A former Kindle user's manifesto... (or something like that..)

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by abookreader

Way to promote stereotypes!

And for what it is worth, I could give you a list probably over 100 names of Grandmas and Housewives that have installed Calibre/Plug-ins and operate just fine.

You have a family of techie people, that's nice ... :-) ... and I am not being sarcastic but average user does not have the desire, time or skills, to do it. And again, regardless of being fair or not, it's still illegal which keep a percentage of user away of doing it anyway.

[DiapDealer]

and I am not being sarcastic but average user does not have the desire, time or skills, to do it.

Take away time and skills and your statement is absolutely correct.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by hybridfiat

As a new Kindle owner in Australia, where can I access the books not allowed me as a resident of the 'lucky country'?

I can't speak to geographic restrictions, but I have personal knowledge of the Baen website and smashwords having downloaded from both. anecdotally it would appear that there are quite a few other locations to use as well. download calibre and start looking around!

[abookreader]

Originally Posted by jocampo

You have a family of techie people, that's nice ... :-) ... and I am not being sarcastic but average user does not have the desire, time or skills, to do it. And again, regardless of being fair or not, it's still illegal which keep a percentage of user away of doing it anyway.

Well, while I appreciate the comments in regards to my family & friends, I don't think our ability to

download a file
unzip it
open calibire
click an icon
click another icon
click a third icon
choose a file
and click apply

quite qualifies any of us for the Mensa Hall of Computer User Fame

[FF2]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

me!! me!! me!!! Way before the easy plugin that is now current........back when you had to use the 'command line'!!

We're old, not stupid!!

Here, Here, Let's hear it for the dry ol' bones in the desert!

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by FF2

Here, Here, Let's hear it for the dry ol' bones in the desert!

Seriously????


Gettin' the stick..............(wanders off aimlessly, forgetting what she was looking for.......)

[coolbreeze]

Wow, I log on today and see that this thread has taken off! Good discussion in here.

I do agree that I will be locked into DRM no matter what platform I use, but I just feel ePub is the way to go - particularly since Google arrived on the scene this week. I think this indicates competitive pricing and availability of eBooks will all improve...but I could be wrong...

For now, I will continue using the Kindle reader on a multitude of devices (but not an actual Kindle...).

[DiapDealer]

I think this indicates competitive pricing and availability of eBooks will all improve...but I could be wrong...

With backlist and older titles, I'd completely agree. But with new titles, the Agency Pricing Model has all but eliminated competition (where the Big 5 are concerned anyway).

[mdovell]

No offense but kindle can read epubs as long as they are converted with calibre and it works quite well.

The way how I see it here's how some content for me works

1) books bought from amazon

2) free newspapers from calibre

3) free books from other areas (remember calibre can convert it)

4) pretty much any pdf can work as long as there's no drm

The doukan software can also read epubs.

I think that book readers have clearly gone beyond just books just as mp3 players are beyond simply music. There's novels, maps, lectures etc. I wouldn't be surprised if this simply ended up becoming a device to replace nearly all paper. If a touchscreen with pen is added it could get to a point where you could receive and send text. Think of all forms government could save in the next few years.

There's plenty of free content for kindles. While is true that yeah maybe someone that doesn't have access to a computer won't have access to calibre or setting up doukan but the fact of the matter remains is that a fair amount of users do.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by abookreader

Way to promote stereotypes!

And for what it is worth, I could give you a list probably over 100 names of Grandmas and Housewives that have installed Calibre/Plug-ins and operate just fine.

Well, the fact that you are on this forum makes you atypical. The stereotype is safe . See, that's how stereotype works. If you fit it, you prove it, if you don't you're the exception that also proves it. Convenient, huh?

Back to the original question. I was concerned about being locked in for a long time, but turned out what I was really concerned was having to pay $400, then $300, etc. To be locked in. When the price dropped to $140, my concern was allayed :-)

But seriously, my beef with Amazon is they not only locked me in, but they locked me in an inferior format nobody else uses . I still hold out hope they will support ePub some day, just so they can say kindle now reads library books like the Other National Leading Brands.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

me!! me!! me!!! Way before the easy plugin that is now current........back when you had to use the 'command line'!!

We're old, not stupid!!

Ditto.

Carol

[carld]

I'm glad ePub makes you happy, but I honestly don't see the point of your post. Thankfully it's just short of feeling like you're trolling. I read all sorts of stuff on my Kindle and don't feel the least bit "locked in."

[ProfCrash]

If something happens to Amazon I will happily remove the DRM, convertmy books, and put them on my new e-reader. I am just not worried about it.

[FF2]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Seriously????


Gettin' the stick..............(wanders off aimlessly, forgetting what she was looking for.......)

I would help by heading down to the basement to find a stick but once I got there I would have to march back up 2 flights of steps to regain the reason for heading down to the basement - it happens more often then I would like to admit but it is good exercise. And one of my ol' bones is now titanium so I was just joshing.

[FF2]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

If something happens to Amazon I will happily remove the DRM, convertmy books, and put them on my new e-reader. I am just not worried about it.

As one exploring this issue - wouldn't you have to plan in advance and download the kindle4pc application and then download all of your archived content to the pc? I am not sure you can convert the versions on the kindle deice or can you? While I'm sure we would have some warning about Amazon's impending implosion I'm just trying to get my head around what is necessary. Of course, if Amazon were going to implode I might also be concerned if there'd really be electricity to charge my ereader whatever the brand. Back to paper for me.