I don't know if this is a new promotion from Sony or not, but in my paper today I saw an ad for $149 worth of ebooks at Connect with a Reader purchase. The ad points to this url:

http://www.ebooks.connect.com/$149

If this is old news, I'll kill the thread. But, I decided to un-lurk in case it's new.

I think this is new news, thanks Matt! ;) Looks like Sony needs to fix the url to their "classics" titles. http://ebooks.connect.com/Classics leads to 404.

So, as a person who is still debating a Reader purchase, how are the Sony "Classics" from Connect? I'm guessing by the price they are probably just text files, but are they well-formatted, nice-to-read files?

Try this link for the classics: http://ebooks.connect.com/categories/20002.html

Nice little bonus for new Reader owners.

I guess it depends whether the time it takes to download them from PG and tidy them up a bit is worth more to you than the $1.99 that "Connect" are charging for them :grin:.

Geez man! You got me all excited with the title of the thread; I thought Sony was having a remarkable deal on the Readers, not just a stinkin "credit" for Connect. I can't believe they're trying convince people they're saving a lot on classics by purchasing them from Connect; boy are the buyers going to be ticked when they find relatively all of them are free! What a gimick! Now if the credit was not limited to $50 normal and $99.98 classics, it would be a better deal (though many of their prices are still way too high for digital content!).

lol

a) sony is evil

b) publishers more so

c) and i'll bet sony's pulled this stunt just to give a big f*ck you to the publishers. it wants to see them try charging $15 for a book when every customer just received 50 free books. And not just free free, but rather as $100 in money for purchasing them. (yes, it's a subtle distinction).

kudos, sony. i still hate you though

i shouldn't have said "just." Sony is also trying to acclimate readers to the idea of purchasing books. They figure if you pretend-pay them 50 times, you'll maybe start trying it with real money too.

maybe. but it's also acclimating you 50 times to getting stuff for free

probably the above's mostly a cocky answer that's given when the publishers ask why their partner is scratching his eyebrow with the wrong finger.

As I've said before, once you have an open account somewhere it's easy to fall and use it in a moment of carelessness or of profound despair. :smiley2:

A free ticket is the perfect entrance to evil's nest... now try to get out again...:laugh4: Okay I overdid it again! :laugh4:

Wow guys, I guess you'd prefer they didn't give any Connect credit at all.

It'd have been nice for Sony to help remind us current owners how to buy books (albeit for free with regards to those classics); ah well, c'est la vie. :(

Sorry - I've just twigged what's going on. I thought earlier that the "offer" was selling these for $1.99. Just realised that they're giving people $100 of these $1.99 books for free. (I know, I'm slow :grin: ). That's GREAT as far as I'm concerned - 50 free books! What on Earth is there to complain about???

If you like owning DRM'd stuff you're entitled to it I guess... It's no more ownership than a movie rental.

These DRM conversations are like a loop. First someone says it's like a movie rental, then someone says so, it's free, then someone complains that it's not perceived to be a rental even though it's free, then someone says who cares about the perception, it's still free, you lose nothing, rinse repeat...

If you like owning DRM'd stuff you're entitled to it I guess... It's no more ownership than a movie rental.

You know, after downloading a few Gutenberg Books, I'm actually thinking Sony's DRMed books are the lesser of two evils.

Have you read Gutenberg's $#@&@ license? It's idiotic! The first book I converted for the Reader wasted like 15 pages on the License... THEN it had the audacity to say "Now the Short Version" which went on another two pages! I mean, c'mon... 17 pages to say "this text is free"??

Sure you can delete the license from the book and use it in the clear, but still it's like... free isn't actually free after all!

-Pie

Unfortunately it's not just saying "this book is free" - it's saying "you can't sue us if anything goes wrong, and here's why...". Sadly, in a country where you can sue people for millions of $ when you spill a cup of hot coffee over yourself, I rather suspect that such legal "protection" is an unfortunate necessity for PG.

You can, as you say, delete it all provided you leave no mention of PG in the book.

eatingpie.. i know! i just hate it when those communists attach long notes to things. subverting the literate class with their pamphletry

All that wasted time, money and aggravation on the Cold War! And here all we had to do to defeat Communism was infiltrate the Bolshevicks with Project Gutenberg Lawyers.

"Wait, we have to read what?? Screw that... Capitalism all the way!!!"

-Pie

Sure you can delete the license from the book and use it in the clear, but still it's like... free isn't actually free after all!

Time to update Heinlein?

TANSTAAFE

:grin:

yeah, I just saw this too:

http://www.jaselee.com/blog/?p=549

I think there is a little marketing push behind this one!! Good.
Now, how about a little push towared variation in content...