Technology is changing the world in ways that ten years ago people would have never even dreamed of. Everything is digital now. You can look up recipes on your phone, send e-mails instead of letters, and go shopping on the Internet. One of the biggest changes in technology I feel, is ebooks. Ebooks are changing the way people read and look at literature. Some day, paper books may be completely obsolete! While I prefer the smell of an old book and the turning of crinkling pages over a digital copy, I appreciate the technological advancement and the options that come along with ebooks. I think it's incredible that you can simply download a newly released book from your Nook or Kindle instead of waiting for days or weeks for a highly demanded book to come in to Barnes and Knoble or your local library. Also, I think it's awesome that instead of carrying around five books when you go on vacation, you can simply bring along your Kindle and have your entire library at your finger tips!
Along with the amazing conveniences ebooks offer, there are some negative aspects we must consider. For example, one ebook can not handle all ebook formats. The Kindle supports .azw formats while the Nook supports ereader, .pdf, and .epub formats. If you purchase a Kindle and then decide you want to transfer all of your material over to a Nook, you're in for long hours of illegally breaking DRM codes and formats. While it is not legal to transfer material in such a way, hackers and desperate customers who have spent hundreds of dollars on a product that they are not happy with attempt to beat the system and do this.
When it comes to ereaders, you also run into the problem of obtaining content when you purchase an ereader. For example, the Kindle is paired with Amazon. If you purchase the Kindle, you can read any ebook that Amazon offers. The Nook on the other hand, allows you to purchase and read ebooks that Barnes and Knoble offers. The Nook and Kindle both have separate content providers but they both are able to download ebooks from your local library. The fact that the content from Barnes and Knoble cannot be purchased on a Kindle definitely creates the opportunity for loss of profits for authors. What if a certain book that you want to purchase is only sold in Barnes and Knoble? Instead of being able to easily download it from your Kindle, you have to disregard the $180-$800 investment you made, and purchase the book in paper from Barnes and Knoble anyway. Your only other option is to wait until the book comes to your local library, put yourself on a waiting list, and wait for the ebook to be available for you to download. I do not think that it is ethical for a user to limit the content that a user can read. It is not fair that if a book is not available from the specified content provider that the user can't go else where to obtain that book.
If a customer purchases an ereader such as Kindle or Nook, they can receive free software upgrades for that ereader. The customer will usually receive an email with instructions on how to upgrade their equipment to the latest software level. This type of upgrade is usually free. However, after doing some research, I have found that you cannot trade your old Kindle in for a new,. updated version. The customer who purchased an older model Kindle is, for lack of better words, out of luck when a newer model gets released. They can sell their Kindle on EBay and put the money towards a newer version, but there is no agreement with Amazon that allows a customer to trade in their older model for a new one.
A publisher or manufacturer cannot claim that they are completely truly compliant with both IDPF regulations and DRM restrictions simultaneously. If a publisher allows the user to transfer the book they purchased to any device they wish, they are not compliant with IDPF but are in compliance with DRM. On the other hand, if a publisher allows the book to only be passed to another device for a certain amount of time, they are in compliance with DRM, but not being truly compliant with IDPF regulations. I feel that because of the use of DRM restrictions, piracy is increased. When DRM restrictions are implemented on a user's device, they cannot do with the material what they would do with a hard copy of the same material. This is not ethical. The customer should be able to purchase one copy of a book and do with it what they want weather that is lending it to someone, giving it to someone, or keeping it for themselves. I do not think it would be too difficult to crack a DRM codeded ebook and save it in another format. When I was researching material for this blog, I cam across several websites that offer help cracking a DRM code. I do not know how difficult it would actually be to crack this code, but if there is a website for it I imagine that I could figure it out
The Kindle allows the owner to "lend" the digital copy of that book to another person who also has a Kindle. The user cannot read the book while they have lent it to another person. This is exactly the same scenario that occurs when a person purchases a hard copy of a book and lends it to another person. Users should be able to borrow and lend ebooks to users who have any ereader, not just users who have Kindle. When you purchase a hard copy of a book there is no regulation on who you can lend it to and for how long. With the Kindle Lending system, you can only lend books to another person who has a Kindle, and even then you can only lend them for up to 14 days. This is not fair because again, when you purchase a hard copy of a book there are no rules or restrictions on what you can do with that book. Also, if a person buys a hard copy of a book, they can sell it at a garage sale, donate it, or give it away. You cannot do this with an ebook. Users who purchase ebooks can only delete it when they are done using or reading it. I think that there should be an after market for ebooks. When someone is finished with a book and no longer wants to own it, they should be able to donate it to a library or transfer it to someone else's ereader.
I do not think that it is fair that Harper Collins only allows libraries to purchase ebooks in individual check out packages. When a library buys a hard copy of a book, they have that book for years and only pay once for it. They can check that book out aw many times as it will physically allow. It is much cheaper for a library to purchase a hard copy of a book opposed to an ebook because they don't have to worry about their license running out or having to pay for additional check outs.
After doing some research on ereaders, I think that I would purchase one. Although I will always prefer turning pages and the smell of old books, I wouldn't mind having a convenient way to purchase and read books. I would choose to purchase a Kindle. I feel that the Kindle has more capabilities and more options then the Nook and other ereaders have. I really like that with the Kindle you can lend books out, the Nook does not offer that function. The fact that overall ereaders tend to be more cost efficient than hard copies of books definitely draws me to purchase one. I don't like that no matter what ereader you purchase you can't make purchases from other content providers. There is so much more thought that must go into purchasing an ereader than what goes in to purchasing a hard copy of a book. Also, the upfront cost will definitely hurt my pockets but I would be willing to save up to purchase a larger ticket item. Ereaders are great for people on the go and individuals who travel out of states frequently. Although I would definitely consider purchasing a Kindle, I still prefer actual hard copies of books to digital renderings.
ebook formatting
Kindle Content Provider
Kindle vs Nook
Kindle Upgrade
Kindle Update via EBay
Kindle Lending
Kindle Info
I agree with you about the lending aspect, we should be able to lend freely without tampering with the device we just spend hundreds of dollars on. But they are so convenient like you said, if you go on vacation you only need to carry one book instead of 5.
ReplyDeleteyou're right! the hard copy of books are more valuable :)
ReplyDeleteBarnes and Noble's nook does allow lending.
ReplyDeleteOften, I read stuff online where an ereader owner upgrades and hands their older unit down to a younger sibling, spouse, child, or parent but eventually there's nobody at the end of that food chain. The manufacturers should develop trade-in programs if only to properly dispose of the ewaste.
Full credit: 14 points.