[hermes]

Short story: A few hiccups, but eventually satisfactory procedure, although book selection leaves something to be desired.

Long story: For me the essential privacy info is as follows - if you buy a Kobo for cash (or presumably anonymous debit card), and pay for the book with a Chapters gift card paid for in cash also (presumably in person), the reading purchases can be anonymous. The only information I was asked for was an email address (and yahoo/gmail ones registered a few years ago don't require telephone verification), and to create a password. No ID required. Using the gift card involves entering the 20-digit card #, scratching off to reveal the PIN (Personal Identification Number) and entering that also.

Regarding purchases, it is not without a few delays and minor hassles. First, one must set up an account. I presumed (wrongly) that one just enters a Chapter store with one's Kobo and goes wild. Chapter's in-store computer terminal interface (what buttons you have to click on the screen to do stuff) and also Wifi (no cable connection to internet) in store is not the very best. But I have had worse. I had to call over a clerk to assist. And he stood by watching me type in my password - something my bank manager never did. If the registered address for the Kobo user is outside of Canada there are ZERO TAXES as I found out from experience. The computer will insist on a zipcode even if the sand dune in the desert of Yemen where your friend lives has no postal code. The computer will insist on a telephone number the same number of digits as one uses domestically in USA or Canada [10 digits] even though the REAL number is 11 digits internationally-speaking, viz. it doesn't consider the '1' for North America. Leave it out. My using an Asian telephone number failed, because that country uses fewer digits. So, I had to b.s. the computer and it didn't recognize it. I explained to the store manager that I did not have my friend overseas postal address and he very accommodatingly suggested I just make something up. It seems to be a corporate habit to ask for information, even if it could be false and therefore useless. I cannot resist a tangent here...

I spoke with a major Canadian bank's mortgage broker today and he informed me that his bank is now expecting staff to turn over the name and contact info of all their friends and relatives. A private contact list becomes leads for profit! Talk about company loyalty - profit before family. This policy is now causing staff to lie to their employers as an organized vocal protest would cause them to lose their jobs. We discussed how the corporate world is now blurring the line between what is personal and what is business and the ethical/privacy implications of this trend.

Back to Chapters... Misinformation from sales staff - One CANNOT use several cards (say one has $5 and another one $10) to purchase a book. Instead one must top up one card (or let balance be wasted). A different staff member made another mistake - it escapes me right now what it was.

Buying the book was not so complicated, but turns out one has to register the account with the device also. So, one cannot use a Kobo without a computer this very one time at the least. I got impatient and let the manager do it for me. She was very helpful.

She said I could change 'my friend's' email address later if I wished.

Software had to be downloaded and updated on the device so she connected it to her own computer. I was very happy to see not my own computer being used for this purpose - as presumably all computers have identifying info. Saved me a trip to the closed net cafe. There was a technical problem (imagine that..) due to faulty piece of equipment, which she replaced.

My book showed up and I tried a second test of one of Chapter's free books. It took a looooooooong time and required me to go to a different place in the store (poor signal). Eventually I got that second book. I have not tried the computer at library, office or home method. Funny, I would have thought that doing so at the bookstore would be the very best. Apparently not so.