Reading Over Your Shoulder
Amazon has introduced the Kindle, a one pound, book sized device that lets you read wirelessly downloaded material, books, magazines, etc.
Like all new electronic toys, it’s expensive, $400.00. It’s a bit clunky according to a couple of reviews I read. Amazon has priced downloaded books at $9.99, not at all cheap considering that it does not have the material, printing and distribution costs associated with a traditional book.
“… Amazon grants you the non-exclusive right to keep a permanent copy of the …Digital Content and to view, use, and display such… an unlimited number of times, solely on the Device… and solely for your personal, non-commercial use.
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“You may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to the Digital Content or any portion of it to any third party, and you may not remove any proprietary notice or labels on the Digital Content. In addition, you may not, and you will not encourage, assist or authorize any other person to, bypass, modify, defeat or circumvent security features that protect the Digital Content.
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“The Device Software will provide Amazon with data about your Device and its interaction with the Service… and information related to the content on your Device and your use of it…. Annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar marking you make in your Device are backed up through the Service.”
If you read this literally, you can’t let anyone else read from your Kindle. You can’t lend it. Amazon keeps a record of when you read, what you read and what you think about what you read (at least if you make an annotation or highlight text).
I know, most websites keep info derived from your use of the site; but, this keeping track of “your use” seems a step or two too many.
But my concerns are easily solved, I won’t be buying a Kindle.
5 comments:
who wants to curl up in bed with a good computer?
Of course, if you listen to what my wife says, she'll say that I do. But that was an experiment. A somewhat failed experiment.
Companies have way too much information about the life of the mind. I had a friend say, "What do you have to hide?" I said, "Then it wouldn't bother you to have cameras installed in your bathroom and have people monitor your body?" Privacy is such a 20th century concept, it seems.
At that price, it would be a cold day before I'd shell out for something like that -for openers. Like Pos, I don't think curling up in bed with a computer sounds like a cool thing. How they are going to monitor one's "thinking" though is what I'd really like to know. What I do and what I "think" about things I read may not be anywhere near close.
If I buy a paperback, I can lend it, I can sell it, I can do whatever I want with it.
I don't think digital downloads are going to take off until they give consumers the same liberties- or give us one heck of a discount.
I'll stick with analog reading for the foreseeable future.
Same deal as with newspapers. I prefer to hold a book in my hands and read it the old fashioned way.
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