tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post6563974389810229962..comments2024-03-08T06:18:28.125+11:00Comments on Bronte Capital: Digital rights management and international travel – a reason not to buy a Kindle – but maybe a reason to buy Amazon stock…John Hemptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766274392122783128noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-19768663948440027762010-07-03T09:13:12.279+10:002010-07-03T09:13:12.279+10:00Not sure if you already know. The DX price just ca...Not sure if you already know. The DX price just came down. If you bought the new one within 30 days you can get the difference refunded. <br /><br />I have a DX too. I love it. It really is the best device for reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-42111576737335113542010-06-28T13:31:55.187+10:002010-06-28T13:31:55.187+10:00Assuming that this isn't a rhetorical question...Assuming that this isn't a rhetorical question:<br /><br />Distribution rights for mass-media tend to get sliced up along national lines for all sorts of sound historical reasons -- translation, import tariffs, local printing, distribution networks, etc. This slicing has been carried over (quite naively) into the digital domain. So Amazon probably pays different rights holders different amounts of money depending on the billing address of the Kindle owner.<br /><br />Trying to deliver US licensed content to an Australian billing address might be legally problematic for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-3173197231602550012010-06-28T12:41:16.761+10:002010-06-28T12:41:16.761+10:00I think books are a medium that will for centuries...I think books are a medium that will for centuries, stay on paper, unlike the demise of albums. It's too hard to read digitally, to hard to bootleg (unless digitized by the publisher)...Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18116121761413049785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-8719001457275264522010-06-22T06:34:26.535+10:002010-06-22T06:34:26.535+10:00They're now offering shipping to australia and...They're now offering shipping to australia and the price just went down!<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-Generation/dp/B0015T963C/ref=amb_link_353143162_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1VAPH4F3M4FHCPQZAE5M&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1266768902&pf_rd_i=507846Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-62845576281923825142010-06-18T17:05:20.099+10:002010-06-18T17:05:20.099+10:00Try complaining on twitter. I did this a couple of...Try complaining on twitter. I did this a couple of days ago about some newspaper-reading software, simply as an expression of techno-rage, and was amazed to find that the Marketing Director of the company involved contacted me 24 hours later.<br /><br />Companies HATE people complaining about them on twitter.carolinefohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219095554944258585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-20475220239462754962010-06-18T12:09:35.251+10:002010-06-18T12:09:35.251+10:00US retailers that will only ship to US addresses i...US retailers that will only ship to US addresses is a common frustration.<br /><br />there are many companies that will help you get around this by forwarding your mail. this is a good one http://www.shipito.com/<br /><br />re: kindle bookstore - i dare say that amazon is like gilette - they make most of their their profit from recurring sales of books (razors) - not from the initial sale of hardware - so they really don't care which device you use.<br /><br />but because they were the first mover in the e-book space the publishers probably bullied them into incorporating strict rights management on their books in a lame attempt to prevent piracy. this happened with apple when they launched the itunes music store.<br /><br />apple eventually released that their customers hated the rights management and it was hampering their growth. apple now accounts for 28% of all music sales (both digital sales and old-fashioned CD sales) in the USA, so they've got significant market power. they used this power to bully the music publishers and had the rights management removed. now you can download mp3 files from itunes that play on any device. but they are still no.1 because they have the first mover advantage.<br /><br />i dare say that eventually the same thing will happen with ebooks. but i wouldn't take this as a green light to continue building your library with amazon. when apple finally started selling "DRM free" mp3s they sold them as a seperate product, with higher quality and higher prices. and because it was a new product, they didn't let their customers exchange their old DRM protected mp3s for new DRM free ones. so it might be worth waiting.danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10510526813241992292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-68797885767743311962010-06-18T11:59:21.169+10:002010-06-18T11:59:21.169+10:00fwiw, i like my sony e-reader a lot. i bought it ...fwiw, i like my sony e-reader a lot. i bought it rather than the kindle partially because of lock-in issues, partially because i liked the form factor more, and partially because it was only $200.babar ganeshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898299856773302141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-80090063461815398452010-06-18T10:55:32.199+10:002010-06-18T10:55:32.199+10:00John,
I had the normal (smaller) kindle and also ...John,<br /><br />I had the normal (smaller) kindle and also got it replaced under warranty when the screen went all black - interesting they have the same flaw with the DX model - they were quite happy to replace without much verification without hinting it was a very common problem (as a web search confirms) - what don't you just get it forwarded from a US address (let me know i am here)- also get the PC app and the blackberry/iphone kindle app - they come in handy...Anthughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12470260368446473600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-71005451359590406162010-06-18T10:51:56.427+10:002010-06-18T10:51:56.427+10:00Gah! I live in Washington State and just put my fo...Gah! I live in Washington State and just put my folks on a plane back to Oz. They would have been happy to courier it back for you, but too late now! As it is, if you still need a forward from a US address, let me know.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815926839877925666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-37608888227067569552010-06-18T04:09:31.715+10:002010-06-18T04:09:31.715+10:00Buy the iPad. You want one anyway. Read a kindle b...Buy the iPad. You want one anyway. Read a kindle book on it. You'll never go back to the kindle. Trust me.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328848015899883230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-70344816875509145082010-06-18T00:46:17.988+10:002010-06-18T00:46:17.988+10:00Since you brought it up I would love to know how, ...Since you brought it up I would love to know how, even with the Kindle (and any ripping off they may be doing), anyone could justify buying Amazon stock.<br /><br />54x earnings, 3.7% profit margin. To use approximations, they make about $1bn on $25bn in revenue, in an industry that has literally zero barriers to entry (i.e. profit margins will not be higher). So they need to TRIPLE their revenue just to make the stock fairly priced. <br /><br />Long story short, what am I missing... why do so many people seem to love the AMZN story?Nick Abenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-24811603719001657742010-06-17T23:23:03.746+10:002010-06-17T23:23:03.746+10:00My personal opinion is that the iPad viewed solely...My personal opinion is that the iPad <b>viewed solely as a Kindle e-book reader</b> is vastly superior to Amazon's hardware. The screen is clearer and has a back-light, page turns and navigation are much faster and smoother, and you can see color content in color. I admit that I do a lot more reading in dark rooms and subway cars than I do on the beach, but I have used my iPhone and iPad to read in direct sun with decent results. Getting all the other things an iPad can do for an extra $10 (U.S. list prices, Kindle DX vs. iPad WiFi 16 Gb) makes the comparison almost ludicrous. I suspect that Kindle DX sales have pretty much dropped off a cliff since the iPad came out - has anyone seen any figures?<br /><br />I was once mildly bothered by Amazon's DRM in principle, but it has never been an issue in practice. (I put my money where my mouth is - my wife and I share a Kindle library that is 138 titles and growing fast. We read them on two iPhones and two iPads.) I am quite happy to pay $10 - $15 as a "reading rights + cloud storage" fee for a book I like. If a book is one that I think will have "permanent value" or that will be re-read and consulted over a long period, I might start with a paper copy or buy one to add to the e-book. <br /><br />I am happy to reward authors and publishers for producing something I really value, and $10 is probably worth it to me as a one-time convenience fee alone. It takes a good few hours of my time to read my average title - I have always been a sucker for great huge bricks of books - and at an hourly rate the e-book price is pretty negligible. If I were on a tight budget I would haunt the library the way I did when I was a grad student, and read for free, but now that I am more well-heeled I am happy to pay for conveniences and luxuries, and a Kindle e-book strikes me as an excellent value in that regard.<br /><br />Amazon is clearly committed to making it easy to read their e-books on multiple platforms (Kindle, iPhone-iPad, Windows, Mac OS), so I'm not particularly worried about being "orphaned". Even if I was, I don't think I would care all that much. I rarely read a book more than once - there are too many new ones to get through! If I somehow "lost" an e-book library it wouldn't bother me more than if a freak flood took out one of the book cases in my living room - annoying, but hardly a tragedy.<br /><br />Bottom line - Amazon for their excellent platform, delivery system and selection, Apple for reader hardware.McKenzieG1https://www.blogger.com/profile/16497398511958272757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-92217642033197144622010-06-17T21:24:28.069+10:002010-06-17T21:24:28.069+10:00Try filing a complaint with the AG of Washington S...Try filing a complaint with the AG of Washington State (Rob McKenna). He's pretty good at following up on consumer complaints. Also, if you want to complain to Amazon's legal department, perhaps I can hook you up with the deputy GC.East Side & Proudnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-52505158579681967102010-06-17T19:04:10.599+10:002010-06-17T19:04:10.599+10:00Maybe I be the first one to smugly post this:
htt...Maybe I be the first one to smugly post this:<br /><br />http://xkcd.com/743/<br /><br />Sorry...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-72820483550385923022010-06-17T18:15:24.515+10:002010-06-17T18:15:24.515+10:00I did not know of the forwarding service - but the...I did not know of the forwarding service - but the question is why could they not have delivered it.<br /><br />I even offered to pay the extra postage...<br /><br />But multiple steps is delay. I need my Kindle... it is heroin... I need my fix...<br /><br />The Amazon crack dealer has me hooked.John Hemptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03766274392122783128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-52469232374491299872010-06-17T18:13:35.605+10:002010-06-17T18:13:35.605+10:00You could cut your losses and get a different read...You could cut your losses and get a different reader. How often do you re-read books anyway?<br /><br />This is one reason I didn't buy a kindle but instead went for a sony ebook reader and get only open format books.Philhttp://economiccollapse.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-36418337163705204042010-06-17T18:10:33.580+10:002010-06-17T18:10:33.580+10:00Oh, but why could you not get it delivered to a fr...Oh, but why could you not get it delivered to a friend in the US? Or, perhaps use a mail forwarding service, something like bongo perhaps:<br /><br />http://bongous.com/mail_forwarding_individuals.phpjbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-67581131963582337562010-06-17T17:38:29.002+10:002010-06-17T17:38:29.002+10:00I could buy an ipad - but I like the reflective sc...I could buy an ipad - but I like the reflective screen...<br /><br />and i could not take the books to another reflective screen reader...<br /><br />the lesson though is even if you buy an ipad avoid shopping at the Amazon store...John Hemptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03766274392122783128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-44280807085755475052010-06-17T17:35:59.977+10:002010-06-17T17:35:59.977+10:00I don't own a Kindle, but I have kindle ebooks...I don't own a Kindle, but I have kindle ebooks. I read them on my iPod Touch using the ap provided by Amazon. My Sony ebook reader has never been used since I got the iPod. You don't need a large reader like the Kindle or Sony Reader, when you can vary the font size. And, you can hold an iPod in one hand and flip the pages with your thumb while you're eating or having a drink. And, you can carry your whole library in your shirt pocket.<br />You can also download your kindle book to your netbook, laptop, iPad or any other computer you have. It may be a proprietary format, but it does the best job of copyright protection and flexibility.Elwood Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09381075536666844667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4815867514277794362.post-3969345488928461992010-06-17T17:32:35.702+10:002010-06-17T17:32:35.702+10:00AS far as I know, you could also buy an iPad or an...AS far as I know, you could also buy an iPad or any other hardware (including computers)for which a kindle app is available. All the books you bought from Amazon can be transferred to that device once you register it to your account on their "Manage your Kindle" page.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com