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I mean really, I can't believe people are actually saying they're proud to buy a device because the manufacturer doesn't want things to be cheaper. Proud to buy a nook because Amazon wants ebooks to be cheap like they should be??
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Feb 24, 2012 22:14
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"Boo hoo" is an absurdly simplistic explanation of the issue. here is some good reading from a writer's perspective on why this is not necessarily a good idea. Also prescient, since it was written last November.
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Feb 24, 2012 22:16
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Bhodi posted:Which is, basically, why I bought a nook in the first place. Yes, because BN would never throw their weight around and participate in ebook-related drama. http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2011/10/07/sparks-fly-among-dc-comics-kindle-fire-and-bn
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Feb 24, 2012 22:17
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But, I get to take the books I've already purchased somewhere else if I don't like what they're doing. With a kindle, you don't have that option. Vendor lock-in as well as the walled-garden single source ends up being a detriment to the consumer.
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Feb 24, 2012 22:19
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Bhodi posted:"Boo hoo" is an absurdly simplistic explanation of the issue. here is some good reading from a writer's perspective on why this is not necessarily a good idea. Also prescient, since it was written last November. Yes great another shill explanation of why its so hard on them to have cheaper prices and how DRM was clearly only invented by Amazon somehow. Frankly consumers don't care, cheap is good, and DRM on text is easy to crack for people who for some reason don't have a smartphone or a computer to read on if they break their reader. Also there's nothing prescient about it, Amazon has stated they want books to be cheap from the very start, and that they'd have drm, what with taking losses on books back when they started so that almost all ebooks would be $9.99 and under. Edit: And we all know that if you raise the price of a book $5, the author sure as all ain't getting anywhere near $5 more anyway. Bhodi posted:But, I get to take the books I've already purchased somewhere else if I don't like what they're doing. With a kindle, you don't have that option. Vendor lock-in as well as the walled-garden single source ends up being a detriment to the consumer. Nook books can't even be bought in any country other than America. They're also only really portable if you strip DRM, which can be done on any format. On the other hand you can buy Kindle books globally, they work on 98% of computers in use, nearly 95% of tablets in use, about 90% of smartphones in use. If you call that a walled garden, you're crazy. Nintendo Kid fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Feb 24, 2012 |
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Feb 24, 2012 22:19
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Bhodi posted:So, the first salvo in the publisher/distribution wars has been fired. The theory that Amazon would use their leverage as the sole delivery pipe to strong-arm publishers, just like apple did with itunes, was indeed correct. That depends. You could argue that the first salvo was fired by Macmillan in 2010 which (along with Apple) helped push all the major publishers over to the (horribly lovely for consumers) agency model. http://boingboing.net/2010/01/29/amazon-and-macmillan.html And this doesn't seem like a strong-arm maneuver. Amazon proposed new terms, IPG refused and Amazon had to pull the books since no new agreement was reached. That's not a punishment. Amazon couldn't legally keep them up with no agreement in place. I guess you can say that Amazon should have kept the contract the same but nobody really knows what changes were proposed (besides what we know from IPG which isn't exactly a neutral source) - edit A strong-arm maneuver is refusing to stock a certain publisher's book regardless of the circumstances Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Feb 24, 2012 |
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Feb 24, 2012 22:20
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Sporadic posted:- edit A strong-arm maneuver is refusing to stock a certain publisher's book regardless of the circumstances Cheap is good, but we're not really headed the 'cheap' direction. We've still got $9.99 ebooks for titles that are years deep in back catalog that you can purchase, in paperback, retail for $6. Maybe amazon will force price parity, maybe they will continue to foster self publishing (an author friend of mine says that it's basically the best game in town right now, mostly because of tagging), but in the end, they're still a corporation out to make money and they already hold more than 80% of the market. And that share is growing. You're just assuming that prices will continue to fall. More logically, they'll slowly try and replace publishers with themselves and, once they are a complete monopoly with an enormous revenue stream, they can do whatever they drat-well please and dictate terms to publisher, author, and consumer alike. There won't be any options, because the longer they are in power the more sticky they are, as they own your entire library which gets bigger by the year. At the endgame, there is no financial reason why prices won't stay the same to the consumer even while the 'publishing' costs drop through the floor. Maybe you're cheering for that, but I see it as just trading one middleman for another.
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Feb 24, 2012 22:56
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Bhodi posted:At the endgame, there is no financial reason why prices won't stay the same to the consumer even while the 'publishing' costs drop through the floor. Maybe you're cheering for that, but I see it as just trading one middleman for another. Amazon however does incredibly extensive statistics and research on their prices. They will charge exactly what makes them the most profit, and if that is low prices so more people buy cheap books (the 99-cent app model) that many people claim would be more profitable, they'll probably do that. If it turns out that the $10-15/book price point for all books new or old somehow turns out to yield the best profit, then they'll do that. Since Amazon has relatively very low overhead selling ebooks you can bet they will push prices down as far as volume increases to compensate, but not a penny more. Except of course to eliminate competition.
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Feb 24, 2012 23:03
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Bhodi posted:Cheap is good, but we're not really headed the 'cheap' direction. We've still got $9.99 ebooks for titles that are years deep in back catalog that you can purchase, in paperback, retail for $6. Maybe amazon will force price parity, maybe they will continue to foster self publishing (an author friend of mine says that it's basically the best game in town right now, mostly because of tagging), but in the end, they're still a corporation out to make money and they already hold more than 80% of the market. And that share is growing. You do understand that it's the publishers who are making years old books cost $9.99 right? Also why should anyone care that they hold 80% of the market? Nooks aren't available anywhere but the US and has generally slightly higher book prices. Sony readers were neglected and the Sony store is in pretty bad shape. Kobo is a joke, as is iBooks. How could Amazon not be growing when noone else offers good service AND good prices AND international availability? They put out a much better online service on the whole than anyone else, just like they do with their physical book business.
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Feb 24, 2012 23:05
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Bhodi posted:Yikes, I didn't know about that. Well, that's not going to help them stop hemorrhaging money. I wish I could say that I'm surprised that they're bastards, too. Ha, that article. Look out, we're seriously comparing comparing B&N (making an effort to compete) to Circuit City (new CEO liquidated the company), Blockbuster (steadfastly charged more for a rental than you could buy two used DVDs for until they went under), and Borders (mismanaged horribly for years and then banked everything on the Kobo 3 years too late).
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Feb 24, 2012 23:06
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Install Gentoo posted:You do understand that it's the publishers who are making years old books cost $9.99 right? Yeah, which is why I mentioned "Price parity" in my next paragraph. Amazon can (and probably will) force that. We're in a period of transition and growth right now and I admit I have a US-centric viewpoint on it, which is why I see B&N as a legitimate option. There really is no other good ones, as you say, and the one other potential competitor who has the financial strength to compete, apple, kneecapped themselves, one leg with iBooks and in the other with iPublish. But if (when?) amazon finishes on top, there won't ever be any other option, and no way to new fish to break into the market on either the publisher or reader front. It was mentioned above that your kindle books are available on many devices, which is true, but only through their reader app. What if you don't like the features? I dislike the nook color's default reader, I think their margins are rediculous, and I personally prefer FBReader - but in the future? You get to grin and bear it.
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Feb 24, 2012 23:16
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Bhodi posted:Yeah, which is why I mentioned "Price parity" in my next paragraph. Amazon can (and probably will) force that. Amazon has already finished on top. They've been on top since 2008. And there hasn't really been space for new ereader makers for a while now. Major ereaders now: Amazon, B&N, Sony. Major ereaders in 2010: Amazon, Sony, B&N. Major ereaders in 2008: Amazon, Sony, iRex. If you don't like the reader features, crack the books you have and you can use them in anything. Or pirate them. It's not like you can use books from nook in most reader apps directly either - they're using DRM too.
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Feb 24, 2012 23:34
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When the first Irex came out it cost over $1000 and had a battery life of hours, not weeks. My Sony PRS-500 cost about $270 + a lot of import costs as nobody seemed to want to sell anything outside of America at that point. Their book store was atrocious. These days I can get a Kindle shipped almost anywhere in the world for almost nothing. Amazon have been the only ebook company interested in pushing prices down. I don't care if it's ultimately a selfish action - they have done more to help consumers than anyone else in the ebook industry.
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Feb 25, 2012 03:17
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I just found out that publishers have the option to make a checked-out library book only able to be downloaded and transferred via USB (no wireless allowed). Amazon only recognizes the Kindle device itself as being capable of USB transfers so if you don't have an actual kindle device but want to read one of these books on an iPhone or iPad (both of which can transfer books to the Kindle app over USB) or even just on your computer (no transfer required at all after the download) then you are SOL; if there is no kindle device attached to your account then they don't even let you download the file. This is pretty stupid IMO. withak fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Feb 25, 2012 |
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Feb 25, 2012 03:30
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Tell me about it. The most frustrating thing about my job is when I have to tell library patrons that they can't even download books at our library unless they have brought a laptop/iPad with them. Overdrive has stupid restrictive DRM that can only be transferred using Adobe Digital Editions software from Mac/PC via USB to eBook device. No wifi. And no way to download books on our public computers the way the license system is set up. That goes over really seeing that our service area is mostly rural (i.e. 60% broadband penetration) Me: "You brought your eReader to the library? Great, now go home and download your book. You can't do it here." Person wanting eBook:  This is what publishers want. They call it "friction". Gherkin Jerkin fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Feb 25, 2012 |
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Feb 25, 2012 04:10
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Finally, a good reason to root a Nook Simple Touch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pBPsyno5PY It's basically a hack to activate a built-in 1-bit color depth mode. What that means is that you only get black and white, no shades of gray. It also means that the screen refreshes get really, really, incredibly fast. For eInk, anyway. Seriously, watch that video, it's amazing. Not a perfect solution by any means, but 
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Feb 25, 2012 04:17
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I wonder if they (Amazon, B&N, Sony, Borders) would consider putting that option in an update, because that is awesome. Would it drain the battery any faster than normal?
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Feb 25, 2012 04:30
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Gherkin Jerkin posted:Tell me about it. The most frustrating thing about my job is when I have to tell library patrons that they can't even download books at our library unless they have brought a laptop/iPad with them. Overdrive has stupid restrictive DRM that can only be transferred using Adobe Digital Editions software from Mac/PC via USB to eBook device. No wifi. And no way to download books on our public computers the way the license system is set up. That goes over really seeing that our service area is mostly rural (i.e. 60% broadband penetration) Lesson learned: easier to pirate.
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Feb 25, 2012 04:58
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Arcsech posted:Finally, a good reason to root a Nook Simple Touch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pBPsyno5PY Holy poo poo, thanks for the heads up on this. All over it come Sunday.
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Feb 25, 2012 06:39
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Mister Macys posted:I wonder if they (Amazon, B&N, Sony, Borders) would consider putting that option in an update, because that is awesome. I'd doubt it. Maybe if you were trying to read PDFs, but it seems like if you were just reading an epub and flipping pages, it'd be identical to the battery life usage anyway.
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Feb 25, 2012 06:50
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Splizwarf posted:Ha, that article. Look out, we're seriously comparing comparing B&N (making an effort to compete) to Circuit City (new CEO liquidated the company), Blockbuster (steadfastly charged more for a rental than you could buy two used DVDs for until they went under), and Borders (mismanaged horribly for years and then banked everything on the Kobo 3 years too late). If I've learned anything from following the end of the Borders chain, it's that journalists writing about digital technology eating into brick-and-mortar space usually prove how little they know about either.
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Feb 25, 2012 07:29
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withak posted:Lesson learned: easier to pirate. b-b-but that's illegal  you should just be happy we gave you what you have...or buy the hardback 
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Feb 25, 2012 07:48
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More than half the books on my Kindle are from the UK/US store, and I don't even live in these countries. Stupid region fuckery. 
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Feb 25, 2012 09:18
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I scanned through the OP and hopped through the thread looking for an answer to my question, so apologies if I've missed the answer somewhere. How do I delete my samples on a Kindle Fire? I finally figured it out on my Kindle App for my iPhone, but after scrolling through amazon's website, they aren't super helpful with how to delete the sample books. When I look on my "Manage Your Kindle Fire" on their website, I see all the books I've downloaded, but not the samples - so I can't delete them there either.
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Feb 25, 2012 14:31
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Before this descends into  and the report button gets mashed over and over, on a lighter note, I read this this morning, about automated bots fighting it out with each other on pricing virtual books:quote:Last year I published my children's book about computer science, Lauren Ipsum. I set a price of $14.95 for the paperback edition and sales have been pretty good. Then last week I noticed a marketplace bot offering to sell it for $55.63. “Silly bots”, I thought to myself, “must be a bug”. After all, it's print-on-demand, so where would you get a new copy to sell? As they say, it's all a bit ridiculous from the outside: quote:So with “Turing Test” we have a delightful futuristic absurdity: a computer program, pretending to be human, hawking a book about computers pretending to be human, while other computer programs pretend to have used copies of it. A book that was never actually written, much less printed and read.
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Feb 25, 2012 16:20
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I'm really, really glad I went with a Kindle over a Nook. I don't see how B&N can keep up with Amazon, long-term. They're much bigger, they're worldwide, and they know the book business like nobody else. B&N will always be vulnerable because they are a B&M business. I love my Amazon overlords.
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Feb 25, 2012 16:20
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Bhodi posted:Before this descends into b-b-but ~*My Freedom*~ If they don't make the content available in the format that doesn't make me leave my basement is justified right?
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Feb 25, 2012 18:28
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gently caress intellectual property Note: this is a ePUB copy of this book, which is free online and in fact hosted on the author's website. PS: mod(s), please edit or PM me (so I edit) if this post, does, in fact, break the forum rules or something
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Feb 25, 2012 18:51
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Bhodi posted:Before this descends into You left out the best part though... Amazon's response to all of the used copies of the book was to unilaterally lower the price of the main title!
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Feb 25, 2012 19:05
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Oh no, it's the black swan of the publishing world!
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Feb 25, 2012 19:38
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ZShakespeare posted:b-b-but ~*My Freedom*~ Mine was actually a joke since that is what the publishers expect you to do. They continue to keep trying to raise prices or delay release dates or add "friction" to the library system so you'll go "this is really hard/expensive ...I better just buy the hardback! "As if they are actually competing. I don't know about you, but unless it is full of color pictures or complex formatting, the physical copy isn't even on my radar anymore.
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Feb 25, 2012 20:05
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Sporadic posted:Mine was actually a joke since that is what the publishers expect you to do. They continue to keep trying to raise prices or delay release dates or add "friction" to the library system so you'll go "this is really hard/expensive Daft question; but isn't lugging a hardback cover for one book like the ultimate in friction?
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Feb 25, 2012 20:38
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Yes, that's why publishers and public lending libraries were mostly fine with the old system as long as the library ensured that a hardcover wasn't photocopied or something to be distributed to more than one patron at a time. Libraries are attempting to use the same concept for eBook (one book per patron). Publishers basically say one of three things: 1) "Nope, you can't have our books." (Simon & Schuster, Hatchet, etc.) 2) "Sure, but you have to pay more per eBook than for a hardcover book" and/or "Oh, and we reserve the right to pull our materials from your collection at any time. (Penguin) 3) "Naw, let's do this instead," and only work with an archaic rear end-backwards system (called Overdrive) that no one is happy with. Yes, it's better than nothing. Some library systems have been able to strike out on their own and make deals directly with publishers, but the library has to foot the whole bill for setup costs. Douglas county's 2012 digital material collections budget is more than my entire library's operating budget. Mid-sized to small libraries can't really afford anything other than Overdrive right now. Gherkin Jerkin fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Feb 26, 2012 |
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Feb 26, 2012 01:50
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Gherkin Jerkin posted:3) "Naw, let's do this instead," and only work with an archaic rear end-backwards system (called Overdrive) that no one is happy with. Yes, it's better than nothing.
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Feb 26, 2012 02:10
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You can't get a lot of titles since some publishers won't let their books on OverDrive, especially newer big books. My library is on the ropes. I doubt they'd ever be able to cut a deal with a publisher like that. Some days my branch is only open 3 hours.
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Feb 26, 2012 03:13
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So is Harry Potter the only big book series that isn't on kindle?
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Feb 26, 2012 03:21
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smackfu posted:So is Harry Potter the only big book series that isn't on kindle?
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Feb 26, 2012 03:39
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:What makes you say no one is happy with it? I feel like the entire thing seems like it was written a decade ago. It works, but it does so in a way that basically makes it as painful as possible to borrow a book, and as hard as possible to browse titles or find ones you don't know about but may like.
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Feb 26, 2012 05:12
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Lazyhound posted:William Gibson's first two trilogies are missing a title each.
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Feb 26, 2012 12:30
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Selection probably depends on what books your library wants to license. My area is all young families, so my overdrive selection is mostly kids books and steamy romance novels.
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Feb 26, 2012 16:02
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