Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
I don't consider it extreme to avoid buying something that refuses to give me control of my purchase. I don't buy physical books that can only be read with the manufacturer's approved lightbulbs, either. Nor do I have a bicycle that only works on some streets.
I don't buy new hardcovers, either, because I don't like the format. I don't consider this to be "limiting myself." There are not only more ebooks on my to-read list than I can get through--there are more free, legit ebooks on topics I'm interested in showing up online than I can keep up with.
Publishers who don't provide books in formats I'm willing to read don't get my dollars. Authors who work with publishers who don't provide books in formats I'm willing to read don't get my attention. Shrug. I'm not anywhere near running out of good reading material; if publishers *want* my money, they can provide something I'm willing to pay for.
How many newbies have bought one ebook, had an hour and a half's trouble trying to get the software installed only to discover they were supposed to do that *first* and now can't read their book unless they re-purchase, and gave up on ebooks? How many discovered the hard way that their "ebook reader" couldn't read books from a rival company's ebook store?
Oh please, in order to get ebooks you have to have a pc, it's just common sense that if this is your first time buying an ebook, you will click on the link as to how the whole proccess works, and every store that sells ebooks has those links. And last time I checked all stores had a "Your Library" online so that after downloading the software, they can easily redownload the book.
Do you actually know someone who was foolish enough to do this or is this another what if scenario that you like to dream up?
I just got into ebooks in Dec. I spent 2 weeks researching the whole thing including joining this site.
If publishers & bookstores were clearer about what DRM is and how it works, rather than saying "it's simple! Just click here and you'll be ready to go!" a lot of anti-DRM people wouldn't be nearly as adamant.
With multiple stores & multiple readers, again it is just common sense to research & find the stores that have the best prices and what not before taking the plunge and you quickly find out that each Major store that sells its own reader is incompatible with the others.
Of course there is. There's also "buy something you can only use in limited ways, and hope it'll keep working after you upgrade your computer." Which, for a lot of people, is sufficient.
But since I don't like the DRM business model, I'm not going to encourage it by suggesting newbies to ebooks support it. I don't buy Nestle products, styrofoam, or items from WalMart, either. People are welcome to support those; I'm not going to help them. I don't expect my personal decisions to have any notable impact on the greater marketplace, but I don't support what I think are unethical business practices.
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Good for you do that, in the meantime I will make sure to also point out that they can purchase the books they want & back them up without all the bother that some of you going through.