Quote:
Originally Posted by HansTWN
Not that I want to defend DRM --- but we are talking about up to 6 simultaneous rentals. And you never have to return it. So talking about it as if they rented the books to you for a few days like a movie is a gross exaggeration and doesn't help our case. $1 is ridiculously low under the circumstances. While we all agree that an ebook should be somewhat cheaper than a pbook we have to be realistic. $1 below the cheapest new paperback should be reasonable.
If you really just want to read it once and then get rid of it, why don't you check out the ebook from a library and pay nothing?
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It's a rental because if you change devices (at least for Kindle and B&N books) you lose your ability to use your book - this "ownership" is predicated on the idea that you only have a limited license to use it on their device. You also depend on customer service for the ebook DRM that may or may not be there a decade from now. You also cannot lend it to someone else (not really...limited time-based lending sucks). You MAY have access to this book a decade from now. Maybe. If you keep the same vendor/device and the DRM doesn't eventually fail.
This is NOT ownership, but an extended-length rental of indeterminate length.
Basically, you can only use the item as long as the DRM doesn't have a problem, and there is a remote customer support to fix it (or a remote server to redownload a newer version). DRM is quite likely to stop working eventually. Try talking to the people that depended on Microsoft's PlaysForSure / Music store, or one of the other ebook stores that have failed.
This is bad enough, but along with that you also cannot resell it, cannot even give it away.
More traits of ownership removed by DRM.
BTW: the nearest Overdrive library for me is 60 miles away. We're a city of 40,000 people, along with a couple of slightly bigger cities in the area. No one nearby has overdrive.