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Yes - that's what is meant by technical. As soon as you mention file, you've lost a lot of people. Amazon isn't winning because it's the least expensive, it's

Yes - that's what is meant by technical. As soon as you mention file, you've lost a lot of people. Amazon isn't winning because it's the least expensive, it's winning because it's the easiest. They have a huge selection and one click to buy a book that shows up on all your devices without having to do anything more is where the bar is. If you ask people to manage their own books or expect them to understand what an epub or pdf or azw is (never mind encryption!) you are limiting your market to a pretty small slice.

Barrin92 1y ago
> As soon as you mention file, you've lost a lot of people. Attaching documents to an email is the one thing most people can actually do because without it you're unable to deal with your insurance, doctor, tax guy or what have you. In addition to web browsing it's the only thing my boomer parents with very few computer skills have figured out. You basically bureaucratically die otherwise in the modern world The biggest issue is that most people probably don't know that Amazon even offers that feature, they I assume intentionally don't really advertise it much.
- chihuahua 1y ago
  The average person: "Fine, then I'm just going to be unable to deal with my insurance, doctor, and tax guy."
- int_19h 1y ago
  I think it's more that people don't know that you can get ebooks as files from other stores to begin with. But then also you need ones that don't do DRM, which complicates things further. But, yes, Amazon is also deliberately vague regarding those emails. Most of their documentation presents it as a way to "keep your documents in your Kindle"; the fact that books are a subset of those documents is not exactly highlighted.
Zak 1y ago
> Yes - that's what is meant by technical. As soon as you mention file, you've lost a lot of people. I believe you, and I'm sad about this. I had hoped as the Internet grew in importance, the proportion of people with basic computer skills would increase.
- appreciatorBus 1y ago
  I used to think this too. I think electricity offers a useful analog. Today is ubiquitous and relied upon by almost everyone in the world. Yet I would bet that the percentage of people who have a good understanding of amps, volts, etc. is roughly the same as it was 200 years ago.
  - Zak 1y ago
    I do think the average person should know too many amps starts a fire and wrong voltage means devices don't work (sometimes with damage). They should probably know how many amps a typical household breaker is rated for where they live, and that thin extension cords might not be safe with an appliance that has a large motor or heating element. The list of things they should know about computers is quite a bit longer because computers are more complex. A rudimentary understanding of files, directories and email attachments would make my list.
    - andrepd 1y ago
      https://xkcd.com/2501/ https://xkcd.com/2501/
      - Zak 1y ago
        I think the way I'd put it is for things that are an important element of someone's daily life, their understanding should be one level deeper than they usually need. The average person who drives a car, for example does not need to know that the stoichiometric ratio of air to gasoline is about 14.7:1, but they do need to know that their car will run worse if the air filter is clogged. They should probably also be able to change a tire, and have practiced it in the past decade. Understanding computer fundamentals shouldn't be a specialty field when nearly everyone uses computers (smartphones included) every day in a way that would yield better results if they had some idea what they were doing.
        tecleandor 1y ago
Semaphor 1y ago
Again, e-book platforms that want to support kindle can do so without having to download a file. Also for me, Amazon is winning both because the paperwhite has incredible value, and (that’s the sadder part) because of KDP Select which gives a higher share in exchange for 100% exclusivity, so those books (which includes some authors I read; > 99% of the releases are very badly written trash, though) are not available elsewhere.
- andrepd 1y ago
  "It's not anticompetitive behaviour, it's just innovation!"
  - genewitch 1y ago
    "Value-add"
jrm4 1y ago
On so many levels and for so many reasons I hate how true your second sentence is. For what its worth, we really should figure out how to e.g. bring the idea of "files" BACK.
- theknarf 1y ago
  Thats what the "File-first" and "Local-first" movements are about!

Barrin92 1y ago

> As soon as you mention file, you've lost a lot of people. Attaching documents to an email is the one thing most people can actually do because without it you're unable to deal with your insurance, doctor, tax guy or what have you. In addition to web browsing it's the only thing my boomer parents with very few computer skills have figured out. You basically bureaucratically die otherwise in the modern world The biggest issue is that most people probably don't know that Amazon even offers that feature, they I assume intentionally don't really advertise it much.

chihuahua 1y ago
The average person: "Fine, then I'm just going to be unable to deal with my insurance, doctor, and tax guy."
int_19h 1y ago
I think it's more that people don't know that you can get ebooks as files from other stores to begin with. But then also you need ones that don't do DRM, which complicates things further. But, yes, Amazon is also deliberately vague regarding those emails. Most of their documentation presents it as a way to "keep your documents in your Kindle"; the fact that books are a subset of those documents is not exactly highlighted.

Zak 1y ago

> Yes - that's what is meant by technical. As soon as you mention file, you've lost a lot of people. I believe you, and I'm sad about this. I had hoped as the Internet grew in importance, the proportion of people with basic computer skills would increase.

appreciatorBus 1y ago
I used to think this too. I think electricity offers a useful analog. Today is ubiquitous and relied upon by almost everyone in the world. Yet I would bet that the percentage of people who have a good understanding of amps, volts, etc. is roughly the same as it was 200 years ago.
- Zak 1y ago
  I do think the average person should know too many amps starts a fire and wrong voltage means devices don't work (sometimes with damage). They should probably know how many amps a typical household breaker is rated for where they live, and that thin extension cords might not be safe with an appliance that has a large motor or heating element. The list of things they should know about computers is quite a bit longer because computers are more complex. A rudimentary understanding of files, directories and email attachments would make my list.
  - andrepd 1y ago
    https://xkcd.com/2501/ https://xkcd.com/2501/
    - Zak 1y ago
      I think the way I'd put it is for things that are an important element of someone's daily life, their understanding should be one level deeper than they usually need. The average person who drives a car, for example does not need to know that the stoichiometric ratio of air to gasoline is about 14.7:1, but they do need to know that their car will run worse if the air filter is clogged. They should probably also be able to change a tire, and have practiced it in the past decade. Understanding computer fundamentals shouldn't be a specialty field when nearly everyone uses computers (smartphones included) every day in a way that would yield better results if they had some idea what they were doing.
      - tecleandor 1y ago

Semaphor 1y ago

Again, e-book platforms that want to support kindle can do so without having to download a file. Also for me, Amazon is winning both because the paperwhite has incredible value, and (that’s the sadder part) because of KDP Select which gives a higher share in exchange for 100% exclusivity, so those books (which includes some authors I read; > 99% of the releases are very badly written trash, though) are not available elsewhere.

andrepd 1y ago
"It's not anticompetitive behaviour, it's just innovation!"
- genewitch 1y ago
  "Value-add"

jrm4 1y ago

On so many levels and for so many reasons I hate how true your second sentence is. For what its worth, we really should figure out how to e.g. bring the idea of "files" BACK.

theknarf 1y ago
Thats what the "File-first" and "Local-first" movements are about!