STUDY SHOWS: Ditching DRM could reduce piracy, prices

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

Are you reading the posts just on this page, or are you just trying to shrug these people's stinginess off.

Lending and giving are two completely different things. You're comparing apples to oranges, and act surprised when someone calls you on it. We're book lovers here. A minimum of reading comprehension is expected.

Or have you honestly never heard anyone say that the definition of "eternity" is the amount of time it takes for a friend who borrowed a book from you to return it?

[Ken Maltby]

My point was that even if DRM was some deterrent to "Casual Piracy", the problem is
not as likely as the DRM proponents make it out to be.

"Casual Piracy"/Sharing of ebook files has so many contraindications it would take an
extensive set of conditions to make it at all probable.

First you would (as you point out) need to have some "Needy Friends", who can't be
bothered to buy their own ebooks. (None of my friends or neighbors are that bad off.)

Then you would have to know the format that your underachieving friends need for their
eReaders/smartphones/netbooks/iPads/laptops/Android Tablets - or whatever.

Your list of potential pirated ebook recipients would have to be greatly winnowed down
to just those who read the same kind of ebooks as you do. (If you give them an ebook
and they never read it, or really wanted it, is that a lost sale? Has the book been
Pirated?)

I would be willing to bet that those on the list you posted (we who expect others to
support their own vices, with the fruit of their own labors), are the most likely to offer
aid to those who really need it. You may enrich a person's life with a book, but you
would be much more effective to point your needy friend to the nearest library.

I don't consider it being stingy to keep what I buy, to my own use. I have no claim
on what others may buy, they have none to what I purchase.

Luck;
Ken

[Freeshadow]

@SeaKing before you start calling people names here you might take into consideration, that some of us made very unpleasant experiences with lending
(including the need of hunt and repurchase a new copy of thing lent)


@stonetools
it's refreshing to see that you are missing parts of ppls posts containing other info than data against your usual arguments. It allows to maintain the illusion that you are just unattentive instead of purposely ignoring postings.

@ScalyFreak
you were not the only one to be misaddressed dear Dragoness.
I'actually noticed him doing the same with elfwreck multiple times.
It's either lack of awareness, politeness, or simply gynophobia.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by afa

I've never tried it, but B&N have a "LendMe" function for their NOOK Books. Some of them, at any rate.

I've used Amazon's version of this a few times to lend books to my sister, and it is actually brilliant - easier than stripping drm or even e-mailing a book.

You go to your "manage my kindle" page on Amazon, find the book, and there's a dropdown menu where you can choose "Lend this book". You then enter the e-mail address of the borrower and you're done.

Amazon sends her an e-mail with a link; she has 7 days to click on the link, and then 14 days to read the book. I can't access the book while she has it.

Advantages of this system over conventional lending are:
(1) distance doesn't matter - my sister lives 4 hours away and so we wouldn't be trading books normally.
(2) you don't have to actually have the book with you to lend it - she texted me today at work asking whether I had another book in a series I had lent her, and I could just go to my computer and let her have it.
(3) you get the book back.

Disadvantages are:
(1) Many books can't be lent (this is set by the publisher).
(2) You can only lend a book once (since I rarely lend a book at all, this isn't a big deal, but if you wanted to give a book to 10 different people, YMMV).


It is really a very slick system, particularly for people who have friends/family in other cities.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

It's either lack of awareness, politeness, or simply gynophobia.

On the internet?!? Never!

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Disadvantages are:
(1) Many books can't be lent (this is set by the publisher).
(2) You can only lend a book once (since I rarely lend a book at all, this isn't a big deal, but if you wanted to give a book to 10 different people, YMMV).

(3) Requires an Amazon account and a Kindle.

[rdfry]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

I've used Amazon's version of this a few times to lend books to my sister, and it is actually brilliant - easier than stripping drm or even e-mailing a book.

You go to your "manage my kindle" page on Amazon, find the book, and there's a dropdown menu where you can choose "Lend this book". You then enter the e-mail address of the borrower and you're done.

Amazon sends her an e-mail with a link; she has 7 days to click on the link, and then 14 days to read the book. I can't access the book while she has it.

Advantages of this system over conventional lending are:
(1) distance doesn't matter - my sister lives 4 hours away and so we wouldn't be trading books normally.
(2) you don't have to actually have the book with you to lend it - she texted me today at work asking whether I had another book in a series I had lent her, and I could just go to my computer and let her have it.
(3) you get the book back.

Disadvantages are:
(1) Many books can't be lent (this is set by the publisher).
(2) You can only lend a book once (since I rarely lend a book at all, this isn't a big deal, but if you wanted to give a book to 10 different people, YMMV).


It is really a very slick system, particularly for people who have friends/family in other cities.

Family members and close friends with Nooks can exchange credit card numbers and can email book files to each other, This beats lendme hands down.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by rdfry

Family members and close friends with Nooks can exchange credit card numbers and can email book files to each other, This beats lendme hands down.

Please tell me no one has ever been dumb enough to consider that a viable option.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Please tell me no one has ever been dumb enough to consider that a viable option.

Yes! .

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Please tell me no one has ever been dumb enough to consider that a viable option.

theres a reason why internet and mail scams are still around. yes, people ARE that dumb.


oh, add me to the "miser" club. i havent lent anyone anything since i loaned a nintendo game as a kid and never got it back. i'll tit for tat but i never just hand out freebies.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Oh, please add me to this distinguished list.

I am a book hoarder and you cannot have any of my books. Ever.

I will happily lend money or offer my time and assistance to a friend, or even to a person in need; I will buy someone else a book they want or I want them to have. But I will not lend my books.

Ditto!

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by afa

You want books? Go get your own.

I lent a pbook last week to a colleague. I'm Romanian but I'm in the Netherlands now, and when I came here I came with some books in Romanian. The reason for lending was that she had learned Romanian at school when she was young, but hasn't used the language in more than 10 years and reading is a good way to get used to the language again. But I suppose that I could have told her to buy her own, after all, she does have relatives that could send her a book.

And to those who have had bad experiences with lending books to friends: maybe you should get better friends.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

I lent a pbook last week to a colleague. I'm Romanian but I'm in the Netherlands now, and when I came here I came with some books in Romanian. The reason for lending was that she had learned Romanian at school when she was young, but hasn't used the language in more than 10 years and reading is a good way to get used to the language again. But I suppose that I could have told her to buy her own, after all, she does have relatives that could send her a book.

And to those who have had bad experiences with lending books to friends: maybe you should get better friends.

No, thank you. I like the friends I have just fine.

And they can still buy their own books. They'll live.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

And to those who have had bad experiences with lending books to friends: maybe you should get better friends.

Wouldn't it be nice if life and people were that simple and uncomplicated?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

No, thank you. I like the friends I have just fine.

And they can still buy their own books. They'll live.

You EVIL woman you!

[rdfry]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Please tell me no one has ever been dumb enough to consider that a viable option.

It works just fine for family members and friends that are trust worthy. If you can't trust your sister or your brother then i feel sorry for you.