04-28-2012, 07:13 AM | #1 |
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Barriers to open sale of ebooks
I would like to purchase Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series in either a non DRM mobi or non DRM pdf ebook format for my Cybook Gen 3.
As a UK resident with a UK-based credit card postcode I have been blocked from purchasing ebooks from BooksonBoard.com (because I'm outside the US region) & as a non kindle user I cannot buy these ebooks from amazon.co.uk as they are not readable on my cybook. I've searched every website I can with no luck. I have emailed Titanbooks (who publish Campbell's hard copy books in the UK) to ask them if there is any other ebook company they may have contracted with apart from amazon but they have not responded yet. I have also emailed the sister site to BooksonBoard.com, their .co.uk site, to ask when the Lost Fleet series will be available in non DRM format in the UK but they do not know the answer to this (they did, however, say they'd pass on my request to their sales people). Does anyone please have any ideas - so far I'm relying on my local library but these books are so good I'd really like to own them? |
04-28-2012, 07:36 AM | #2 | |
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Quote:
Apache |
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04-28-2012, 09:00 AM | #3 |
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Your situation is a textbook example of the ridiculous situation that currently exists. Your options are to wait until someone gets around to making the books available in a non-drm format, to buy a version with DRM, strip the DRM and convert to the format you want, or simply download pirate versions. The first is of course the only option that is definitely legally and morally acceptable. The third is legally and morally wrong. The second is legally wrong in some countries, legally okay in others and morally ambiguous, depending on how you want to argue. In talking morally, it is on the basis that two wrongs do not make a right, that is that no matter how reprehensible the behaviour of the publishers etc, it does not justify you behaving immorally in return.
I of course cannot recommend the third option. I do recommend the second if it can be done legally in your country. |
04-28-2012, 11:26 AM | #4 |
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Hi, I tried to download a book from amazon.co.uk and was going to following your advice to use Apprentice Alf + Calibre to convert but must be doing something weird, because although I was able to download the kindle desk top icon for PC and could read the free book that accompanied that process, I was blocked on the sales site from buying a book because I could not register a kindle device. Am I doing something daft - I recall reading in the amazon site that you don't have to have a kindle to read their ebooks on your PC but their registration process seems to negate this... I can see why people simply resort to pirate sites out of sheer frustration! Perhaps if I waved my cash at Amazon they'd be more flexible about selling to people who are willing to pay.
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04-28-2012, 11:33 AM | #5 |
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You don't need to register a Kindle device - you just need to register "Kindle for PC". ie log in to your Amazon account from Kindle for PC.
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04-28-2012, 11:40 AM | #6 | |
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Oh please - first of all Amazon is not withholding books from you on some corporate whim. If they can't sell it legally, they can't sell it. That's life. And since when is frustration induced by digital non-availability of a commodity a license to steal? |
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04-28-2012, 12:52 PM | #7 | |
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It appears to me that Heather's comment about pirate sites meant no more than it said (ie; that she could understand why people resort to piracy). I can understand in some cases why people commit murders or beatings or other crimes. That does not mean that I approve or condone them. In fact, very much the opposite. It means simply that I understand that we are all human and do not always do the right thing. Understanding why is the first step towards improving things in the future. Robin Hood was still a thief, whatever he chose to do with his ill-gotten gains. Come to think of it, not a bad analogy to book pirates when you look at the reprehensible and plain stupid conduct of the industry. |
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04-28-2012, 01:31 PM | #8 |
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Harry, thanks for your constructive reply. I will try this again. Darryl, thanks for interpreting my post as intended. It's re-assuring to know that I can ask for, and receive help when I need it.
Best regards, Heather |
04-29-2012, 09:01 AM | #9 |
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Hi, your advise was spot-on!
I registered on Amazon via 'Kindle for PC'. I then followed Apprentice Alf's advice and discarded my old 'calibre' off my PC before downloading the most recent version of calibre on-line. I then downloaded the latest 'DRM tools package' and unzipped it as instructed to activate @ of the 5 plug-ins. Converting DRM-mobi ebooks thru' calibre into non DRM mobi strictly for my own use is now possible - a small salve to my conscious is that amazon is getting paid for this book. I am most grateful for for your help! Regards, Heather |
04-29-2012, 10:46 AM | #10 |
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I have a Nook Color and I buy books from many sources. I refuse to be tied to one companies format.
Apache |
04-29-2012, 12:43 PM | #11 |
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Great! Happy to hear that it worked.
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04-30-2012, 12:29 AM | #12 |
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Calibre probably deserving of the Nobel Prize For Literature.
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04-30-2012, 09:19 AM | #13 |
lost in my e-reader...
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04-30-2012, 06:45 PM | #14 |
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