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Blinky13 posted:True, it's that digital editions thing. It's still not as locked in as Kindle. Kindle is hardly locked in if that Adobe crap isn't considered locked in.
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Apr 10, 2012 22:06
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Install Gentoo posted:Kindle is hardly locked in if that Adobe crap isn't considered locked in. In the sense that you aren't locked into a specific retailer, and there's no conversion involved for most common formats. Most of the stuff I wanted an ereader for is pdf, and I didn't think I'd want to have to go through the emailing thing for that every time.
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Apr 10, 2012 23:59
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Blinky13 posted:In the sense that you aren't locked into a specific retailer, and there's no conversion involved for most common formats. Most of the stuff I wanted an ereader for is pdf, and I didn't think I'd want to have to go through the emailing thing for that every time. You're not locked into a specific retailer on the Kindle. Almost any mobipocket retailer works, as well as non-drm stores.
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Apr 11, 2012 02:49
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:If you want to read in the dark, turn on a light. If you can't do that, then don't read in the dark. I hate it when people say stuff like this. All you need to do is just think about things for an extra few seconds and you'd realize that "If you don't have a light around, then don't read" is kind of ridiculous. Imagine yourself on an airplane with the main lighting off. The cabin lights universally suck, and clip-on/case lights aren't really a great solution since they add extra bulk and produce uneven lighting. Imagine yourself in bed with your partner, and not wanting to turn on a light and disturb them. Imagine yourself in a room where you don't have a light over your shoulder. Imagine yourself sitting in the dark shade of a tree during the daytime. All of these problems can be solved with a case light - but they kind of suck. That's why Amazon's making a front-lit Kindle. And no, eInk isn't just easier to read because it's not lit. It's easier to read because the lighting method is reflective, where the light is bounced off the screen instead of being directed straight into your eyes at high intensity. Amazon's new lighting method is still reflective. Vertigus fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Apr 11, 2012 |
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Apr 11, 2012 03:05
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Install Gentoo posted:You're not locked into a specific retailer on the Kindle. Almost any mobipocket retailer works, as well as non-drm stores. One format, then. They only got pdf support recently, and there are still complaints about how well it works. There are things about it that would definitely make it preferable for some people, but after I looked into it, it didn't seem like it would suit my needs at this time. It's obviously a great device for most people who want it for the purpose of reading mass market books.
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Apr 11, 2012 03:13
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Vertigus posted:And no, eInk isn't just easier to read because it's not lit. No kidding. I never said it was the only reason. But it's one of the most important because none of the other readability factors like the actual eInk component matter if you backlight the screen. And that's where the confusion lies because when I initially made my comment, I had read the article and thought it said they were making a backlit Kindle, not a frontlit unit as is the case.
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Apr 11, 2012 03:16
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Blinky13 posted:One format, then. They only got pdf support recently, and there are still complaints about how well it works. There are things about it that would definitely make it preferable for some people, but after I looked into it, it didn't seem like it would suit my needs at this time. It's obviously a great device for most people who want it for the purpose of reading mass market books. No it takes multiple formats and it's had PDF support for years.
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Apr 11, 2012 03:44
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Blinky13 posted:One format, then. They only got pdf support recently, and there are still complaints about how well it works. There are things about it that would definitely make it preferable for some people, but after I looked into it, it didn't seem like it would suit my needs at this time. It's obviously a great device for most people who want it for the purpose of reading mass market books. Beyond some general formatting issues I haven't has any problems with my kindle being locked down, and I've thrown mobi, ePub and such at it. Honestly, a kindle is meant for two things: buying books and/or reading books. Considering how ridiculously well it does the overall, and that it's cheap enough to justify only doing those things, I'd say not much room to complain.
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Apr 11, 2012 04:18
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Its begun. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17681137 quote:Technology giant Apple and major publishers are being sued by the US Department of Justice over pricing of e-books. The US accuses Apple and book publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin of colluding on prices of books on the iPad. This lawsuit is over the agency model where publishers set the prices of e-books, rather than sellers. The lawsuit comes a day after Apple surpassed $600bn (£379bn) in value. The increase affirmed its position as the world's most valuable firm. I wonder how high up the court system this will go. EDIT: More from the Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304444604577337573054615152.html quote:NEW YORK—The U.S. filed an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against Apple Inc and five of the nation's largest publishers, alleging they conspired to limit competition for the pricing of e-books. Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-11/u-s-files-antitrust-lawsuit-against-apple-hachette.html quote:Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, according to people familiar with the matter. They will argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon.com Inc. Cartoon Man fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Apr 11, 2012 |
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Apr 11, 2012 15:40
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quote:Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, according to people familiar with the matter. They will argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon.com Inc. Wow, that's the biggest load of backwards bunk I've ever heard. Amazon is the only reason we ever have cheap e-books. Cheap prices are why they dominate the market.
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Apr 11, 2012 16:42
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I really hope the DOJ nails Apple to the wall for what they did. It really should be an open and shut case, just play the video of Steve Jobs talking to that guy from the New York Journal.quote:Walt asks Steve, "Why should she buy a book for $14.99 on your device when she can buy one for $9.99 from Amazon or Barnes & Noble?" http://allthingsd.com/20100128/boomtowns-apple-ipad-day-starring-walt-mossberg-plus-a-steve-jobs-cameo/ (the 1:57 mark)
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Apr 11, 2012 17:53
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I just came across this PDF, which I don't believe has been linked in here: http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/ebooks04112012.pdf Starting on the fifth page (Ignoring page numbers) the document describes the situation and what Apple/The Publishers actually did. Makes for interesting reading if you're not already intimately familiar with the situation.
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Apr 11, 2012 18:27
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Here are my screensavers! http://imgur.com/a/efKtx#1 Centipeed posted:I just came across this PDF, which I don't believe has been linked in here: Looks cool. They have evidence and poo poo! (That video of Steve Jobs is one piece of evidence, for example.) uXs fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Apr 11, 2012 |
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Apr 11, 2012 18:27
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Centipeed posted:Starting on the fifth page (Ignoring page numbers) the document describes the situation and what Apple/The Publishers actually did. After reading the article I stopped and thought for a second: why didn't the publishers just jack up the wholesale prices of ebooks it sold to Amazon et al.? I know the agency model puts the publishers in control of pricing, but it also painted a big fat target on their back for charges of collusion to raise prices.
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Apr 11, 2012 19:14
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Karthe posted:
Because Amazon could (and would) still sell the books at a loss. The pricing may have been more painful for Amazon to do so, but they would still be able to if they wanted to.
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Apr 11, 2012 19:22
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uXs posted:Here are my screensavers! is that Louis CK as a zombie
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Apr 11, 2012 19:25
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bull3964 posted:Because Amazon could (and would) still sell the books at a loss. The pricing may have been more painful for Amazon to do so, but they would still be able to if they wanted to. It's kind of bullshit that apple is pretty much saying this was the only way we decided we could compete and make money in this market. They colluded to maintain artificially high prices on a product that has much lower overhead then its physical counterpart with the companies that produce said product just to remain competitive.  That's some high level market fuckery right there.
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Apr 11, 2012 19:34
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bull3964 posted:Because Amazon could (and would) still sell the books at a loss. The pricing may have been more painful for Amazon to do so, but they would still be able to if they wanted to. Yeah, this is pretty much it. The publishers were already selling the books wholesale to Amazon for $13ish and Amazon was biting the bullet to sell them for $9.99
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Apr 11, 2012 19:40
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16 states have joined the DOJ in suing publishers and apple. http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...tm_campaign=rss Apparently some publishers have already settled with a few states, so I could see that weakening their hand in federal court.
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Apr 11, 2012 20:18
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I've been reading more into the DoJ's lawsuit and my god, Apple basically instigated the whole thing! In the document it says that Apple, as part of its iBooks contract, included a "Most Favored Nation" clause requiring publishers to price books through iBooks at the lowest retail price, regardless of who was selling books at that price. Basically, if Amazon was underselling an ebook for $9.99 that was selling for $12.99 through iBooks, publishers would be required to lower the price of the book on iBooks to match Amazon's prices. It's so devious! Apple placed pressure on publishers to gain control of pricing, thereby assuring that the major publishers would force Amazon onto the agency model and then be able to raise the average retail price of ebooks. loving hell...
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Apr 11, 2012 20:28
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Karthe posted:I've been reading more into the DoJ's lawsuit and my god, Apple basically instigated the whole thing! The publishers had been agitating since 2008 for a way around amazon's pricing, so I'm not sure that you can say apple had instigated the whole thing. To me, it seems like the publishers were more obviously colluding. The NYT has some anecdote about how the publishing house CEOs got together in restaurants and bitched together over dinners about it, though there may be some storyteller spin on that, depending on the conversations. The MFN clause is interesting, and probably the center of the whole case I think. The agency model itself seems like it wouldn't be a problem, and in the context that Apple does every other digital media sale on that with 30% commission it's predictable on that front. I look forward to a real lawyer's analysis of things 
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Apr 11, 2012 20:38
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What I want to know is, what becomes of the publishers that settled? Do they just pay out a pittance of a settlement to us consumers and then continue to gently caress us over with high ebook prices?
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Apr 11, 2012 20:39
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Karthe posted:What I want to know is, what becomes of the publishers that settled? Do they just pay out a pittance of a settlement to us consumers and then continue to gently caress us over with high ebook prices? http://www.publishersweekly.com/binary-data/ARTICLE_ATTACHMENT/file/000/000/666-1.pdf Basically: No fines. Cancel current contract with Apple. Any contracts that address retail pricing can be cancelled by the bookstore (Amazon). Any contracts that address retail pricing cannot be renewed. No future contracts that address retail pricing for at least two years. So, I'd say we'll probably get $9.99 books back. Also this article has a layman's write-up: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/04/doj-terms-settlement-ebook/ bull3964 posted:16 states have joined the DOJ in suing publishers and apple. http://www.ct.gov/ag/lib/ag/press_releases/2012/20120411_ebookscomplaint(public_version).pdf Lots of redacted emails and such, a nice chart of phone calls between the CEOs, and a few sections on how the publishers colluded on "windowing" for e-books, where the don't come out day-and-date with hardcovers. smackfu fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Apr 11, 2012 |
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Apr 11, 2012 21:06
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smackfu posted:Also this article has a layman's write-up: The Wired article was a good read, but I disagree with their conclusion: quote:In fact, in five years, we may end up with exactly the same kinds of agreements publishers and retailers have today. But that will be a decision made by the market, not by any real or perceived conspiracy between publishers and a single retailer that imposed that model on the market.
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Apr 11, 2012 21:38
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Karthe posted:The Wired article was a good read, but I disagree with their conclusion: 
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Apr 11, 2012 21:56
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I wonder if the publishers would be free to saddle amazon with higher prices than they give their competitors. E.g. bn and apple get cheaper prices to try and break the amazon hegemony. amazon certainly has the ability to price things at a huge loss, but I'm also not thrilled at a market where kindle is the only game in town either, and I love my kindle.
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Apr 11, 2012 22:55
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Good ole' Apple again. And people wonder why I despise them so much. 
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Apr 11, 2012 23:42
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Sporadic posted:I really hope the DOJ nails Apple to the wall for what they did. It really should be an open and shut case, just play the video of Steve Jobs talking to that guy from the New York Journal. I sincerely hope a documented quote from Steve Jobs saying that the prices will be fixed is taken as evidence that, in fact, Apple and the publishers were fixing prices. I'm cynical enough to predict that it won't. MrBond posted:I wonder if the publishers would be free to saddle amazon with higher prices than they give their competitors. E.g. bn and apple get cheaper prices to try and break the amazon hegemony. It's almost as if people are starting to realize that selling digital goods probably isn't much like Walmart and Joe's Hardware competing on the prices for shovels. Vertigus fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 00:12
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Vertigus posted:I sincerely hope a documented quote from Steve Jobs saying that the prices will be fixed is taken as evidence that, in fact, Apple and the publishers were fixing prices. It's circumstantial, at best. Still, gently caress 'em. I want affordable books in a convenient digital format. It'll be a cold day in Hell when I pay hardcopy retail or above, for an ebook. And I'm too old (and masculine) to be on a bus, lugging a goddamned manpurse around with paperbacks. 
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Apr 12, 2012 03:17
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As someone who sells e-readers as part of his job, the lower price on e-books has always been a selling point. I'd even argue that amazon's pricing model in conjunction with the Kindle is directly responsible for the level of adoption of e-readers we see today. In short: People like e-reading because its cheap and 20 dollars for "Dance With Dragons" is goddamn. ridiculous. For those more in the know, what was e-book pricing like in the late 90's, early 2000's?
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Apr 12, 2012 03:35
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Snuffman posted:For those more in the know, what was e-book pricing like in the late 90's, early 2000's? More expensive if not the same, actually. Since the customer base was so tiny, there wasn't much of a force driving eBook prices down so you'd see new releases go for hardcover list price and never drop in price, ever.
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Apr 12, 2012 03:47
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I wonder if this is good news or bad news for barnes and nobles? It seems like the market for ebooks is between Amazon, apple and BN. It is definitely bad news for Apple.
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Apr 12, 2012 04:05
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lostleaf posted:I wonder if this is good news or bad news for barnes and nobles? It seems like the market for ebooks is between Amazon, apple and BN. It is definitely bad news for Apple. Apple has been wayyyy far behind in ebook market since ibooks came out. Their drat store wont sell books that even work on Macs, let alone non-Apple devices.
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Apr 12, 2012 05:27
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Could it be, a lit eReader? Could Barnes & Noble beat Amazon to the punch with their lit eReader? Looks like it might happen.
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Apr 12, 2012 06:57
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Usually the pricing they're talking about, i.e. $9.99 is on new releases, right? I'm just a little confused because I bought Rushdie's latest novel (2008) on my kindle for 7.45
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Apr 12, 2012 12:01
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Guilty posted:Usually the pricing they're talking about, i.e. $9.99 is on new releases, right? I'm just a little confused because I bought Rushdie's latest novel (2008) on my kindle for 7.45 What country do you live in? Thats way cheaper than the US price. Going to http://www.amazon.com/The-Enchantress-Florence-Novel-ebook/dp/B0015DYITU/ from a US IP gets:  UK IP is: 
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Apr 12, 2012 12:35
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 I live in Germany. My Kindle is set to the German store, but that ss is from amazon.com
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Apr 12, 2012 12:53
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Just picked up the official lighted case for my Kindle Keyboard. Great cover, although I'm slightly surprised at how much weight it adds. It says you can fold it fully back to read one handed, but it seems to crease quite badly when you do this. Is this really ok to do regularly? It seems like the leather might split after a while, or does it just soften up eventually? Also, does anyone take theirs in/out of their case a lot? I like to stick the Kindle in a sandwich bag and read it in the bath sometimes, but the whole mechanism seems like it might wear a bit if I'm doing that a lot.
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Apr 12, 2012 14:11
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chippy posted:Just picked up the official lighted case for my Kindle Keyboard. Great cover, although I'm slightly surprised at how much weight it adds. It says you can fold it fully back to read one handed, but it seems to crease quite badly when you do this. Is this really ok to do regularly? It seems like the leather might split after a while, or does it just soften up eventually? I can't speak for removing it from the case since I never do, but my lighted case on my keyboard kindle spends at least half its life folded back and there is absolutely no sign of wear. I wouldn't worry about it.
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Apr 12, 2012 15:10
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chippy posted:Just picked up the official lighted case for my Kindle Keyboard. Great cover, although I'm slightly surprised at how much weight it adds. It says you can fold it fully back to read one handed, but it seems to crease quite badly when you do this. Is this really ok to do regularly? It seems like the leather might split after a while, or does it just soften up eventually? I've had my case for about 6 months, I think, and there's no sign of wear at all from being folded back. They're designed for it. I guess it might wear a bit after a few years, but by then you'll probably upgrade to a newer Kindle anyway, so I don't think it's anything you need to worry about.
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Apr 12, 2012 15:28
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