3 ms·

As far as free flow of information goes, you can't torrent a paper book. It's also not true that Amazon pushes DRM. They include it as a gesture to the publish

by blfr 11y ago

As far as free flow of information goes, you can't torrent a paper book. It's also not true that Amazon pushes DRM. They include it as a gesture to the publishers. You can put a DRM-free ebook on Amazon if you choose so.

Turing_Machine 11y ago
"You can put a DRM-free ebook on Amazon if you choose so." Absolutely, and many do so. You can spot the ones that don't have DRM by looking for "Simultaneous device usage: unlimited" in the description. Most indie books and some major publishers (O'Reilly and Baen have been mentioned here) don't use DRM, even on Kindle. Blaming Amazon for DRM is pointing the finger at the wrong party, IMO.
- ernesth 11y ago
  Blaming Amazon is totally pointing the finger at the culprit: Amazon has been threatening publishers that if they choose no drm, their books won't benefit from text-to-speech, and various other possibilities of the kindle, including future compatility! http://lexbrage.tumblr.com/post/13212628647/amazon-bragelonne-drm http://lexbrage.tumblr.com/post/13212628647/amazon-bragelonn... explains (in french) why Bragelonne (french publisher against DRMs) surrendered to having DRM on amazon.
  - Turing_Machine 11y ago
    "Amazon has been threatening publishers that if they choose no drm, their books won't benefit from text-to-speech, and various other possibilities of the kindle, including future compatility!" Sorry, that is not correct. I've got several indie books on Amazon, none with DRM, and Amazon has never "threatened" me with anything. It's a checkbox in the publishing portal. All of them have text to speech enabled. Here's a link to an O'Reilly book (not one of mine). Check for yourself that "simultaneous device usage" is "unlimited" (i.e., no DRM) and that "text-to-speech" is "enabled". http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick-ebook/dp/B007Q4T040 http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick-ebook...
- dublinben 11y ago
  Amazon allows and enables DRM on their ecosystem. They provide no easy way to search only for books unencumbered by DRM. As the largest seller of ebooks, therefore the largest promoter of DRM-crippled ebooks, they are a perfectly legitimate target for criticism. Keep in mind, you as a reader are not the customer of publishers. Distribution companies are. They are who can meaningfully exercise the pressure to affect the market, not you.
  - Turing_Machine 11y ago
    "They provide no easy way to search only for books unencumbered by DRM." Did you read what I wrote above? Go to Amazon. Select Kindle Store. Enter "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" in the search box. I can't imagine possibly wanting to search for books based on that (I search for books by author or subject, myself), but it's incorrect to say you can't easily do it if that's your thing. "Keep in mind, you as a reader are not the customer of publishers. " No, as a reader, I am absolutely the customer of indie authors and publishers, who are the same ones that don't, as a rule, use DRM.

by blfr 11y ago

Turing_Machine 11y ago

"You can put a DRM-free ebook on Amazon if you choose so." Absolutely, and many do so. You can spot the ones that don't have DRM by looking for "Simultaneous device usage: unlimited" in the description. Most indie books and some major publishers (O'Reilly and Baen have been mentioned here) don't use DRM, even on Kindle. Blaming Amazon for DRM is pointing the finger at the wrong party, IMO.

ernesth 11y ago
Blaming Amazon is totally pointing the finger at the culprit: Amazon has been threatening publishers that if they choose no drm, their books won't benefit from text-to-speech, and various other possibilities of the kindle, including future compatility! http://lexbrage.tumblr.com/post/13212628647/amazon-bragelonne-drm http://lexbrage.tumblr.com/post/13212628647/amazon-bragelonn... explains (in french) why Bragelonne (french publisher against DRMs) surrendered to having DRM on amazon.
- Turing_Machine 11y ago
  "Amazon has been threatening publishers that if they choose no drm, their books won't benefit from text-to-speech, and various other possibilities of the kindle, including future compatility!" Sorry, that is not correct. I've got several indie books on Amazon, none with DRM, and Amazon has never "threatened" me with anything. It's a checkbox in the publishing portal. All of them have text to speech enabled. Here's a link to an O'Reilly book (not one of mine). Check for yourself that "simultaneous device usage" is "unlimited" (i.e., no DRM) and that "text-to-speech" is "enabled". http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick-ebook/dp/B007Q4T040 http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick-ebook...
dublinben 11y ago
Amazon allows and enables DRM on their ecosystem. They provide no easy way to search only for books unencumbered by DRM. As the largest seller of ebooks, therefore the largest promoter of DRM-crippled ebooks, they are a perfectly legitimate target for criticism. Keep in mind, you as a reader are not the customer of publishers. Distribution companies are. They are who can meaningfully exercise the pressure to affect the market, not you.
- Turing_Machine 11y ago
  "They provide no easy way to search only for books unencumbered by DRM." Did you read what I wrote above? Go to Amazon. Select Kindle Store. Enter "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" in the search box. I can't imagine possibly wanting to search for books based on that (I search for books by author or subject, myself), but it's incorrect to say you can't easily do it if that's your thing. "Keep in mind, you as a reader are not the customer of publishers. " No, as a reader, I am absolutely the customer of indie authors and publishers, who are the same ones that don't, as a rule, use DRM.