Tempted to get Q-Squared. I remember loving that back when it came out. On the other hand, I also remember it being quite complex, and spending quite a lot of time flipping back and forth to remind myself what was happening - and that's something I find much less accessible in an e-book. I wonder if it's one of those books best read in a physical copy?
E-Book Pricing Alerts
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
Good set of books this month, Wonderlands is still DRM-encumbered though, unfortunately. I bought it though, since hopefully in time S&S will correct that. Autobiography of James T. Kirk though, being Titan Books, will probably always have DRM, unfortunately.
Well... my first Star Trek eBook was a DRM-protected Microsoft Reader format eBook. Even though I paid full price for it, at the time, it can no longer be read, because Microsoft Reader no longer exists and the activation servers for those books no longer exist. (It's actually hilarious: I bought it on Amazon, before Kindle was a thing.) While the format can be converted, the DRM encrypts it, which is, at minimum, annoying to strip off. DRM also limits what readers you can use for the eBook: Our Remarkable tablet is an excellent eReader, but it doesn't support DRM, so eBooks so encumbered aren't compatible with it.
In short: DRM is what differentiates an eBook from being a rental with an unpredictable expiration date or a true purchase. We've very lucky that, with a few exceptions, Star Trek books are sold DRM-free, despite the fact that most of Simon & Schuster's other imprints are sold with DRM.
The nth time a Discovery book I bought on release but haven't read yet (Star Trek: Discovery: Wonderlands) is now $1.
10 or 12 more times and I'm gonna change my behavior.
10 or 12 more times and I'm gonna change my behavior.
Isn’t the Remarkable running an Android fork and you can therefore just install the kindle app?
Absolutely not. If it was running an Android fork, it'd run quite a bit worse. Remarkable runs a Linux-based OS, and there's a bit of a hackerish community for it, but it doesn't present any notion of "apps" to the user, so it would not be so simple, by any means.
Ah, I only ever see it advertised on instagram. When I looked into it I found it a little expensive, even if it kind of appeals to me in an art tool way.
Edit:
It occurs to me it has a web browser, so at least you have the web based kindle reader, assuming you do have any kindle books.
I picked up Available Light this time around.
Q-Squared is a great pick for those who have yet to read or buy it.
The Way to the Stars and Wonderlands were both well written, although I only felt drawn to have the former in my collection as of right now. Maybe I will feel differently after actually seeing Book and Grudge in the series (I have only watched the first two episodes of Discovery).
Q-Squared is a great pick for those who have yet to read or buy it.
The Way to the Stars and Wonderlands were both well written, although I only felt drawn to have the former in my collection as of right now. Maybe I will feel differently after actually seeing Book and Grudge in the series (I have only watched the first two episodes of Discovery).
Amazon already dumped ebooks once. They've proven unreliable in that regard.
Yeah, the Remarkable is really for folks obsessed with *writing* over reading. I got it for my wife, who's really big on paper notebooks, and loves it. It is absolutely super expensive, but the quality is there to match, IMHO.
I suspect trying to read an eBook via the web browser on an ereader would be a drastically substandard experience to reading an ebook in the ereader's actual eBook reading app. But yeah, as a general sense: I won't pay for DRM'd eBooks because of the heavy limitations on use and preservation. Now that S&S has truly cut off buying eBooks direct through them (which was nice because one purchase got you both Kindle and EPUB versions), I'm buying via Kobo, which provides an EPUB for DRM-free titles. Generally I buy the eBook, and then download it in it's available formats to add it to my library. If I can't download it in such a way I don't care if the account disappears, I don't consider it "in my library".
DRM is one of those unfortunate things, especially for indie writers… the reality is, if your work is found pirated, it can often mean you the writer get shut down rather than the pirates. (And believe me, the ‘free’ sites will list anything they can get their paws on, and often don’t even have the actual books… they just strip the listing straight from Amazon) So you end up in a position where you have to put that extra step on, just to show you are looking after your work.
I doubt that is quite the same for big established publishers, but the reality is that damn near anything digital is gonna be open to data theft.
From the perspective of ebooks *only* sold on the kindle platform, there’s little point not having the DRM… it dissuades some piracy, and it’s very small percentage who are gonna go to the bother of buying a book on kindle to use on something not-a-kindle (and they will have calibre or similar software for converting stuff anyway.) so better to protect yourself even in just the small societal contract manner of having the DRM.
In terms of journals… I can see that. But I like my Travelers and fountain pen xD (the idea of an e-ink sketch pad is very appealing though)
It's probably pretty off-topic for "E-Book Pricing Alerts" to go into a lengthy criticism of DRM and the pointlessness of doing it. (In short: It will not ever actually deter pirates, at all, even a little bit.) But I can say that I'm rebuying my entire Star Trek novel collection in digital because it's DRM-free, and I only buy eBooks which are sold as such. I am not alone in this, though folks who notice or care are indeed a niche group, there is some cost to requiring DRM as well.
I do think it's worth noting when a book here is only sold with DRM, as it is... unexpected... for these sales.
I do think it's worth noting when a book here is only sold with DRM, as it is... unexpected... for these sales.
(cries in pile of .lit SCE books)
Lol. I just found and rebooted my old palm pilot. That came with a free SCE novel about 15 years ago. All wiped now.
A few years ago I happened upon the CD-ROM that came with the New Frontier hardcover novel (Stone and Anvil, I think?). I sadly found that all previous novels on the CD were in a format that I coudln't use anymore. It was a great idea to include that, though . . . ahead of its time!