Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
No way would I want Amazon to rule eBooks. Don't buy Kindle.
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I agree, but I don't agree.
Surely it would be a bad thing for Amazon to rule ebooks. The reason I say this is that Amazon's view about the potential of ebooks is constricted. But as far as I can see, so is Sony's.
At the same time, it is essential that we buy Kindles, and Sonys, in order to attract competition into the ebook market. It needs to be clear that there is money to be made, so that other businesses come in and try to take the ebook market from Amazon.
Competition is generated by the perception of the potential for profit. Boycotts only work when the existence of profit has been established. That is not presently the case with ebooks.
Face it. Those of us on this board are the early adopters, the heat-seekers, among readers. Early adopters always get screwed. Amazon is screwing us. Sony is screwing us. Apple is getting ready to screw us. But our existence, and toleration of being screwed, is what will ultimately make ebooks workable. Because we represent potential profit, and that potential is going to get too big to be ignored.
Five years from now, DRM will be dead or dying. Five years from now, the ebook universe will be a much better place than it is now. But that won't happen if other businesses look at ebooks and see that the Kindle, backed by Amazon, didn't pan out.