Quote:
Originally Posted by pidgeon92
Amazon owns the format. Why shouldn't they use it? Who decides what format is the "industry standard?" What's wrong with having format options? It's not like .mobi files can't be converted.
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DRMed mobi files, as well as DRMed ePubs can't be converted out of the box.
Personally, I consider business practice that results in customers being unaware of getting locked in to a vendor or ending up with nonconvertible, unusable ebooks morally questionable. Actually, for me it's in exactly the same ballpark as piracy -- in one case one risks paying for a product on can't use, in the other case one uses a product one might not pay for. The difference for Joe Customer is that in the first case he looses out, in the other he doesn't.
Hence, Amazon & Co are certainly free to use any format they want, with any DRM scheme they consider appropriate and issue any amount of incompatible devices. But, I personally can't find the slightest amount of pity for those displaying these kind of business practices and feel disdain if they complain about piracy which I consider a logical consequence of their actions.