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Originally Posted by Hrafn
I've certainly never had a 'stock up' (at most for months of a product) last longer than my book collection (which I fully expect to last for decades). So no, I still don't see much of an analogy.
No. The problem is at its greatest when the person has a very long list of books they've already bought (and presumably read) that they expect to re-read. Converting a large collection is a pain, and a potential pitfall (due to the potential for irregularly-coded eBooks to yield screwed-up conversions), regardless of the technical expertise of the reader.
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I agree it is a pain and do not wish it to happen to anyone. I also don't see it as much different to the situation of paper books being lost, sold, borrowed or destroyed or disposed of because they took up too much room or moving costs too high. I am not intending an analogy here any more than I was with the soap. Don't try and understand either as an analogy that is/was not intended, just saying that stuff happens.
And it has happened in the past to a very few people I gather, as I have not read much about it, or seen a big uproar when Microsoft abandoned their lit reader as one example of abandoned formats. Of course you can still get the Microsoft reader or something that will work, but some may not know enough to be able to. Most who were able to get it when it was supported are probably still able to though.
A friend of mine recently changed from kindle to Sony. He was a bit taken aback when he realized he could not buy from Amazon on it, but gleeful that he could lend his kindle to his son or daughter who hadn't read a lot of his 300+ books. So far he says he likes the Sony better so wouldn't replace the kindle if it broke. I asked him if he had downloaded his books to his laptop and he just looked at me as if I was crazy and said why?.
So while some look at the vague possibility of losing hundreds of ebooks as a certain to happen event, with an unimaginable catastrophic impact on their lives and future well being, their are probably many more who would just, if they can afford it, shrug and buy another item if one was lost, broken or destroyed or became obsolete.
Three acquaintances of mine recently lost everything when the fourplex they were living in burnt down, including a vehicle. No household insurance. They had to borrow clothes to go to work in. That is a catastrophe.
Helen