I'm quite proud of the fact that modern and post-modern literature is available from Sony for purchase.
I read a large amount of copyrighted books and the only legitimate (and moral) way to obtain these books is through purchasing them. It would be great if
Joyce Carol Oates and
Carlos Fuentes were available free to download. They're not. (Sidebar: I've sent numerous emails to Sony on trying to get
Mario Vargas Llosa's novels made available. Nothing yet. Perhaps when he wins the
Nobel Prize in Literature next year.....
)
I buy books from Sony, and I support The Reader through my purchases. In my opinion, the existence of MobileRead furthers the support of Sony's LRF files. The availability of this forum - witness Baen and Fictionwise - allows us to rally around the Reader(s) of our choice.
The evolution of the ebook readers - in whatever incarnation and from whatever companines - will continue. The Sony Reader will be an interesting relic in a few years, much as Radio Shack's TRS-80 or CP/M-based computers are now found in basement museums, gathering dust and garnering interesting comments. Things come and go.
Our Sony Readers will last a long time, as long as batteries are available. If Sony suddenly stopped the production of the Reader and it's LRF format, I would still be reading on it (and on other Readers, no doubt), due to the incredible wealth of classics. I devour classics...my tastes are very eclectic.
Don