Is Harry Potter not in Ebook form?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

SweetPea, you're saying that because they made different covers for teenagers and older readers, they can't exclude ebooks?

The adult covers aren't particularly scandalous, and parents can choose to buy those versions and give them to their kids with no change in consumption philosophy. It's completely different from offering a different medium.

No, but you said:

but on principle, I like how she's encouraging the peer pressure around her books among young people to manifest as peer pressure to get real books, rather than gadgets to show off to their friends that are more important than the books in those gadgets.

But how does that hold up if you also know that a very large group of readers is adult?

Personally, I find the reasons she quoted on in that complete rubbish, but still..

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

But how does that hold up if you also know that a very large group of readers is adult?

Personally, I find the reasons she quoted on in that complete rubbish, but still..

Because her target audience is still young people. Yes, adults read it, but just comparing sales rank of, say, Book 1:

Normal version rank: 386 (in category: #1)
"Serious" version rank: 19,580 (in category: #43)

And it still doesn't change the fact that it's a young reader's story, and her intended audience is broad, but focused on the young.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by omk3

Now now kacir, not much technology in the Discworld either, at least before Hex. (I know, sorry for bringing Pratchett in a discussion about Harry Potter).

I just HAVE to write an answer to THAT.
Sorry, I do not have time at the moment to write 5k word essay this topic would require but here you go:
- in the first book people wanted to see what gender the Great A'tunin is, so they built a mechanical winch, that would lower an observer in a "space faring vessel" to have a peek.
- in one of the first books a Wizard needs to get to the top of the highest tower very quickly, so he wouldn't miss the grand finale of the book, so he "sends a chunk of stone crashing down, so he can get up very quickly, because you can not fool the laws of physics, even with magic"
- there is group of books in Discworld series that is being referred to as "Industrial Revolution" ( see here http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/30...discworld.html ). The series begins with Moving pictures, The Truth, Monstruous regiment, Going postal and Making money.
In making money, there is mad scientist that constructed a computer from interconnected glass vessels there level of water represented money. This is after a famous scientist that made similar machine that was used to model financial world in real life.
- in one of books Vimes has a "personal disorganizer" that likes to interrupt him in the most inappropriate moments to remind him of tasks, schedules. The Disorganizer even comes with a ridiculous End User License Agreement, complete with [insert your name here]. When asked what useful function it could provide it answered "I can change colors". The grandmaster Sir Terry has no doubt received a gift - a PDA at the moment he was writing the book ;-)
- in feet of clay there is a golem that has installed metallic cooler on his head so his silicon brain could function faster and he could be smarter.
- Unseen University basement is filled with pipes that are constantly clanking, resonating, ...
- in interesting times University staff sends Rincewind to a distant continent by magic and (to preserve laws of physics) an object from the distant continent appears in the university, with similar mass as Rincewind has. It is a canon with smoldering fuse

I have no time to write more, but in every single Terry Pratchett book(*) there is reference to a cool, geeky interesting gadget, or invention, or feature, or ... something ... that reminds you that whatever magic you use, you can not fool laws of physics. (you can fool Death, sometimes, but in the end he comes for you anyway)


I do not mind that you compared books written by Sir Terry to Harry Potter series, I just think they play in an entirely different league. ;-)

(*) I confess I haven't read "Where is my cow" yet ;-)

[omk3]

Nice post, kacir, thanks for reminding me of all these little episodes in one of my favourite series. Time for rereading has come I think!
I was aware of all that, but didn't regard it as "technology" as such. It's an imp that works the disorganiser for example! (and an adorable one at that). But yes, Sir Terry's interest in technology is certainly evident throughout.
No idea what role technology plays in the Harry Potter series, as I've never read it and don't expect I will, so I'll take your word for it.

[Harry001]

we have all 7 books in english, the first five in german and turkish, bought all the movies on dvd and watched every movie in cinema at least twice -
i guess that allowed me to take a bite of the p2p - and now have the e-books,too!

that cant be illegal, because no one lost anything, since we bought all the media available and money can buy!
i have no bad feelings about that
but that's my 2 ct

keep reading

harry

reading right now: leo tolstoy - anna karenina and jean.m. auel - earth's children 4

[poshm]

Authors should leave the Reading format up to the reader. If I am happy to read using an ereader instead of a paperbook, so what? The more formats books are available in, the bigger your potential audience. Authors who don't take advantage of this like Rowling miss out.

The other issue is that I suffer with a lot of problems with my hands (carpal tunnel syndrome as well as very poor circulation) which can make it difficult for me to read paper books as the pages can be difficult to separate and turn. This is where having an ereader (as well as audiobooks) is a far better experience than a paperbook.

Maybe J. K. Rowling might like to consider that there are people with disabilities who use technology for good reason. I would love to read her books in ebook format as the audiobooks are beyond my price range but she'll have to lose me as a reader. Intstead I have just bought the Eragon and Elder ebooks which are excellent.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by kacir

In making money, there is mad scientist that constructed a computer from interconnected glass vessels there level of water represented money. This is after a famous scientist that made similar machine that was used to model financial world in real life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MONIAC_Computer , if anyone's interested...

[omk3]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MONIAC_Computer , if anyone's interested...

Thanks for the link, gwynevans!

Originally Posted by Harry001

we have all 7 books in english, the first five in german and turkish, bought all the movies on dvd and watched every movie in cinema at least twice -
i guess that allowed me to take a bite of the p2p - and now have the e-books,too!

that cant be illegal, because no one lost anything, since we bought all the media available and money can buy!
i have no bad feelings about that
but that's my 2 ct

It's still illegal, Harry, but legal doesn't necessarily mean right or even reasonable. It's certainly ethically fine in my book.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by omk3

It's still illegal, Harry, but legal doesn't necessarily mean right or even reasonable. It's certainly ethically fine in my book.

It might not be illegal. One of the fascinating bits of commentary in the recent Sony v Tenenbaum ruling was the judge saying:

the Court was prepared to consider a more expansive fair use argument than other courts have credited — perhaps one supported by facts specific to this individual and this unique period of rapid technological change. For example, file sharing for the purposes of sampling music prior to purchase or space-shifting to store purchased music more efficiently might offer a compelling case for fair use. Likewise, a defendant who used the new file-sharing networks in the technological interregnum before digital media could be purchased legally, but who later shifted to paid outlets, might also be able to rely on the defense.

(Bolding added.) So we've got a ruling where a judge said, if there's no digital version available, it might be okay to make & distribute one. Rowling's said she never intends to allow ebooks--she's declined to exploit that market, and that doesn't give her the right to prevent it.

From the Gone With the Wind/The Wind Done Gone case, Marcus' concurring opinion:

The law grants copyright holders a powerful monopoly in their expressive works. It should not also afford them windfall damages for the publication of the sorts of works that they themselves would never publish, or worse, grant them a power of indirect censorship.

[omk3]

Wow, I didn't know that! Sounds like good news!

[Harry001]

in my opinion every one who legally bought one kind of medium (record, tape, cd, book) should be enabled to a digital copy of that same medium (mp3, e-book) because he sometime paid for the right to hear or read it.
So why does he has to pay a second time for the same content only in an different format?
thats too crazy for me to understand because the storyor the music is still the same!

keep reading

harry

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Harry001

in my opinion every one who legally bought one kind of medium (record, tape, cd, book) should be enabled to a digital copy of that same medium (mp3, e-book) because he sometime paid for the right to hear or read it.
So why does he has to pay a second time for the same content only in an different format?

A buyer may have a moral or even legal right to a digital version of content that he owns (questionable, but possible), but he doesn't have any right to make someone else do the work of converting & formatting that digital version.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by Harry001

in my opinion every one who legally bought one kind of medium (record, tape, cd, book) should be enabled to a digital copy of that same medium (mp3, e-book) because he sometime paid for the right to hear or read it.
So why does he has to pay a second time for the same content only in an different format?

Depending on the jurisdiction, you have the right to *make* a digital copy of a work you legally bought. As elfwreck pointed out, this is different from obtaining a digital copy from somebody else. As with almost everything else I can think of, you pay for convenience.

Also note that the right to make your own copy, if it exists, doesn't carry the right to distribute that copy-the distribution right must be granted by the copyright owner. (Generally explicitly.) If, for convenience, you obtain your copy from somebody who isn't authorized to distribute their copy, then you've participated in an illegal transaction (whether or not you paid for your copy is irrelevant). A defense that you have the right to make a copy won't generally work under those circumstances.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I like how she's encouraging the peer pressure around her books among young people to manifest as peer pressure to get real books, rather than gadgets to show off to their friends that are more important than the books in those gadgets.

One day ebooks will be ubiquitous and inexpensive and will transcend the "novel gadget" status it still enjoys today. Today is not that day, except for some deluded fools on websites like this.

Quite frankly, I don't get this. To me, ebook readers are just tools, a medium on which to read. I don't see them as cool by any means. Heck, I don't know of any teenagers who think ebook readers (as novel a gadget as they may be) are cool. It might be different in Asia, but in the US, I'm pretty sure that's not the case. That may be the case when Apple releases its own ebook reader, but right now, they don't have that cool gadget status.

Sure, the current crop of readers certainly seem to have a lot of shortcomings still but that's the case with any new technology. However, I'm thankful that there are people who are willing to be guinea pigs for these imperfect devices as that's what makes them more affordable for the rest of us.

Another thing, ebooks and ebook readers are separate. You can read an ebook on a computer, PDA, cellphone, etc. Indeed, surveys suggest that the computer is still the most commonly used device for reading ebooks. Having an ebook version available does not necessarily equate to getting an ebook reader to show off to friends.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Quite frankly, I don't get this. To me, ebook readers are just tools, a medium on which to read. I don't see them as cool by any means. Heck, I don't know of any teenagers who think ebook readers (as novel a gadget as they may be) are cool. It might be different in Asia, but in the US, I'm pretty sure that's not the case. That may be the case when Apple releases its own ebook reader, but right now, they don't have that cool gadget status.

All electronic gadgets, even some of the most useless ones, have cool factor among younger people in schools, especially in the middle school or lower levels when there's some "exclusivity" granted by virtue of limited ownership. I grew up in the USA and it was very much the case there too.

Sure, the current crop of readers certainly seem to have a lot of shortcomings still but that's the case with any new technology. However, I'm thankful that there are people who are willing to be guinea pigs for these imperfect devices as that's what makes them more affordable for the rest of us.

Another thing, ebooks and ebook readers are separate. You can read an ebook on a computer, PDA, cellphone, etc. Indeed, surveys suggest that the computer is still the most commonly used device for reading ebooks. Having an ebook version available does not necessarily equate to getting an ebook reader to show off to friends.

Absolutely, but netbooks for instance have even more cool factor than ebook readers would.

I just find it amusing how her decision to offer limited format causes so much ruckus amongst the insecure ebook community (which they'll vehemently deny as well). I remember a long time ago I used to make a few products for people. I made those products out of 6al4v titanium alloy. People asked me to make them in stainless steel or aluminum or other materials, but I said no, I only wanted to associate my products with the medium of titanium, even though there was little practical reason for it (indeed, other materials are cheaper and generally easier to work with). I, as the creator of the products, had absolutely no obligation to satisfy the demands of prospective buyers by offering other materials. Rejecting possible profits? Sure. I didn't need any reason other than "I don't want to." Luckily as a niche product, it was easier for people to digest the fact that I wasn't whoring my craft to the whims of the market. Even as an ebook reader/user, if I were to become a bigshot author like Rowling with no practical profit worries, I'd rather enjoy not offering ebooks and hearing the outcry of the fringe (but growing of course) ebook market demanding that I offer something to suit their compulsions.