Barnes and Noble is up for sale

[Arrqh]

The neat thing about consumer technology is that there are so many providers to choose from, and if you are savvy enough, you can pretty much "roll your own" whatever. This is nothing like agriculture, where most people have no idea how to grow their own food; or pharmaceuticals, where virtually no one is making pills in their basement.

Yeah, all an e-Reader is is just a miniaturized computer with a screen and a simple UI. Literally any electronics company can make one if they are so inclined. I can also read eBooks on my phone. And on any of my computers. If I was crazy, I could even build a dedicated box for reading eBooks on my TV running whatever operating system I wished, all totally and completely under my control. The only thing that's proprietary in the entire chain is the DRM schemes used on the major stores and even that isn't guaranteed to be permanent, not to mention all the DRM-free public domain stuff out there.

 

[Rii]

The only thing that's proprietary in the entire chain is the DRM schemes used on the major stores and even that isn't guaranteed to be permanent, not to mention all the DRM-free public domain stuff out there.

Of course the DRM ties you into the platform, which dulls the consumer's pain reflex considerably. Nobody wants to juggle multiple accounts/readers/software/etc.

 

[Arrqh]

Of course the DRM ties you into the platform, which dulls the consumer's pain reflex considerably. Nobody wants to juggle multiple accounts/readers/software/etc.

The general issues with DRM aside, this isn't correct... Adobe's DRM scheme, for instance, will work with many compatible devices. Even though the Nook uses B&N's proprietary DRM scheme, it is still compatible with Adobe's DRM from other stores (say, the Sony eBook store). DRM certainly sucks, but it isn't necessarily a platform lock.

 

[Lindley]

Yeah, all an e-Reader is is just a miniaturized computer with a screen and a simple UI.

Not necessarily. While some e-readers use LCD technology, a lot of them use e-paper, which is distinctly different from most computer displays.

 

[Arrqh]

Yeah, all an e-Reader is is just a miniaturized computer with a screen and a simple UI.

Not necessarily. While some e-readers use LCD technology, a lot of them use e-paper, which is distinctly different from most computer displays.

I disagree. There's no reason a device requires e-paper to function as an e-reader. There are numerous reasons why e-paper is better but that's besides the point. I don't think there's any definition of an e-reader that specifies display technology.

 

[Rii]

Of course the DRM ties you into the platform, which dulls the consumer's pain reflex considerably. Nobody wants to juggle multiple accounts/readers/software/etc.

The general issues with DRM aside, this isn't correct... Adobe's DRM scheme, for instance, will work with many compatible devices. Even though the Nook uses B&N's proprietary DRM scheme, it is still compatible with Adobe's DRM from other stores (say, the Sony eBook store). DRM certainly sucks, but it isn't necessarily a platform lock.

Nice to know. From what I can see the Kindle seems to be the most restrictive e-reader out there, which (as usual) goes hand in hand with it being the most successful. The greater the marketshare, the more incentive to lock folks in and out of the platform.

Almost a pity in that light that the Kindle in its latest iteration also seems to be the cheapest and best e-reader out there.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Of course the DRM ties you into the platform, which dulls the consumer's pain reflex considerably. Nobody wants to juggle multiple accounts/readers/software/etc.

The general issues with DRM aside, this isn't correct... Adobe's DRM scheme, for instance, will work with many compatible devices. Even though the Nook uses B&N's proprietary DRM scheme, it is still compatible with Adobe's DRM from other stores (say, the Sony eBook store). DRM certainly sucks, but it isn't necessarily a platform lock.

Nice to know. From what I can see the Kindle seems to be the most restrictive e-reader out there, which (as usual) goes hand in hand with it being the most successful. The greater the marketshare, the more incentive to lock folks in and out of the platform.

Almost a pity in that light that the Kindle in its latest iteration also seems to be the cheapest and best e-reader out there.

the thing that turned my off from the Kindle was that you could only put Kindle files on, YES, you could get them adapted into that file, but it's one more step.

Nook for me: I just plop the file onto the Nook and it's done.

 

[Arrqh]

The Nook unfortunately isn't sold outside of the US and if you want to use B&N's eBook store you need a valid US billing address. There's plenty of other options for devices that can read epub though.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

E book companies might now do it NOW, while they're still a minor market factor, but put them in a position of being a major power in publishing, and they'll start acting like any other big business: do it our way or else...

Or else what? I go to another e-book company? I have the equipment. I can go and buy e-books from ANYone.

Ah yes, the "competition" arguement...one would think that that thought would occur to some bright young MBA in a drug company or an insurance company or a Monsanto competitor...oh wait...they're all part of the "Big" complex.

Or I can also get them for free (public domain.)

Assuming the title IS PD...

Oh, noes, you might be thinking, they can reach in and wirelessly do something to my nook. I can, however, turn the wireless OFF. So... what's the problem again?

Sooner or later you have to plug back in for your updates or to load books. ZAP. Or just hide the commands "trojan" style IN the books. ZAP again.

 

[Professor Zoom]

E book companies might now do it NOW, while they're still a minor market factor, but put them in a position of being a major power in publishing, and they'll start acting like any other big business: do it our way or else...

Or else what? I go to another e-book company? I have the equipment. I can go and buy e-books from ANYone.

Ah yes, the "competition" arguement...one would think that that thought would occur to some bright young MBA in a drug company or an insurance company or a Monsanto competitor...oh wait...they're all part of the "Big" complex.

Yes, because the business of life saving drugs is the same as selling books. Pharmaceutical research requires a LOT of money, whereas writing a book requires two things...time and food.

I would argue e-books will actually CREATE diversity in the publishing industry. Much like digital music.

Yes, there are a few major labels but there are also a TON of small labels and with distribution now a few clicks away...

The same for books. Some authors sell their work directly to the consumer with PDFs....

So, actually, this opens up the markets, rather than closing things off like you suggest.

Or I can also get them for free (public domain.)

Assuming the title IS PD...

True. But with THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of books, I can always find something Public Domain. More than I could read in a lifetime.

Oh, noes, you might be thinking, they can reach in and wirelessly do something to my nook. I can, however, turn the wireless OFF. So... what's the problem again?

Sooner or later you have to plug back in for your updates or to load books. ZAP. Or just hide the commands "trojan" style IN the books. ZAP again.

True. I have to plug back into my computer, of which Barnes and Noble DOES NOT have access to. I don't have to, and in fact, don't, wirelessly transfer files to my Nook.

So, again, you can create all the paranoid fantasies you like, but the reality is, you're wrong.

 

[Arrqh]

Ah yes, the "competition" arguement...one would think that that thought would occur to some bright young MBA in a drug company or an insurance company or a Monsanto competitor...oh wait...they're all part of the "Big" complex.

Do you know how many e-Readers there are? I linked to a wiki page earlier, but here's another one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e-book_readers. The point is that there already is competiton and once again if you would bother to do any real research on the subject you would already have known that. Of course, you can always just read an eBook on a computer and there is plenty of software available that can read most formats.

Sooner or later you have to plug back in for your updates or to load books. ZAP. Or just hide the commands "trojan" style IN the books. ZAP again.

That's movie logic again. Just because you can hack an alien mothership with a Macbook in Independence Day doesn't mean actual technology works that way. The only reason it was possible with the Kindle was that the system had been originally designed with that functionality in mind. Again, all an e-Reader is is a specialized kind of computer and such things are simply not possible in the way that you describe. You can't create a virus that can work its way into a Linux based system and find files based on content and delete them without the user's knowledge. Operating system do not work this way.

This is all besides the fact that when Amazon actually did this there was a large public outcry, a public statement on behalf of Amazon apologizing for it and a lawsuit which Amazon settled. They're not going to be doing that again. If they do, they're going back to court and they're going to lose. You have no technological backing to prove your point and the legal precedent is clearly against you. So why do you persist in making an argument when the facts say that you are wrong?