Comments on: Kindle Swindle? (Updated)

By: Mneiae

Mneiae — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:20:49 +0000

Yes, it stinks when they remove books from your personal library. I am sorry that that happened to you.

@Travis: No, it does not give you headaches. The screen is e-ink and each image is basically temporarily printed on the screen. Otherwise I could just use the barnes and noble store and read all of my books on the computer, which would be more convenient than the locked down .azw that my kindle uses.

By: Travis

Travis — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:48:42 +0000

Wow… I’ve always preferred the “real deal” when it comes to books versus the electronic copies, but I didn’t think they had the ability to do this! Invasion of privacy or not, that’s quite the annoyance!

Out of curiosity though… does using the Amazon kindle give you headaches, since you’re staring at a screen that entire time?

By: Marty McGowan

Marty McGowan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:30:16 +0000

Thanks to Kiera for remind us Mad’s Muse is the Limerick. On the day I finished “Angela’s Ashes”. “And that’s the way it is”, ‘Tis!

By: madkane

madkane — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:46:21 +0000

Good points, Steve. And thanks, Keira!

By: Ames Tiedeman

Ames Tiedeman — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:05:14 +0000

I read this an was relatively shocked.

By: Keira

Keira — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:38:40 +0000

Loved the limerick! Thanks for a laugh on the subject.

By: Steve Bates

Steve Bates — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:17:34 +0000

I can’t say it all in rhyme at the moment, but Bruce Schneier points out several disadvantages of a Kindle e-book over a book printed on paper:

- you can’t lend a Kindle e-book without lending your whole library (and do you even have the legal right to do that?);

- you can’t sell a Kindle e-book when you’re done reading it;

- you can’t read a Kindle e-book without a Kindle,

and yes, of course, as you so elegantly point out,

- a Kindle e-book can be repossessed from you by a process not substantively different from breaking and entering.

Believe me, Amazon will do anything to appease publishers, not customers… and publishers do not have the greatest track record of writing fairly worded EULA’s even for paper books. Why would anyone consider buying a Kindle and licensing e-books under those circumstances? Forget it!