Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thornton
I'd certainly agree on the convenience front - I buy almost exclusively from Amazon now, mainly for that reason. Other devices are better in various ways, other ebook formats are better, but the important thing for me is to be able to get at the content, with the minimum hassle. Having to read within their time limit, or having to read only when online would destroy that convenience for me, so I don't think that they are likely to come up with a rental service that satisfies both my needs for convenience, and the publishers demands for security. Still - I hope I'm wrong!
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If you've ever rented a movie from iTunes or watched a movie from the Netflix streaming service, or listened to streaming music from Pandora or Spotify, you'll find that these consumer experiences are quite enjoyable and very convenient. Generally, when people raise objections to this idea, they bring up boundary situations like "Suppose I have to go hiking in the wilderness or be on safari in deepest Africa, then how will I get to stream my ebooks."
Of course, 90 per cent of the time, people do their reading at home , where wifi is handy. For when you have to go on the road, download and buy or rent options will still be available.
Also , too, with the latest iteration of HTML, you can start reading online and continue reading offline if you so choose .
AS for time limits, if you have ever borrowed books from the library, you have dealt with this issue. You just renew the books if you aren't finished. Of course, in a for-payment rental scheme, it will cost you. You'll have to decide whether you should just go ahead and buy that 1000 page blockbuster for $14.99 or rent it, knowing you might have to pay for two or more rental periods to complete it.