I stopped telling my friends about ebooks

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I was going for "learned Austrian psychoanalyst"... y'know, pipe and goatee, etc, etc... not "socialite marooned in Hootersville." Anyway, my voice is pitched way lower than that!

It is.

I'm pretty sure.

Then again with a population of 58,771 (in 2007), Germantown, MD is just a notch above Hooterville...I mean they prolly have real bath tubs and dunna need to use the bathe in the water tower today. toot-toot...

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

Then again with a population of 58,771 (in 2007), Germantown, MD is just a notch above Hooterville...I mean they prolly have real bath tubs and dunna need to use the bathe in the water tower today. toot-toot...

Hooterville is a LOT smaller than Germantown! You must be thinking of Pixley...

But enough about our hometowns: When I talk to people about e-books, I always stress to them that e-books can be read on all kinds of things; sure, you could buy a Kindle or Sony reader or whatever, but if you already have something that will allow you to read e-books...and these days, most people do... why bother?

Dedicated devices are too all-over-the-map for the average person... either they don't access the books you want, or they operate awkwardly, or they're too bulky, etc, etc... You're better off selling them on the concept of e-books first, and letting them worry about which device to buy based on their own preferences.

[kazbates]

I've been thinking about this thread a bit and I realized that with the changes in Sony's thinking lately, I would definitely start to recommend a dedicated reader to people who do a lot of reading. Of course, that all hinges on whether or not Sony fixes their Library software. Granted they could download Calibre but that takes a bit more maneuvering than the layperson might be comfortable with. But, they've decreased their ebook prices and made downloading from libraries easier. With the improved display on the 600 and the lower price, I think even my dad would be able to use it. And believe me, if he can use it, anyone can!!

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by kazbates

I've been thinking about this thread a bit and I realized that with the changes in Sony's thinking lately, I would definitely start to recommend a dedicated reader to people who do a lot of reading. Of course, that all hinges on whether or not Sony fixes their Library software. Granted they could download Calibre but that takes a bit more maneuvering than the layperson might be comfortable with. But, they've decreased their ebook prices and made downloading from libraries easier. With the improved display on the 600 and the lower price, I think even my dad would be able to use it. And believe me, if he can use it, anyone can!!

Well, if DesertGrandma can learn to use Calibre and a variety of other book programs, then it can be learned by anyone. I'm not dissing DGma, but she described herslef as a complete tyro when she first came in here and now she does all sorts of amazing things with ebooks.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Well, if DesertGrandma can learn to use Calibre and a variety of other book programs, then it can be learned by anyone. I'm not dissing DGma, but she described herslef as a complete tyro when she first came in here and now she does all sorts of amazing things with ebooks.

I think it's not so much inaptitude as such, more a question about "are you willing to try to understand the steps involved" at the moment.

Are you willing to invest a couple of hours most people will be able to get the hang of the technology as it stands today.

[pshrynk]

My brother just sent me this:

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

My brother just sent me this:

You're so lucky. I wish my brother would send me blank messages.

[astrodad]

I still recommend them, although only to people whom I think will gain some benefit from them: fellow travelers, readaholics, technophiles, etc.

While I understand the original poster's frustration, a bit more homework up front would have made the whole experience much smoother.

[owlrigh]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

You're so lucky. I wish my brother would send me blank messages.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

My brother just sent me this:

Alas, Gmail links don't display for people not logged in your account.

[pshrynk]

Ah. Will try again. No wonder it looked okay to me.

[Over]

Originally Posted by Alfy

How do I sell ebooks to my friends???

Ever since I bought a liseuse, I've been trying to sell ebooks to my friends. First, because I love to show off my newest gadget! But also because, heck, the more people have liseuses the better. But when I look how things went since I bought the device, I realise it's a tad difficult to sell it to friends, at least if I want them to remain friends… Here is how it went:

1) My Sony PRS 505 gets delivered to me in Paris in October 2008. The machine is beautiful, I can't wait to start reading on it, so I want install the Sony software to purchase some books. Bad start: I have a Mac, and the software is PC only. Luckily, I stay at a friend's place, and he has a PC. Great. Err, no, not great, Sony bookstore is US only. Oops.

2) I try to find alternative stores, but all sell .lit or .mobi DRMed books. And those format are not compatible with the PRS 505. Argh! I spend a few days going around the net, and find mobileread, and thus Calibre. Moving forward, one step at a time. I discover mobi and ereader protection can be removed, and after some more search, find how to do it. I feel lucky I am decently computer litterate, I doubt most of my friends would have gotten so far.

3) I now have the means to purchase content for my liseuse. It's not difficult, but neither is it practical.

4) Wow, ADE and epub. That seems like a great solution. Except, oops again, ADE on Mac does not allow you to transfer files onto your reader. Back to my friend's PC again. And epub is (back then) not especially widely available, and then mainly in the UK, where book prices are a bad joke. And it's not THAT easy: I still need another piece of software to transfer the files, so now I am juggling between Calibre and ADE.

5) Overdrive removes a bunch of books from my fictionwise library. Mmmhhh. I purchase a Terry Pratchett at Waterstones that is both incredibly expensive and that is so badly edited, it's a complete sham. Overdrive reimburses me, but only after 6 months and after about a dozen mails exchanged. Not a catastrophe, but I have a bad vibe about this.

6) I am now in a groove. I have dozens of good books on my liseuse, I read more than I have for years. Things get better, slowly: epub become more and more available, I deDRM mobi with ease, more titles are available. I subscribe for a fictionwise membership, and love it. New Sony software now supports Macs, and I don't need ADE anymore.

7) Things start going down: fictionwise starts applying geographical restrictions. I manage to overcome them, but only for some time, some of my books become unavailable for download. Geographical restrictions start becoming a problem on other websites. My liseuse breaks in a strange fashion (I haven't sat on it or dropped it or anything), and as I have no other books with me and live abroad, I have to rely on my iPod to continue reading. And that hurts my eyes.

This is my experience of about one year with a liseuse. Not horrifying, far from it, and I have already spent the bucks to get a new 505. But, how in the world do I sell this to my friends? Especially the computer illiterate? The only reason why I managed to enjoy ebooks is because I spent a LOT of time to get it to work. And the current trend, which puts books out of my reach and would force me to rely on expensive UK stores (after I've spent 300$ on the hardware? I don't think so!) isn't exactly positive.

Ebooks, as of now, are only easy to deal with and cheap if you live in the US (and if you own a Kindle, it's even better). For the rest of us, it's an expansive and/or complicated proposition. I've stopped telling my friends about how great my liseuse is: if they get one, I would have to spend hours with them providing support...

Your problem is not ebooks. It's your initial choice for an ereader. You can help your friends by pointing them for ereaders (which you call liseuses) that are available and supported in Europe (Cybook, BeBook, iRex's, etc).

[zerospinboson]

Originally Posted by kazbates

You can hardly blame the Liseuse manufacturers or Ebook stores for the problems with Geographic Restrictions. It does make the process of obtaining ebooks a huge problem but that I blame the publishing companies for that. They are still using an antiquated mindset when it comes to book publishing. Hopefully, they will see how many people are moving towards ereading and update their thinking.

Actually, in the case of Sony, I would argue that you can. They specifically market their device as coming with access to their store (at least, that's my guess of what they would want you to do), so when they only sell to US/CA customers, something has gone wrong, as they should easily have been able to foresee this, and at least explain on the boxes that you will only be able to buy books if.., etc.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

You're so lucky. I wish my brother would send me blank messages.

am laughing out loud right now, husband and kids think I've gone bonkers.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by zerospinboson

Actually, in the case of Sony, I would argue that you can. They specifically market their device as coming with access to their store (at least, that's my guess of what they would want you to do), so when they only sell to US/CA customers, something has gone wrong, as they should easily have been able to foresee this, and at least explain on the boxes that you will only be able to buy books if.., etc.

I'll grant you that that information should be upfront (I've often felt that retailers should be much more forthcoming about their products) but I still maintain that you cannot blame Sony for the Geo restrictions. They can be laid directly at the feet of publishers.