I wish downloading books was as easy...

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Tell that to all those people in the Which One Should I Buy and on Reddit who mention wanting to be able to buy books from any bookstore.

Almost as many as the number of posters on MobileRead and elsewhere who don't seem to have noticed that there are other brands of ereader other than the ones manufactured by Amazon.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

They don't notice problems with DRM until (sigh) another store disappears, or they have to get a new device and run into limits on transfers or find that some books are no longer in their cloud library because of rights disputes.

This happens more often than people think, it's just that laymen are never told why, or given a solution.

My mother has never been an Amazon user, and so when we bought her a Kindle, it was originally registered to another family member's account, with the idea that they'd have a "shared" library and anything he bought she could read, and vice-versa. Except she wasn't allowed to buy anything--she needed to call him every time and ask if he could buy it for her, and at some point I discovered that she was barely using the device to read anything other than free public domain books because she either felt too ashamed to call him, or he'd flake out on buying the thing.

To make a long story short, eventually we decided she needed to get her own account and re-register the device, and it was at that point that the issue of all of her books still registered under his account came to a head. Luckily, I was able to get all of her books liberated from DRM from her old device before we got her a new Paperwhite and set it up under her own account. But the point being, she was about ready to lose all of her old books because "Amazon said you can't transfer books to new owners" before I explained how we can get around this. If your end-users are not technically-minded to begin with, they are not going to understand the distinction between a technical limitation vs a vendor-imposed restriction.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Almost as many as the number of posters on MobileRead and elsewhere who don't seem to have noticed that there are other brands of ereader other than the ones manufactured by Amazon.

The Kindle I have is the Clara

Like every time I pay with my Pixel, they say 'ApplePay?'

[neil_swann80]

If you've legally purchased a book, what are people's thoughts on then acquiring a DRM free copy of said book for personal use?

Crime? Victimless crime? Non-crime?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

If you've legally purchased a book, what are people's thoughts on then acquiring a DRM free copy of said book for personal use?

Crime? Victimless crime? Non-crime?

Some critical qualifiers are missing here and I can't help thinking it's in an attempt to distract from the issues. What kind of the book? What do you mean by "acquire"? The use of "legally" implies that you know it's dodgy.

If you're asking if owning a paper copy of a book entitles you to get a bootleg digital copy, the answer is a resounding no. You could make your own digital copy from the paper book; otherwise, you need to stump up.

[neil_swann80]

Originally Posted by issybird

If you're asking if owning a paper copy of a book entitles you to get a bootleg digital copy, the answer is a resounding no. You could make your own digital copy from the paper book; otherwise, you need to stump up.

I was thinking DRM-ed ebook; so either removing DRM or acquiring a pre-DRM-stripped (as you say "bootleg") version.

But you raise an interesting point about scanning a physical book. If you end up with a digital copy either way, how important is the method?

And apologies if this is considered a distraction from the issue(s), perhaps it should have been a new post. I'm happy to remove my posts if necessary.

Just to clarify, I 100% support purchasing books to support authors and encourage all to do likewise. I happily spend lots on books both for myself and as gifts. Just not a fan of DRM.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

I was thinking DRM-ed ebook; so either removing DRM or acquiring a pre-DRM-stripped (as you say "bootleg") version.

I originally added a sentence about owning a DRMed book, in which case I said why not remove the DRM yourself instead of consorting with pirates? But then I thought that couldn't be what you meant, so backspaced. I still don't think giving pirates the traffic is a good idea or even morally neutral in the situation you describe.

[neil_swann80]

Originally Posted by issybird

I originally added a sentence about owning a DRMed book, in which case I said why not remove the DRM yourself instead of consorting with pirates? But then I thought that couldn't be what you meant, so backspaced. I still don't think giving pirates the traffic is a good idea or even morally neutral in the situation you describe.

I suppose there's profit in there somewhere, unlikely to be completely altruistic in their agenda... advertising clicks and whatnot. I shall meditate on it!

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by issybird

I originally added a sentence about owning a DRMed book, in which case I said why not remove the DRM yourself instead of consorting with pirates? But then I thought that couldn't be what you meant, so backspaced. I still don't think giving pirates the traffic is a good idea or even morally neutral in the situation you describe.

Amazon's making that harder. For someone who doesn't have a Kindle device and can't get the Bluestacks method working for whatever reason...

Legally, it's wrong. But ethically...well, there's some considerations about giving the pirates more clicks (and possibly advertising revenue - use an adblocker, folks!), but I consider it about the same level as 'finding' a modified NoCD executable for a game to get around Windows blocking SecuROM. Which is 'buy elsewhere* if you can, but if it's the only choice...'

* GOG sells lots of older games DRM-free!

[neil_swann80]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

...but I consider it about the same level as 'finding' a modified NoCD executable for a game to get around Windows blocking SecuROM. Which is 'buy elsewhere* if you can, but if it's the only choice...'

Before having home internet (and way before smartphones) I used to download NoCD executables from a library, use a file splitter in some cases to divide the executable to fit on multiple floppy discs, before taking them home and re-joining them on my PC.

Keeping my game discs safe from wear and tear and not having to constantly swap game discs was very liberating.

[Dsharma]

There are other places to buy e-books, like Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play Books, which work on all kinds of devices. That way, we're still supporting authors and not messing with legal stuff.
Oh, and don't forget about your local library! A lot of them have e-books and audiobooks you can borrow through apps like OverDrive or Libby. All you need is a library card, and you're good to go! Plus, it's all legal and free. )

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Dsharma

There are other places to buy e-books, like Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play Books, which work on all kinds of devices.

They work if you understand DRM-removal. Otherwise Kobo books only work on Kobo devices, B&N books only work on Nooks and Google Play books only work on Android devices.

One exception (at least on B&N and Kobo) is DRM-free books. I love when I buy a book and just download a DRM-free ePub. Kobo is especially good about this. I wish it was the norm instead of the exception.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

They work if you understand DRM-removal. Otherwise Kobo books only work on Kobo devices, B&N books only work on Nooks and Google Play books only work on Android devices.

One exception (at least on B&N and Kobo) is DRM-free books. I love when I buy a book and just download a DRM-free ePub. Kobo is especially good about this. I wish it was the norm instead of the exception.

Odd, I have used Kobo and Google Play books on multiple platforms (Kobo ereaders, iOS devices, Android devices, Windows and MacOS PCs). The DRMmed downloads from either use Adobe's ADEPT DRM. Oddly the local library does the same.

B&N is not a concern for me since they do not have a presence in the local market.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Odd, I have used Kobo and Google Play books on multiple platforms (Kobo ereaders, iOS devices, Android devices, Windows and MacOS PCs). The DRMmed downloads from either use Adobe's ADEPT DRM.

What's odd about that?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

What's odd about that?

Did you read what you wrote?

They work if you understand DRM-removal. Otherwise Kobo books only work on Kobo devices, B&N books only work on Nooks and Google Play books only work on Android devices.

I found it odd and still find it odd that you would claim that Kobo books only work on Kobo devices and Google Play books only work on Android devices when both use Adobe ADEPT DRM for DRMmed ebook downloads. B&N is an outlier since it used a variant on Adobe's ADEPT DRM with a different decryption key.

Does that make my comment clearer?