief period, in Higher Education [i.e. University’s].

I’ve also produced online learning courses [LearnDirect, for any stray Brits].

One thing that was drilled into us - both on the content development side, and the teaching side, was the legality of copying content directly from a book, without first obtaining the right holders permission.

Indeed, such was the concern, that in one FE establishment where I worked, all the photocopiers were linked into a central network, that required you to punch in your staff ID, and a password, before you could use them.

What I’m getting at, is that if the copyright laws in the United States are in anyway comparable to the laws over here - while you might not be breaking the law by re-producing the text from a book without the copy-holders permission - it’s certainly a grey area.

Now - assuming all the above doesn’t apply to the United States - then the fact you can’t copy text from your eBooks is actually a failing of the Nook - you can most certainly copy text from Kindle eBooks.

Have you double checked? On the Kindle it’s simply a case of highlighting the relevant passage, saving the highlight, then pulling the quote out of a .txt file stored on the device¹

Sort of defeats the purpose of buying the ebook, right? (I’ve submitted a refund request with Google)

The purpose of buying an eBook is surely to read it? As is the case with physical books. What happens after that is out of the control of the publisher. When you buy, for example, a physical copy of Man in the High Castle, it’s to read, not necessarily serve as a learning resource.

Most websites will not let you return an ebook. Barnes and Nobles will not. Amazon gives you up to 7 days. Google Books also gives you 7 days, but you have to submit a “request.” You will get your money back only if the request is approved. If your request is denied, then you won’t.

Again - you’re criticising a technical format, based on the commercial implication of said format, by one retailer. That you can’t return Nook eBooks is more of a criticism of Barnes & Nobles’ business practices, than the inherent merit of eBooks as a format.

Ebooks are expensive, often more so than physical books. I do not understand why any ebook is worth more than $4. I can’t imagine that the authors make much from royalty anyway, so when an ebook is priced $14 I am guessing that the profit margins for publishers are incredibly high.

I’d be willing to bet what remains of my cardiovascular system, on the notion that there isn’t a single eBook on the market, that’s more expensive than it’s print counterpart.

What you’re comparing, is the price of an eBook against a discounted physical book. It’s actually a pretty understandable mistake - big box retailer such as Borders, Barnes & Noble, and online retailer such as Amazon, have conditioned people to ignore the RRP on a book - unless it’s too equate it to mean Really, Really, Pricey [Or Right Rip-Off Price?]

Go find an eBook that sells for “more” than it’s physical book counterpart. Then look at the recommended retail price for the physical book, and you’ll find that, compared to that price, the eBook is actually cheaper.

A while ago I wrote a little something something about this, however as that post is a little out-dated, and was in response to a specific complaint, I’ll briefly[!] address it here:

• Physical books: Retailers can sell ‘em for whatever price they want? There’s a new Hunger Games book announced tomorrow? Amazon could offer it up for pre-order for $1.
• The exact same book, only on sale as an eBook? It’s likely Amazon would have to sell it for ten times the price.

¹I’ll admit to not knowing the specific workings of the Nook, when it comes to highlights - I live in the UK and Waterstone’s haven’t launched the device over here yet.

²And before any stray librarians contact me - I totally understand what a difficult balancing act this is. And obviously, Fuck HarperCollins