'I should be the Nook's ideal customer. But I'm not...I am locked in.' - Page 2

rhadin · 06-07-2011, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

I was going to mention that, but IIRC, there is a hack to unDRM the BnN books. I am not sure because I refuse to play BnNs unique DRM game. I use a Sony, but I buy from kobo, fictionwise, Booksonboard, diesel, bean.

B&N's DRM is easy to overcome. As a Sony owner, I buy my books largely from Sony, Smashwords, Kobo, and B&N, and have no trouble accessing them.

Nexutix · 06-07-2011, 04:22 AM

That's why it's always good to use tools which:
1. Can retrieve your "content" on multiple possible devices.
2. Protect the privacy of "content" by storing them on secure platforms. (One example is offline storage w/ online access for multiple copies)

All in all, DRM free ePub should be the future.

Sil_liS · 06-07-2011, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

It's a valid point. If you live in the ePub world, jumping from one ePub reader to the next is relativliy trivial. But once in the amazon garden it will be a painful task to jump to another reader. But only if you reread books or magazines. If you read once and discard, you could just sell the kindle and start with a new ePub reader.

If you read once and discard you can just use the public library.

I hope that the article raises awareness to the dangers of DRM.

John F · 06-07-2011, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlewis78

If you buy ebooks at B&N, then you are locked into the Nook. You can't read those book on other epub ereaders.

I believe there is at least one other ereader you can read them on.

queentess · 06-07-2011, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

I hope that the article raises awareness to the dangers of DRM.

I think that was the primary purpose of the article.

bhartman36 · 06-07-2011, 09:05 AM

I'm shocked and saddened to hear such whining from a tech editor. The lock-in he's talking about is a phenomenon that's decades old (at least), and something every tech-savvy consumer understands before they own a device. Back in the early days of MP3 players, you were locked to a device when you bought DRM'd music. Before that, you were locked to Mac software if you bought a Mac (before Macs could run Windows software). Before that, you were locked into Beta format if you opted for that instead of VHS. And those are only the examples I can think of. It goes back farther than that, probably.

Here's the other thing: The new Nook isn't the first touch-based reader to come along since the release of the Kindle 2. If he's so enamored of the touch interface, why didn't he switch earlier?

And finally: He's got an iPad. As far as touch-based interfaces go, you can't do too much better than that.

I think this is one of those content-free stories written strictly to generate page hits.

queentess · 06-07-2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhartman36

The lock-in he's talking about is a phenomenon that's decades old (at least), and something every tech-savvy consumer understands before they own a device.

Yeah, but hopefully he can raise awareness of DRM lock-in. My mom has no clue about it, but she has an ereader and loves ebooks. The more people who are aware of what's going on, the better it is for all of us.

bhartman36 · 06-07-2011, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

Yeah, but hopefully he can raise awareness of DRM lock-in. My mom has no clue about it, but she has an ereader and loves ebooks. The more people who are aware of what's going on, the better it is for all of us.

But your Mom's not the audience for PC Magazine. If you're writing for PC Magazine, you're preaching to the choir with an article like this. This article is more suited for the NY Times tech section. At least then a non-tech savvy audience has a shot at seeing it.

MrsJoseph · 06-07-2011, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhartman36

But your Mom's not the audience for PC Magazine. If you're writing for PC Magazine, you're preaching to the choir with an article like this. This article is more suited for the NY Times tech section. At least then a non-tech savvy audience has a shot at seeing it.

There are a lot of people who are tech savvy but don't own ereaders. I am assuming that those people are the target audience for this article.

My husband loves new tech but isn't much of a book reader (prefers newspapers & magazines). As I slowly get books for him to read, he's given thought to ereaders. This article would be perfect for someone like him.

bhartman36 · 06-07-2011, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

There are a lot of people who are tech savvy but don't own ereaders. I am assuming that those people are the target audience for this article.

Good point. I can see someone who is tech-savvy but unfamiliar with e-readers not realizing there's a lock-in issue with them.

tomsem · 06-07-2011, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlewis78

If you buy ebooks at B&N, then you are locked into the Nook. You can't read those book on other epub ereaders.

No longer true as newer ereaders have come out (as long as it is not from Sony, who have chosen not to update the Adobe RMSDK thus far). eReaders that support it will prompt for the B&N user name and credit card number used to purchase when you open for the first time. I'm guessing for example that the new Kobo will do this (not sure about the older one).

JSWolf · 06-07-2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlewis78

If you buy ebooks at B&N, then you are locked into the Nook. You can't read those book on other epub ereaders.

But with a nook, you don't have to buy from B&N. You can buy from BooksOnBoard, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, etc. and not ever buy from B&N for DRMed eBooks. But with Amazon, you ARE locked into Amazon for DRMed eBooks.

I know lots on MR say you don't have to buy from Amazon. But if you don't strip DRM/convert, then you have to buy from Amazon if DRM is involved.

boswd · 06-07-2011, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But with a nook, you don't have to buy from B&N. You can buy from BooksOnBoard, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, etc. and not ever buy from B&N for DRMed eBooks. But with Amazon, you ARE locked into Amazon for DRMed eBooks.

I know lots on MR say you don't have to buy from Amazon. But if you don't strip DRM/convert, then you have to buy from Amazon if DRM is involved.

True story

Pomtroll · 06-07-2011, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But with a nook, you don't have to buy from B&N. You can buy from BooksOnBoard, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, etc. and not ever buy from B&N for DRMed eBooks. But with Amazon, you ARE locked into Amazon for DRMed eBooks.

I know lots on MR say you don't have to buy from Amazon. But if you don't strip DRM/convert, then you have to buy from Amazon if DRM is involved.

True JSWolf. I have a Nook Classic & have been able to buy elsewhere. I've never tried buying elsewhere with my Kindle. I seldom use it anymore though.

bhartman36 · 06-07-2011, 11:06 AM

I've bought from other places once or twice with the Kindle. The conversion/de-DRMing process was non-trivial. Having said that, I can count the number of times I've wanted to buy a non-Kindle e-book on one hand. Most of them were just experiments on my part, anyway. I don't think the e-book selection varies so much between e-bookstores that it's a major problem to find what you want in your format.

For me, the moral of the story is, buy the hardware you want based on features (and whether you expect the company to survive), and be prepared to stick with it. If you always have Nooks, or always have Kindles, or always have <insert brand here>, it's not a problem.

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06-07-2011, 04:22 AM	#17
Nexutix Reading and reading Posts: 582 Karma: 8250144 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Infibeam Pi, iPod Touch 4G, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, Oneplus One	That's why it's always good to use tools which: 1. Can retrieve your "content" on multiple possible devices. 2. Protect the privacy of "content" by storing them on secure platforms. (One example is offline storage w/ online access for multiple copies) All in all, DRM free ePub should be the future.

06-07-2011, 09:05 AM	#21
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,323 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Jersey, USA Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2021)	I'm shocked and saddened to hear such whining from a tech editor. The lock-in he's talking about is a phenomenon that's decades old (at least), and something every tech-savvy consumer understands before they own a device. Back in the early days of MP3 players, you were locked to a device when you bought DRM'd music. Before that, you were locked to Mac software if you bought a Mac (before Macs could run Windows software). Before that, you were locked into Beta format if you opted for that instead of VHS. And those are only the examples I can think of. It goes back farther than that, probably. Here's the other thing: The new Nook isn't the first touch-based reader to come along since the release of the Kindle 2. If he's so enamored of the touch interface, why didn't he switch earlier? And finally: He's got an iPad. As far as touch-based interfaces go, you can't do too much better than that. I think this is one of those content-free stories written strictly to generate page hits.

06-07-2011, 11:06 AM	#30
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,323 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Jersey, USA Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2021)	I've bought from other places once or twice with the Kindle. The conversion/de-DRMing process was non-trivial. Having said that, I can count the number of times I've wanted to buy a non-Kindle e-book on one hand. Most of them were just experiments on my part, anyway. I don't think the e-book selection varies so much between e-bookstores that it's a major problem to find what you want in your format. For me, the moral of the story is, buy the hardware you want based on features (and whether you expect the company to survive), and be prepared to stick with it. If you always have Nooks, or always have Kindles, or always have <insert brand here>, it's not a problem.