iPad Owners: What was the first Star Trek title you bought/loaded? - Page 2

Mr. Laser Beam · May 3 2010, 05:54 AM

JWolf wrote:

Please do all eBook readers a favor and do not buy any eBooks via iBooks. You will just be confirming that this disaster that Apple started is a good idea. Please help Apple to sink when it comes to eBooks.

Why the hell would I want to do that? What's wrong with iBooks?

JWolf · May 3 2010, 09:48 AM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

JWolf wrote:

Please do all eBook readers a favor and do not buy any eBooks via iBooks. You will just be confirming that this disaster that Apple started is a good idea. Please help Apple to sink when it comes to eBooks.

Why the hell would I want to do that? What's wrong with iBooks?

Buying eBooks via iBook is validating Apple and the Agency model. We don't want to do that at all. The Agency model is why it's becoming harder to find Star Trek eBooks and why the prices have gone UP.

Mr. Laser Beam · May 3 2010, 08:15 PM

JWolf wrote:

Buying eBooks via iBook is validating Apple and the Agency model.

And I should care about this...why, exactly?

We don't want to do that at all.

Maybe you don't, but I'll get my ebooks anywhere I can. If that happens to be from iBooks, then so be it. I already get all my music from Apple, why shouldn't I do this too?

JWolf · May 4 2010, 02:27 AM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

JWolf wrote:

Buying eBooks via iBook is validating Apple and the Agency model.

And I should care about this...why, exactly?

We don't want to do that at all.

Maybe you don't, but I'll get my ebooks anywhere I can. If that happens to be from iBooks, then so be it. I already get all my music from Apple, why shouldn't I do this too?

The more people who buy eBooks from the agency 5, the more they will think this mess works and that's bad for all of us. Buying from Apple only makes matters worse. So please do us a favor and don't buy from Apple.

David cgc · May 4 2010, 04:57 PM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

JWolf wrote:

Buying eBooks via iBook is validating Apple and the Agency model.

And I should care about this...why, exactly?

Originally, eBooks were sold using a wholesale model, just like a physical book. The eBook was sold from the publisher to the story at a discounted wholesale rate, and the store sold the eBook to the consumer for whatever price they damned well pleased. If they wanted to boost the price and make more profit per copy, they could. If they wanted to lower the price to the point that they were talking a loss to drive sales, that's fine, too.

Under the agency model, the publisher is selling directly to the consumer, and the store is the agent who facilitates the transaction, like how one person selling a house to another works through a real estate agent. The agent (in this case, Apple) gets a percentage commission of the sale price. This means that the retailer no longer has any discretion in how they price the title. They sell it for whatever the publisher tells them to sell it for.

I'll let JWolf explain why this is a problem.

Mr. Laser Beam · May 4 2010, 07:41 PM

I remain unconvinced. The fact is, Apple's iBooks is just too darn convenient. And it even lets you sync books with iTunes, so they're easier to back up. And I'm certainly not going to get another e-reader now that I have the iPad.

Guess I never bought into all the Apple hate, really. I'm quite happy to get all my music and books from them.. If this upsets anyone, well, I'm sorry, but them's the breaks.

JD · May 4 2010, 10:51 PM

I really don't understand all of the Apple hate, I've been buying both music and TV shows from ITunes for ages and I've never had any problems. So what do they do that is so horrible?

Mr. Laser Beam · May 5 2010, 01:53 AM

^ It's probably jealousy more than anything else. Apple pretty much single-handedly revolutionized (some might say invented) the online music industry, with the iPod and the iTunes Store. And now they're poised to do the same with eBooks, now that the iPad (a potential Kindle killer) is on the loose. Some people just can't abide that.

They will most likely whine about how Apple is controlling the book and music industries now. My response is: I'll send a telegram when I give a crap. Apple satisfies my needs quite handily. I don't CARE what they control. (Besides, I trust Apple far more than, say, Microsoft...)

clint g · May 5 2010, 02:10 AM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

it even lets you sync

It's that sync shit that I can't stand. Just let me have control over my damn files

Mr. Laser Beam · May 5 2010, 02:22 AM

^ What's wrong with syncing?

It lets you keep your devices updated, and it helps you back up your files so you can get them back if your HD gets hosed (via iTunes' "Transfer Purchases" option).

And you can disable syncing if you want.

ATimson · May 5 2010, 02:38 AM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

^ It's probably jealousy more than anything else. Apple pretty much single-handedly revolutionized (some might say invented) the online music industry, with the iPod and the iTunes Store. And now they're poised to do the same with eBooks, now that the iPad (a potential Kindle killer) is on the loose. Some people just can't abide that.

I can abide them revolutionizing it just fine. I'd just prefer if they'd do it the same way they did with music - lower prices and convenience. So far they're failing on the first of those counts for everybody, and both for me until iPhone OS 4.0 comes out.

BrotherBenny · May 5 2010, 06:39 PM

I don't really care what the eBooks cost. The real issue here the number of different readers on the market and their exorbitant prices. I'd love a Nook or Kindle but can no way in hell justify the cost in buying one as I have a baby on the way. I've still got several dozen books to read in dtf before my wife will let me buy eBooks, though I'm in talks with her about that.

What I would like is for Sony to give me a relatively cheap eBook reader with wifi so I can download the books wherever I want instead of having to download them to my laptop first. i'd be happy with the Kindle or the Nook dropping their price too.

Mr. Laser Beam · May 7 2010, 06:38 AM

Well, I bought my first eBook title for my iPad: Seven Deadly Sins.

And I bought it through iBooks. So there.

JWolf · May 8 2010, 12:30 AM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

Well, I bought my first eBook title for my iPad: Seven Deadly Sins.

And I bought it through iBooks. So there.

You don't get it. Apple allowed the Agency pricing. They are responsible for the mess it's caused. Before the agency pricing, I could get most Trek eBooks for less then $7.99 (for new ones). Now the price is at $7.99 for most new ones. This is without any sort of sale or discount. The agency model now says that there cannot be any sales or discounts. The paper editions can have discounts.

Now you have an eBook tethered to just the iPad. Because it's stuck with just one place to read it, the value is even less. If you want Trek eBooks, buy from any shop other then Apple and strip the DRM. iBooks will allow you to sync DRM-free ePub. At least you'd have an eBook with more value because it's not stuck on just one device.

JWolf · May 8 2010, 12:42 AM

JD wrote:

I really don't understand all of the Apple hate, I've been buying both music and TV shows from ITunes for ages and I've never had any problems. So what do they do that is so horrible?

Buying music or video from Apple is not a problem, It's only buying eBooks from Apple that is an issue.

May 4 2010, 07:41 PM	#21
Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Location: The visitor's bullpen	Re: iPad Owners: What was the first Star Trek title you bought/loaded? I remain unconvinced. The fact is, Apple's iBooks is just too darn convenient. And it even lets you sync books with iTunes, so they're easier to back up. And I'm certainly not going to get another e-reader now that I have the iPad. Guess I never bought into all the Apple hate, really. I'm quite happy to get all my music and books from them.. If this upsets anyone, well, I'm sorry, but them's the breaks. __________________ It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

May 4 2010, 10:51 PM	#22
JD Admiral Location: Arizona, USA	Re: iPad Owners: What was the first Star Trek title you bought/loaded? I really don't understand all of the Apple hate, I've been buying both music and TV shows from ITunes for ages and I've never had any problems. So what do they do that is so horrible? __________________ Over the course of many encounters and many years, I have successfully developed a standard operating procedure for dealing with big, nasty monsters. Run away. Me and Monty Python. Harry Dresden - Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6)

May 5 2010, 01:53 AM	#23
Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Location: The visitor's bullpen	Re: iPad Owners: What was the first Star Trek title you bought/loaded? ^ It's probably jealousy more than anything else. Apple pretty much single-handedly revolutionized (some might say invented) the online music industry, with the iPod and the iTunes Store. And now they're poised to do the same with eBooks, now that the iPad (a potential Kindle killer) is on the loose. Some people just can't abide that. They will most likely whine about how Apple is controlling the book and music industries now. My response is: I'll send a telegram when I give a crap. Apple satisfies my needs quite handily. I don't CARE what they control. (Besides, I trust Apple far more than, say, Microsoft...) __________________ It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

May 5 2010, 02:22 AM	#25
Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Location: The visitor's bullpen	Re: iPad Owners: What was the first Star Trek title you bought/loaded? ^ What's wrong with syncing? It lets you keep your devices updated, and it helps you back up your files so you can get them back if your HD gets hosed (via iTunes' "Transfer Purchases" option). And you can disable syncing if you want. __________________ It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

May 5 2010, 06:39 PM	#27
BrotherBenny Rear Admiral Location: BrotherBenny	Re: iPad Owners: What was the first Star Trek title you bought/loaded? I don't really care what the eBooks cost. The real issue here the number of different readers on the market and their exorbitant prices. I'd love a Nook or Kindle but can no way in hell justify the cost in buying one as I have a baby on the way. I've still got several dozen books to read in dtf before my wife will let me buy eBooks, though I'm in talks with her about that. What I would like is for Sony to give me a relatively cheap eBook reader with wifi so I can download the books wherever I want instead of having to download them to my laptop first. i'd be happy with the Kindle or the Nook dropping their price too. __________________ "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined." - Henry David Thoreau My blog / My crime stories

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May 7 2010, 06:38 AM	#28
Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Location: The visitor's bullpen	Re: iPad Owners: What was the first Star Trek title you bought/loaded? Well, I bought my first eBook title for my iPad: Seven Deadly Sins. And I bought it through iBooks. So there. __________________ It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.