Dear Jeff Bezos, - Page 2

pilotbob · 03-15-2009, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiriakou

Long letter. Please educate me if i have it wrong. Amazon is not in the Kindle business. They want to sell you books. Kindle is a device to that end. Why would they want to help you buy books from someone else?

If they are in the business to sell eBooks... why do they only sell Kindle books to people with a Kindle?

BOb

dmaul1114 · 03-15-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiriakou

Long letter. Please educate me if i have it wrong. Amazon is not in the Kindle business. They want to sell you books. Kindle is a device to that end. Why would they want to help you buy books from someone else?

That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Yeah it sucks for people who want a reader with flexibility in formats and where to get books. But such people shouldn't have bought a Kindle as it will never be that type of device as Amazon's main goal is to sell books from their store.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

If they are in the business to sell eBooks... why do they only sell Kindle books to people with a Kindle?

BOb

That's one thing they should change IMO. But I'm guessing the make some money off the hardware too since they sell it for more than the main competition.

But down the road they should let other companies have devices that can read kindle books--they've started with the iPhone/iTouch so I could see it happening with other readers sooner or later.

EDIT: Crap, sorry for the double post, hit back to edit a typo. Is there a way to delete posts here? I couldn't find it.

daffy4u · 03-15-2009, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Yeah it sucks for people who want a reader with flexibility in formats and where to get books. But such people shouldn't have bought a Kindle as it will never be that type of device as Amazon's main goal is to sell books from their store.

If that is their "main" goal, opening their ebook store to ther ebook readers would cause sales to skyrocket.

daffy4u · 03-15-2009, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiriakou

Long letter. Please educate me if i have it wrong. Amazon is not in the Kindle business. They want to sell you books. Kindle is a device to that end. Why would they want to help you buy books from someone else?

I think I responded to the wrong post. Amazon would sell way more books by opening it's store to more ebook reading devices.

dmaul1114 · 03-15-2009, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

If that is their "main" goal, opening their ebook store to ther ebook readers would cause sales to skyrocket.

Yep, as I said above they should do that eventually--and having it on iPhones and iTouches is a start in that direction.

daffy4u · 03-15-2009, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Yep, as I said above they should do that eventually--and having it on iPhones and iTouches is a start in that direction.

I think you were editing your double post while I was posting.

JSWolf · 03-15-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiriakou

Long letter. Please educate me if i have it wrong. Amazon is not in the Kindle business. They want to sell you books. Kindle is a device to that end. Why would they want to help you buy books from someone else?

What theses scripts do is to allow you to purchase Mobipocket format eBooks from other vendors and fix them so they can be viewed on the Kindle. The silly thing is is that Amazon owns Mobipocket.

netseeker · 03-15-2009, 02:30 PM

Good job daffy4u.
Where can i place my sign?

Boston · 03-15-2009, 02:48 PM

I'm not as eloquent as the duck and others, but add my letter in a show of support.

~~

Dear Mr Bezos,

I am sending this in response to Amazon's DMCA take-down notice to Alexander Turcic, the owner of MobileRead.com dated March 9th.

Your growth has been based on customers seeing Amazon as a trusted partner. A relationship that is deteriorating as a result of Amazon using clout, not customer/community relations, to corner a market. For me, the take-down notice is one that I cannot justify despite my desire to defend Amazon.

First, I am not here to debate the need for or effectiveness of DRM. I understand that, despite its flaws, the existence of DRM has helped eBook adoption by the commercial publishing community. I am here to express dismay and concern at Amazon flexing its muscle in a move that effectively keeps its customers captive.

Whether intentional or not, it seems to me that in Amazon both misused the intent of DMCA and targeted its own customer base. The allegations in the notice (that Mobileread distributed/hosted information designed to circumvent the copy protection of Kindle 2 books) were false. The scripts/instructions targeted did not remove DRM (or its intended effect) but merely allowed Kindle owners to read non-Amazon purchases that were legally obtained. So rather than block illegal distribution of books, the net effect of your actions is to block your own customers from maximizing the use of their Kindles.

I'll give Amazon the benefit of the doubt and suggest your actions were the result of concerns that the PID could be used with other programs to circumvent eBook DRM. However, not only is that information available elsewhere, these methods were not promoted or supported by Mobileread. In fact, posts on how-to and links for these other uses were blatantly prohibited. My guess is that anyone intent on removing DRM would just as easily find other ways to identify the PID which is the only piece of information provided by the Mobileread scripts. If your goal was to prevent DRM removal from books, why insist on the removal of programs designed to help those Kindle owners who did not want to remove DRM? Your action makes no sense unless your goal is to lock Kindle owners to the Amazon store.

The added ability to borrow books from the library or purchase from others (through kindlefix) was a deciding factor in selecting/promoting the Kindle. Not just for myself, but many others as this is a key advantage of the Sony eReaders. While my personal preference would be for the Kindle to do this natively by reading other DRM'd formats (my understanding is that mobi should not require much effort), the Mobileread scripts provided Kindle customers with a small degree of this functionality (Sony supports drm'd pdf and epub formats which are more prevalent than .mobi).

Even with the scripts, over ninety-percent of my books came from the Amazon store because of competitive pricing/availability. And that is how you should compete as opposed to using monopolistic practices.

While other eReaders are becoming increasingly open to different drm formats to increase usability, it appears Amazon has taken the reverse course using the Kindle popularity to corner the eBook market. I own two Kindles but, as a consumer,I cannot support any vendor that takes aggressive measures to restrict who I buy from.

My hope is that this misfire is a wake-up call for Amazon. Open communications and partnerships with the communities that are your current and intended customer base (Mobileread is good place to start) instead of sending out legal notices with false allegations and restricting use will make you more competitive in the long run.

A Disappointed Kindle Lover and Amazon Customer from Boston

Boston · 03-15-2009, 02:49 PM

Oops...did you want us to just sign or add our own letters? I misunderstood

Please add my signature

daffy4u · 03-15-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boston

Oops...did you want us to just sign or add our own letters? I misunderstood

Please add my signature

Whatever. If you would like to add a letter, post it and I'll add it to the blog. If you feel it worthy, point digg in the direction of the blog (I couldn't find a way to add a digg link) No signature required.

Would you like your letter added to the blog or just keep it on this thread?

Boston · 03-15-2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Would you like your letter added to the blog or just keep it on this thread?

Only if you feel adding the letter helps support your point of view. Its your blog and as you say, there are different perspectives people have taken on this topic. I just stated mine.

daffy4u · 03-15-2009, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boston

Only if you feel adding the letter helps support your point of view. Its your blog and as you say, there are different perspectives people have taken on this topic. I just stated mine.

It doesn't need to support my point of view, it's just an additional outlet. I'm going to post it but should you change your mind, let me know and it will be gone like the wind, WHOOSH!! _--_--_--_ (those lines are supposed to represent the wind but they aren't working the way I planned

)

pshrynk · 03-15-2009, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Yeah it sucks for people who want a reader with flexibility in formats and where to get books. But such people shouldn't have bought a Kindle as it will never be that type of device as Amazon's main goal is to sell books from their store.

That's one thing they should change IMO. But I'm guessing the make some money off the hardware too since they sell it for more than the main competition.

But down the road they should let other companies have devices that can read kindle books--they've started with the iPhone/iTouch so I could see it happening with other readers sooner or later.

EDIT: Crap, sorry for the double post, hit back to edit a typo. Is there a way to delete posts here? I couldn't find it.

Sorted that for you.

daffy4u · 03-15-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Sorted that for you.

Yeah, but now my following post about us cross posting looks weird.

03-15-2009, 02:48 PM	#24
Boston Fanatic Posts: 555 Karma: 40032 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Boston :) Device: Kindle, Kobo Aura H20, Pixel XL	I'm not as eloquent as the duck and others, but add my letter in a show of support. ~~ Dear Mr Bezos, I am sending this in response to Amazon's DMCA take-down notice to Alexander Turcic, the owner of MobileRead.com dated March 9th. Your growth has been based on customers seeing Amazon as a trusted partner. A relationship that is deteriorating as a result of Amazon using clout, not customer/community relations, to corner a market. For me, the take-down notice is one that I cannot justify despite my desire to defend Amazon. First, I am not here to debate the need for or effectiveness of DRM. I understand that, despite its flaws, the existence of DRM has helped eBook adoption by the commercial publishing community. I am here to express dismay and concern at Amazon flexing its muscle in a move that effectively keeps its customers captive. Whether intentional or not, it seems to me that in Amazon both misused the intent of DMCA and targeted its own customer base. The allegations in the notice (that Mobileread distributed/hosted information designed to circumvent the copy protection of Kindle 2 books) were false. The scripts/instructions targeted did not remove DRM (or its intended effect) but merely allowed Kindle owners to read non-Amazon purchases that were legally obtained. So rather than block illegal distribution of books, the net effect of your actions is to block your own customers from maximizing the use of their Kindles. I'll give Amazon the benefit of the doubt and suggest your actions were the result of concerns that the PID could be used with other programs to circumvent eBook DRM. However, not only is that information available elsewhere, these methods were not promoted or supported by Mobileread. In fact, posts on how-to and links for these other uses were blatantly prohibited. My guess is that anyone intent on removing DRM would just as easily find other ways to identify the PID which is the only piece of information provided by the Mobileread scripts. If your goal was to prevent DRM removal from books, why insist on the removal of programs designed to help those Kindle owners who did not want to remove DRM? Your action makes no sense unless your goal is to lock Kindle owners to the Amazon store. The added ability to borrow books from the library or purchase from others (through kindlefix) was a deciding factor in selecting/promoting the Kindle. Not just for myself, but many others as this is a key advantage of the Sony eReaders. While my personal preference would be for the Kindle to do this natively by reading other DRM'd formats (my understanding is that mobi should not require much effort), the Mobileread scripts provided Kindle customers with a small degree of this functionality (Sony supports drm'd pdf and epub formats which are more prevalent than .mobi). Even with the scripts, over ninety-percent of my books came from the Amazon store because of competitive pricing/availability. And that is how you should compete as opposed to using monopolistic practices. While other eReaders are becoming increasingly open to different drm formats to increase usability, it appears Amazon has taken the reverse course using the Kindle popularity to corner the eBook market. I own two Kindles but, as a consumer,I cannot support any vendor that takes aggressive measures to restrict who I buy from. My hope is that this misfire is a wake-up call for Amazon. Open communications and partnerships with the communities that are your current and intended customer base (Mobileread is good place to start) instead of sending out legal notices with false allegations and restricting use will make you more competitive in the long run. A Disappointed Kindle Lover and Amazon Customer from Boston Last edited by Boston; 03-15-2009 at 02:59 PM.

03-15-2009, 02:49 PM	#25
Boston Fanatic Posts: 555 Karma: 40032 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Boston :) Device: Kindle, Kobo Aura H20, Pixel XL	Oops...did you want us to just sign or add our own letters? I misunderstood Please add my signature Last edited by Boston; 03-15-2009 at 02:56 PM.

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03-15-2009, 02:30 PM	#23
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