No eReader for Linux in the works

[nekokami]

I wrote to eReader.com to ask about possible support for the iLiad and other Linux devices. I got this reply:

We may eventually support handhelds that will run on Linux systems
however, at this time there are no plans in place to support it. You
can check back with us from time to time for updates.

I consider this to be unfortunate, because the eReader DRM is less onerous than many (yes, yes, it's still evil...) and their inventory and prices are good. Maybe when there are more Linux devices out there, they'll reconsider.

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I consider this to be unfortunate, because the eReader DRM is less onerous than many (yes, yes, it's still evil...) and their inventory and prices are good. Maybe when there are more Linux devices out there, they'll reconsider.

Picking a book at random on their web site:
You On a Diet
The Owner's Manual for Waist Management
by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz MD

eReader.com price: Sale Price: $16.99 Newsletter Price: $15.29
Amazon.com price: $13.75 (Hardcover no less!)

Not what I would call a "good price". An eBook should be no more than 50% the cost of the PAPERBACK version of the pBook. So a "good" cost at eReader.com should be less than $7.00.

And when you add DRM to it, the value drops even less. But that's another story...

[nekokami]

The prices I checked were for SF books, and they were all lower than their paperback versions. Guess it depends on which books you look at.

[jæd]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I wrote to eReader.com to ask about possible support for the iLiad and other Linux devices. I got this reply:

I consider this to be unfortunate, because the eReader DRM is less onerous than many (yes, yes, it's still evil...) and their inventory and prices are good. Maybe when there are more Linux devices out there, they'll reconsider.

Don't the Sony + and Illiad run Linux...? Or perhaps you mean the e-reader software...?

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by nekokami

The prices I checked were for SF books, and they were all lower than their paperback versions. Guess it depends on which books you look at.

SOME of the SF (maybe most) are reasonably priced (if they remove the DRM). But I still see:

Eldest Limited Edition
by Christopher Paolini
Price: $17.99
Newsletter Price: $16.19

Still WAY too high for an eBook. But most do seem reasonable - if they had no DRM.

A price of:
Star Trek: Corps of Engineers: Turn the Page
by Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore
Price: $4.99 | Newsletter Price: $4.49

is still far too high to LEASE an eBook (when the library will let you do that for free).

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by jæd

Or perhaps you mean the e-reader software...?

Yup, that's what they're discussing, jæd.