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5/17/2009 11:55:26 PM

5/26/2009 4:42:57 PM

an exchange with customer service reps on how drm actually works on the kindle:

http://www.geardiary.com/2009/06/21/kindlegate-confusion-abounds-regarding-kindle-download-policy/

6/23/2009 6:15:35 PM

Might pick up the new Sony pocket edition for $199. I don't like the kindle 2's large keyboard (kindle dx is too large and expensive) and don't mind the Sony not having 3g. Could wait on the upcoming Sony Daily Reader with 3g but i think it's too large. The new Sony Touch i hear is not as crisp and more blurry than the pocket due to the touch screen. Don't need to be able to take notes or anything.

Anyone pick up one of the new Sony's? $199 isn't too bad.

9/1/2009 12:34:28 AM

^

Quote :

"It does not, however, have an expansion slot for a memory card to increase the number of books it can carry."

this is a deal breaker for me...350 books is great and all, but i have more than that in various formats already...i'd want to use this as a portable library, not a "load up a few books and go" device (which most people WILL use it for, i realize)...as such:

Quote :

"For that, Sony said it would introduce a $299 touch-screen device with a 6-inch display and slots for Sony's Memory Sticks or SD cards."

$100 for an SD slot and 1" more screen? hmmm...not sure if that's a good deal or not, but now it's getting into the "i'm not going to pay that much money for an e-reader" territory

Quote :

"The Tokyo-based company said it also was dropping the price of bestselling and new-release titles sold at its website to $9.99 from $11.99, matching the price of digital books sold on Amazon.com."

anyone else think this is ridiculous? i can buy a large paperback for $7.99-8.99...why would something that requires less to "publish" cost MORE? it's not even like anyone can claim they have some special programming to do...it's TEXT...this is why i happily buy the book and then torrent the e-book version...they in no way deserve more of my money, but i DO deserve both the digital copy and the physical copy if i purchase the physical copy itself

i really want to try out a reader, but i keep thinking i'll hate it

9/1/2009 7:49:54 AM

Quote :

"i DO deserve both the digital copy and the physical copy if i purchase the physical copy itself"

No you don't

9/1/2009 8:07:06 AM

that's your OPINION..."deserve" is subjective and as such changes with the person and the scenario

so yes, actually, i DO deserve it...which is why i take it

this is the same as buying a CD and believing that you have the right to a compressed/portable copy of the music...unless you've never downloaded or ripped a copy of a song that you owned on CD (without paying extra for it), you're a hypocrite

the law can suck my nuts...laws are not always just (but again, "just" is subjective, so there's no universal truth to this argument, which is why neither of us will ever "win")

[Edited on September 1, 2009 at 8:26 AM. Reason : .]

9/1/2009 8:23:16 AM

Woah, spaz

[Edited on September 1, 2009 at 10:51 AM. Reason : I guess since I bought this book, I can just walk into Borders and take as many copies as I want.]

9/1/2009 10:51:15 AM

Quote :

"this is a deal breaker for me...350 books is great and all, but i have more than that in various formats already...i'd want to use this as a portable library, not a "load up a few books and go" device (which most people WILL use it for, i realize)...as such:"

True, i'm fine with 350 books though. I can't imagine a trip where i don't have access to a computer where 350 books isn't enough.

Quote :

"$100 for an SD slot and 1" more screen? hmmm...not sure if that's a good deal or not, but now it's getting into the "i'm not going to pay that much money for an e-reader" territory"

Well it's $100 for the touch screen upgrade too, dictionary, note taking, copy/paste etc. Although i hear the Sony Touch is blurry compared to the Pocket edition. Something to do with the touch screen.

9/1/2009 12:08:40 PM

The DRM on this is horrible...

1) "[The CSR said] that there is always a limit to the number of times you can download a given book. Sometimes, he said, it's five or six times but at other times it may only be once or twice. And, here's the kicker folks, once you reach the cap you need to repurchase the book if you want to download it again."

http://consumerist.com/5300138/amazon-kindle-books-can-only-be-downloaded-a-limited-number-of-times-and-no-you-cannot-find-out-that-limit-before-you-hit-it
http://www.geardiary.com/2009/06/19/kindles-drm-rears-its-ugly-head-and-it-is-ugly/

2) "For quite some time we've been pointing out the simple fact that, unlike with a physical book, you don't really own the ebooks that you buy on your Amazon Kindle. Even worse, Amazon can simply delete them at will. In fact, that's exactly what's happened to (of all books!) George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. Talk about irony. People who legitimately purchased those books discovered that they're now gone, as the publisher has decided that ebook versions were (copyright not owned by publisher)... and should never have existed in the first place."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090717/1559425587.shtml

9/1/2009 12:55:58 PM

For the thousandth time, it's not the DRM on the kindle, it's the DRM on the format. The kindle just supports it, and enables Amazon to delete it if they think they have to - assuming you have the 3G turned on. I haven't tried with mine but you could probably even back those up on your PC and put them back on the Kindle w/o repurchasing. You could probably find that out by looking it up, but I'm not going to.

You could also make the argument that people didn't "legitimately purchase" those two books because they were for sale illegally or something. Also, it's not like they didn't give everybody refunds. How is any of that situation different from (ethically, I'm aware it's a little different legally) receipt of stolen goods? If I buy a stolen physical book from you, at the very least I didn't know it was stolen and would have to give the book back.

9/1/2009 2:18:08 PM

Point being: The kindle has the ability to delete files that you own remotely, if Amazon chooses.

9/1/2009 2:22:44 PM

Quote :

"I guess since I bought this book, I can just walk into Borders and take as many copies as I want."

you're comparing the theft of physical goods with the downloading of something that doesn't actually exist (after the physical manifestation of the digital copy was already legally purchased)? cool, that was an easy argument to win

Quote :

"Well it's $100 for the touch screen upgrade too, dictionary, note taking, copy/paste etc. Although i hear the Sony Touch is blurry compared to the Pocket edition. Something to do with the touch screen."

ah, i actually saw that not too long after posting...for $100, that really isn't too bad...i haven't looked into either with much depth, though, so i hadn't heard about any quality differences

9/1/2009 2:30:57 PM

^check out some YouTube reviews. Compared touch to the pocket and how touch is clearer with better contrast. $199 isn't too bad. I'm used to reading on my iPhone so 5 inches will be plenty. My eyes just hurt after reading on an LCD for too long.

9/1/2009 4:23:49 PM

Quote :

"i can buy a large paperback for $7.99-8.99...why would something that requires less to "publish" cost MORE?"

new releases aren't always available on paperback. the 7.99 paperback books still cost less on the Kindle (at least all the ones I've ever compared)

I love my Kindle

9/1/2009 4:40:32 PM

I was considering the kindle 2, but the keyboard is pointless for me and the device is just too large. I like the form factor of the Sony's better. Wifi isn't a big deal either.

9/1/2009 7:40:52 PM

my parents got my bro one for graduation and he hasn't used it so I'm playing around with it

9/1/2009 11:57:48 PM

sell it

[Edited on September 2, 2009 at 1:16 AM. Reason : lol]

9/2/2009 1:15:42 AM

Just got one and I'm taking a look at it. I also want to use this as a portable library.

9/3/2009 5:37:27 PM

I looooooove the Kindle. I think they are great, but I've never tried the newer DX model that is supposedly better for newspapers/magazines. I have even read an entire book on a Kindle. At first, I wasn't too fond of the idea of reading a book on an electronic device, but when I tried it, I liked it. It has its perks and its drawbacks, but overall, I wish I could afford to get one!

9/3/2009 7:02:19 PM

Quote :

"I have even read an entire book on a Kindle."

the...user manual?

9/3/2009 7:04:30 PM

^LOL no silly. Life of Pi.

9/3/2009 7:06:08 PM

Just picked up the Sony Pocket Edition from Bestbuy. I love it. The contrast is amazing and it's very crisp.

9/3/2009 8:04:10 PM

http://www.betanews.com/article/3G-wireless-eReader-from-Irex-aims-to-tackle-Amazons-Kindle/1253737925

not sure about the whole stylus thing, i'd prefer to just press an actual button to change the page.

9/23/2009 10:33:48 PM

^ yeah

Quote :

"a stylus is needed for carrying out tasks like turning pages, changing font sizes, and looking up word definitions"

this is retarded

9/24/2009 7:44:58 AM