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dhbailey · 01-23-2009, 07:00 AM

It isn't a question of Amazon releasing the library they have for the Kindle -- it's a matter of the publishers, who control the copyrighted content, allowing it to be released in different formats. My guess is that Amazon's amazing market size gives it special clout and it has "convinced" many publishers to release many books only in the Kindle ebook format, strong-arming them away from competing formats.

If the market were larger, we could get some legal investigation into the whole process, and perhaps force an agreement on a single ebook format for selling ebooks, which would work on any device.

Imagine what an outcry there would be if each manufacturer forced you to buy only a special gasoline which was necessary to work on their cars only, so you were forced to buy content from the hardware provider?

Imagine if CDs or downloadable music were only playable on specific devices? Oh, wait a minute, that's what DRM crap is all about. And, guess what, there's a huge outcry! And gradually, the online music stores are selling more and more music without DRM crap which forces the content to only be played on specific devices.

But the ebook marketplace is such a tiny, tiny, tiny, miniscule marketplace that there isn't any huge wave of content purchasing which could force some sort of industry agreement on format which would be DRM-free and usable on any/all ebook devices.

This has the benefit to the publishers of keeping the prices abnormally high -- why should we have to pay hardcover prices for an ebook file, especially when the same book is for sale in paperback version in bookstores for 1/2 to 1/3 of the hardback and ebook price? That's called monopoly and it's illegal in the U.S. but in order for anything to be done about it, it has to affect a large enough percentage of the population for the government via the attorney general's office to even notice.

So the best thing you can do is to notify the authors you love and would buy if their ebook prices were more equitable that you are NOT buying their books in ebook format nor in paper format, and notify the publishers of the same thing. Gradually, if enough of us make our feelings known, the publishers will realize that there is a larger marketplace out here than they think and might actually do something about it.

How much effort is there in creating an ebook, once the paper version is set up to send to the printer? About 10 minutes worth, and with the incredibly cheap means of distribution, the prices should reflect that.

01-23-2009, 07:00 AM	#7
dhbailey Guru Posts: 604 Karma: 733 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: HP iPAQ211 / PRS 500, 700 and 505	It isn't a question of Amazon releasing the library they have for the Kindle -- it's a matter of the publishers, who control the copyrighted content, allowing it to be released in different formats. My guess is that Amazon's amazing market size gives it special clout and it has "convinced" many publishers to release many books only in the Kindle ebook format, strong-arming them away from competing formats. If the market were larger, we could get some legal investigation into the whole process, and perhaps force an agreement on a single ebook format for selling ebooks, which would work on any device. Imagine what an outcry there would be if each manufacturer forced you to buy only a special gasoline which was necessary to work on their cars only, so you were forced to buy content from the hardware provider? Imagine if CDs or downloadable music were only playable on specific devices? Oh, wait a minute, that's what DRM crap is all about. And, guess what, there's a huge outcry! And gradually, the online music stores are selling more and more music without DRM crap which forces the content to only be played on specific devices. But the ebook marketplace is such a tiny, tiny, tiny, miniscule marketplace that there isn't any huge wave of content purchasing which could force some sort of industry agreement on format which would be DRM-free and usable on any/all ebook devices. This has the benefit to the publishers of keeping the prices abnormally high -- why should we have to pay hardcover prices for an ebook file, especially when the same book is for sale in paperback version in bookstores for 1/2 to 1/3 of the hardback and ebook price? That's called monopoly and it's illegal in the U.S. but in order for anything to be done about it, it has to affect a large enough percentage of the population for the government via the attorney general's office to even notice. So the best thing you can do is to notify the authors you love and would buy if their ebook prices were more equitable that you are NOT buying their books in ebook format nor in paper format, and notify the publishers of the same thing. Gradually, if enough of us make our feelings known, the publishers will realize that there is a larger marketplace out here than they think and might actually do something about it. How much effort is there in creating an ebook, once the paper version is set up to send to the printer? About 10 minutes worth, and with the incredibly cheap means of distribution, the prices should reflect that.