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The flaw in the former member's logic with regards to Amazon being allowed to control where you can purchase ebooks from is that you bought the Kindle, you didn't get it as part of a service contract.
Many people have compared this to software on a specific platform and rightly so but another analogy I'd like to make is if you were to buy a GM vehicle, GM wouldn't have the right to tell you where you can or can not take it for servicing. You have the right to take it to a Ford service center if you choose. If however you leased the vehicle and the contract stipulates where you can take it that is another story.
It is also another story if the person wanted to get a repair paid for by the warranty, in which case GM can dictate where you would have to go. You could chose somewhere else but forfeit their paying for it.
Also if you sign into a one-year service contract with a cell phone company and get your phone as a discount you don't then have the right to switch carriers without incurring penalties as you don't outright own the phone. However if you were to purchase your phone as you do a Kindle you should have the right to use it where ever you want. When a phone only allows a certain carrier you are informed of this upfront. When you purchase a Kindle, they extoll the virtues of their bookstore but don't inform the customer that you are only allowed to read -their- books on it. Not allowing you to connect to a competitor using their Whispernet is one thing, actively sabotaging your abilities on your own property is another.
-MJ
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