WARNING! - A Sony free ebook is no longer re-downloadable

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm not sure what you are saying here. I bought a "free" book from Sony and I can redownload it anytime I want.

I believe he is saying he had a problem doing exactly that with one of his free books.

[HarryT]

If the book was only free for a limited time, this seems like quite an "acceptable" policy to me, I must say. It's the user's responsibility to keep a backup copy, not Sony's.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If the book was only free for a limited time, this seems like quite an "acceptable" policy to me, I must say. It's the user's responsibility to keep a backup copy, not Sony's.

Yes, I would agree with you only if they would do these two things: Tell us and then remove the book.

1) They did not tell us
2) The book is still listed as downloadable.


Don

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

I believe he is saying he had a problem doing exactly that with one of his free books.

1) The thread is about how Secret Vampire is no longer available, although it's still listed as being available - after all, it's still in one's library.

2) The thead is about the possibility of other free books no longer being available at some future time, and without any warning whatsoever from Sony.

3) The thread is about this possibly happening to you.


Don

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by JasonB

I've never relied on keeping books in the online Sony library. After getting them from there, I immediately copy them to my reader and then use calibre to copy them to my computer's hard drive. (Where I'm maintaining my own library of Sony lrf content as well as others.)

Is it common for people to rely solely on the online source for their media? (I know that Kindle keeps bought books at Amazon - but can't those also be copied over to your own storage?)

If I compare this to the real world, and I buy a book, I don't expect to be able to go back to the book store and have them hand me another copy if I lose the original or it gets damaged in some way. If that were to happen, and it were still available in the store, I'd either buy it again or, having read about it, not bother. (Or if my house burned down along with my personal library and I lost my couple of thousand print books.) I don't consider the concept of having an online store and being able to download another copy at any time as anything other than a "nice bonus". (Kind of like them providing a free backup service.) But if I really want to make sure that what I've bought and downloaded remains available to me, I'll store it and/or back it up myself.

Plus, this seems to only be one specific title - and nothing (so far) indicates that it has actually been "rescinded", just that there's some as yet unidentified problem with the entry for that book on their site / in their database. It doesn't sound like there's any reason to panic. Nor do I see any sign of this being a policy - it just looks more like a simple glitch.

Lastly, even if this were true (a policy I mean, not the glitch - which I believe) I don't think that it would bother me or that I'd care. I mean, it was a free book. Now, if I'd actually paid money for it - and there was a commitment that anything you bought was supposed to always remain online - that would be different.

Let me comment on only one idea:

If they (Amazon, Fictionwise, Sony) desires to keep an online library of your books - and they do - then those books should be freely available to you to download at any time and for whatever reason that you feel a need to download them.

Otherwise, they should discontinue the concept of an online library of your books - purchased or free.

Thanks,
Don

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

2) The thead is about the possibility of other free books no longer being available at some future time, and without any warning whatsoever from Sony.

Can this only happen to free books. Was this free book always free. I'm thinking it didn't have anything to do with it.

Does Sony guarantee that any book you buy will be available for redownload "forever"?

I think FW says they will make every attempt to keep your books, but only garunteed for a month or something like that.

Amazon says that purchased books will ALWAYS remain in your media library. As a matter of fact you CAN'T even remove them.

BOb


BOb

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

The thread is about this possibly happening to you.

Nah, won't happen to me...I don't have a Sony

I also make sure to maintain multiple local backups of any ebooks I purchase, as I don't trust any ebook store to maintain downloadable copies for me forever.

But, yes, I understand your point and warning to others.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

Nah, won't happen to me...I don't have a Sony

I also make sure to maintain multiple local backups of any ebooks I purchase, as I don't trust any ebook store to maintain downloadable copies for me forever.

But, yes, I understand your point and warning to others.

That's what I'll be doing from now on: Making redundancies and storing them in different locations, perhaps at my house and then a copy at your house.

don

[phenomshel]

While I see your frustration factor as legitimate, I guess I'm looking at it from a different point of view. I buy from digital scrapbooking stores all the time. They give you four or five downloads available for 30 days or so, and then that's it. However, this policy is clearly explained before you buy anything, so everyone is aware of it. A lot of the store owners will reset your download for you in the event of a major computer hardware problem, such as a hard drive crashing, but not all of them will do this. So I'm used to making multiple backups of anything in data form I buy online. Trusting your data, whether it be ebooks or scrap kits, to only one media device is just asking to lose stuff. The same with trusting any company online or off to store media for you for future use. The company can go bankrupt and the site disappear with no warning, their servers can crash, any number of things.
I'm not saying that Sony not having this available for you with no warning is the right thing to do, I think at the very least there should have been a clear dialogue when you bought it that it would not be available after such date and why. But protecting yourself with responsible backups is a sure way that even if such a thing happens to you again, you won't get burned by it.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Does Sony guarantee that any book you buy will be available for redownload "forever"?

If it is called a a library I would have assumed that the books were available until this part of Sony went out of business. If I place a book in my library at home I do not expect it to suddenly disappear.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Can this only happen to free books. Was this free book always free. I'm thinking it didn't have anything to do with it.

Does Sony guarantee that any book you buy will be available for redownload "forever"?

I think FW says they will make every attempt to keep your books, but only garunteed for a month or something like that.

Amazon says that purchased books will ALWAYS remain in your media library. As a matter of fact you CAN'T even remove them.

BOb


BOb

Although, I had a long talk with Amazon about this exact point, and it's not true.

If a publisher decides to pull publication of the book, no matter that you purchased it in good faith, Amazon will pull it off their virtual shelves and out of your media library. They say they will offer refunds should this happen.

However, when I heard that, I started making triple redundant backups of all of my books. I don't like the idea that a publisher can decide to take my purchased book away from me.

[pilotbob]

Thanks for the info. I have single copy and backup. Will soon be grabbing jungledisk and backing up offsite (online) too. I will make sure to d/l and deDRM all my Kindle books.

BOb

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Although, I had a long talk with Amazon about this exact point, and it's not true.

If a publisher decides to pull publication of the book, no matter that you purchased it in good faith, Amazon will pull it off their virtual shelves and out of your media library. They say they will offer refunds should this happen.

However, when I heard that, I started making triple redundant backups of all of my books. I don't like the idea that a publisher can decide to take my purchased book away from me.

Although not quite the same thing, for those Sony readers who wanted The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, can no longer buy it as it's no longer offered for sale from them.

I purchased the ebook when it became available. If one bought the ebook, then it's still in one's library. But if not, then you're out of luck - for the time being, anyway.

Don