Buying iBooks

[HLS]

Is there a way to buy from the iBook store on my PC or does it have to be done via my iPad? I have not found a way yet.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Is there a way to buy from the iBook store on my PC or does it have to be done via my iPad? I have not found a way yet.

Only for Mac users I believe.

[meeera]

Is there a particular reason to buy from the iBook store? AFAIK there is no reliable way to remove their DRM, so I refuse to buy from them.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by meeera

Is there a particular reason to buy from the iBook store? AFAIK there is no reliable way to remove their DRM, so I refuse to buy from them.

There is, however it only works with PC's and Sierra and before on Macs.

[drofgnal]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Is there a way to buy from the iBook store on my PC or does it have to be done via my iPad? I have not found a way yet.

You can install iTunes on a pc. With that, you should have access to the iTunes store.

Edit: Itunes will only get you audiobooks, sorry for the confusion.

[HLS]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

You can install iTunes on a pc. With that, you should have access to the iTunes store.

Edit: Itunes will only get you audiobooks, sorry for the confusion.

I see no book store on itunes

[leebase]

As big of an Apple fan as I am, I buy very few iBooks. I buy from Amazon even though I like the iBook app better than the Kindle app. Kindle books available on Android as well as iOS...and easier to liberate them so you can back them up. Prices are most always the same.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by leebase

As big of an Apple fan as I am, I buy very few iBooks. I buy from Amazon even though I like the iBook app better than the Kindle app. Kindle books available on Android as well as iOS...and easier to liberate them so you can back them up. Prices are most always the same.

Apple really hasn't been pushing their ebooks very hard until the last couple of months. I've been playing with the Apple ebook store since the most recent release. It's interesting. Amazon is still my go to place, but I've bought several books from Apple in recent months. I've easy enough to liberate the books if you have the right software and a Mac that has a version of OS X that is prior to High Sierra.

Competition is always good.

[johnnyb]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I've easy enough to liberate the books if you have the right software and a Mac that has a version of OS X that is prior to High Sierra.

Pray do tell!

[leebase]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Apple really hasn't been pushing their ebooks very hard until the last couple of months. I've been playing with the Apple ebook store since the most recent release. It's interesting. Amazon is still my go to place, but I've bought several books from Apple in recent months. I've easy enough to liberate the books if you have the right software and a Mac that has a version of OS X that is prior to High Sierra.

Competition is always good.

I always upgrade to the latest OS. I don't care enough about liberating iBooks to change this. I agree that it's nice to have competition. I was one who could never understand why so many folks on here favored Amazon in their fight with the publishers. When Apple lost, it took away competition.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by leebase

I always upgrade to the latest OS. I don't care enough about liberating iBooks to change this. I agree that it's nice to have competition. I was one who could never understand why so many folks on here favored Amazon in their fight with the publishers. When Apple lost, it took away competition.

The lawsuit took years to resolve. By then it was clear that there would never again be competition on basis of price, as publisher contracts that were drawn in the interim, for the most part, preclude it, and are no longer subject to the price-fixing issues present when the lawsuit was initiated. So while Apple lost the lawsuit, Amazon lost the ability to set prices. The principle of competition lost out.

Even if you are self-publishing on both Apple and Amazon, terms of service for both insist on price matching, even though the respective services are not equivalent in features and so forth.

Competition is now on basis of service and ecosystem features. Amazon seems to be winning at that, and it seems irrefutable that they give their ecosystem more attention than anybody.

Ideally consumers could legally migrate ebook purchases to the ecosystem of their choice in a convenient way, maybe using blockchain technology. But there is no current business incentive that would drive this innovation.

[Deskisamess]

I love iDevices. But I can buy digital books from Amazon, and read them on my Kindle, or any of my iDevices, and even an old android phone if I want, without the need to "liberate" them.

But Apple books can only be read on iDevices. No e-ink devices at all, without, as mentioned, liberating them. Since we don't have a Mac at this time, and have no plans to buy one, iBooks are too limiting for me.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by tomsem

The lawsuit took years to resolve. By then it was clear that there would never again be competition on basis of price, as publisher contracts that were drawn in the interim, for the most part, preclude it, and are no longer subject to the price-fixing issues present when the lawsuit was initiated. So while Apple lost the lawsuit, Amazon lost the ability to set prices. The principle of competition lost out.

Even if you are self-publishing on both Apple and Amazon, terms of service for both insist on price matching, even though the respective services are not equivalent in features and so forth.

Competition is now on basis of service and ecosystem features. Amazon seems to be winning at that, and it seems irrefutable that they give their ecosystem more attention than anybody.

Ideally consumers could legally migrate ebook purchases to the ecosystem of their choice in a convenient way, maybe using blockchain technology. But there is no current business incentive that would drive this innovation.

Amazon's predatory pricing is what started the whole thing. Publisher's and other book sellers alike were under assault from Amazon's near infinite access to cash and no need to make profits...buying up marketshare, putting the competition out or keeping them from entering, which was Apple’s case.

Apple wanted to enter the market but was not willing to invest hundreds of millions to enter a product selling goods for a loss...which is what Amazon was doing.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

But Apple books can only be read on iDevices. No e-ink devices at all, without, as mentioned, liberating them. Since we don't have a Mac at this time, and have no plans to buy one, iBooks are too limiting for me.

We here at MR are scarcely “typical” ebook consumers, though. “Normal” customers buy books on the device they read on and don’t give a damn about format conversion.

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by HarryT

We here at MR are scarcely “typical” ebook consumers, though. “Normal” customers buy books on the device they read on and don’t give a damn about format conversion.

So true. My wife has never once even uttered words that could be mistakenly construed as wanting to convert a file to a more convenient format or anything of the sort. And I dare not say anything resembling the idea so that she doesn't get any funny ideas.