|
Seems, I need to make it a habit of pointing this out.
To those pointing out that Kindle owners have choices, I say - yeah, sort of. If your definition of choice is buying from niche sellers, you have choices. However, for a lot of people, that is no choice. If I want the independence to buy any title from any seller like I have for pbooks, I don't have it with the Kindle. This is the classic definition of a closed tech ecosystem.
The same is not true of the ePub ecosystem. Currently, the only problem is that B&N is using a different DRM scheme from the others and this is what most Kindle apologists latch on to. I would like to point these latchers on towards the several threads that discuss B&N reaching an agreement with Adobe whereby Adobe will start supporting B&N's DRM scheme in addition to it's ADEPT DRM. Thereon, this stumbling block to accessibility should fall too.
Amazon, IMHO as a customer, has made a bad decision in going with a proprietary format. They would have cornered the same market share on the strength of their hardware/software quality, excellent customer service and aggressive pricing. By going with the proprietary format they have lost customers who do not wish to be locked in.
And lock in it is - make no mistake. I have already pointed out the inability to buy books from any source. The other half is being able to read Kindle content on competing hardware. In ePub world, I can read the same content on 10 different e-ink readers. In Kindle world, there are no other manufacturers of readers because Amazon has not licensed it's technology to anyone. This also gives lie to their claim that they are using a proprietary format to innovate faster. If it were true, they could erect a consortium of booksellers and hardware makers around their format. Their objective is lock-in. Period.
To understand the implications of this, think back to the history of MS Office. Ever since MS got rid of competitors like Word Perfect, it has run roughshod over customers - think new releases without significant updates but still priced high. The options for customers unwilling to pay have been pirated copies or watered down nagware from MS.
If Amazon were to somehow corner significant market share, what is to stop them for jacking the Kindle price back up? Or increasing prices on books. On the other hand, if they decide to get out of business for whatever reason, what happens to your content? These questions are not an issue in the ePub world.
This brings us to the final point brought forward by the apologists - strip DRM and convert format using Calibre. However, DRM stripping is (borderline?) illegal in the US and in other countries where content companies have bought such laws. This is deterrent enough for many people who would not strip DRM. Also, many people out there are not savvy enough to do this - not even with the plugin - they haven't heard of Calibre.
As a customer, I should NOT have to put up with this. The companies obviously have their reasons for doing what they do but for me, my interest and convenience comes before theirs.
|