[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The implication of your statement is that you are tied to Amazon. Does it matter if you buy a non-DRMed book for a Kindle and side load it your Kindle or a DRMed book for your Nook and side load it?

Since I specifically said you were tied to Amazon for DRM, there was no implication that you were tied to Amazon for other books. Further, I would argue that no reasonable person would even infer that what I said suggested that you were tied to Amazon for anything other than DRM'd books.

All of the major bookstores use a DRM. All of the major bookstores prefer you to buy books through their book store. Not all E-Pub readers allow you to read the DRMed version of a book that is not using their DRM. That is why it was a big deal when the Nook came out and allowed people to easily load the DRMed works from other sites.

I guess things depend on how you define major bookstores. Here is the basic facts. For dedicated ebook readers (not software based readers), there are what, 4 types of DRM out there. There is Kindle DRM, there is Mobi DRM, there is Adobe Adept and there is Adobe eReader DRM. Mobi is slowly (well maybe not slowly) dying away as a DRM'd format on dedicated readers. That leaves two flavors of ePub and Kindle. Outside of Amazon, as far as I know, only one major bookstore doesn't support Adobe Adept DRM and that is Barnes and Noble. The Nook, Jetbook and the Pandigital readers (I know the color ones kind of suck, but I have hope for the SiPix one...) allow you to read both Adept and eReader. Pretty much every newer reader, except the Kindles, support Adept...

Oh wait, I forgot, there is Apple DRM.. but since you can use either Kindle or Nook software on it, you can use pretty much any store you want to read books on iPads and iPhones!

So no ereader, except Amazon, ties you as closely to their store for buying DRM'd books. Most ebook stores that sell DRM'd ePubs, including Kobo, Sony, Borders, Fictionwise, Books on Board and I am sure others I have missed supports Adobe Adept and thus can be read on the vast majority of readers (except the Kindle).

There are many reasons why someone might not buy a Kindle, love of EPub is one of them, but the notion that the Kindle is that much more tied to their bookstore then other e-readers, even E-Pub e-readers is wrong.

Look, I am not bashing the Kindle. I am not even saying being tied to Amazon for DRM'd books is a bad thing (well except philosophically). Amazon has the best selection and usually the best prices on DRM'd books.

However, to claim that Kindle does not ties you more closely to Amazon than most ebook readers tie you to their parent stores (if any!) is just plain wrong. In fact, I don't know of a single ebook reader (not counting software) that ties you as closely to a book store as the Kindle. In fact, if there is one, please let me know what that reader is!

And your final statement is "Personally, I don't want to be tied to Amazon, and I do want the option of using libraries, so I won't be getting a Kindle, but I can hardly blame anyone who does."

Yes? And your point? Or are you assuming that this sentence, taken out of context of the entire post I made proves I am trying to convince people that they have no sources of books for the Kindle that are not from Amazon? What are you trying to run for Congress? Taken in context, with the rest of what I wrote in that post, I think makes it clear that I was referring to being tied to Amazon for DRM'd books. Or do you require I use that phrase every time?

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Bill