Earlier quoted context omitted.
Laws.
Specifically which?
Copyright.
I'd imagine they don't have the copyright to distribute things in this manner outside the US at the moment.
Kindle Unlimited
71–80 of 199 posts
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm well aware of that. And, I don't think it's discrimination to only sign complex licensing deals in only one territory. I'm just not sure why people in the UK would go for this when the Library already does a fine job of "all you can read".
I haven't been to a Library in probably 20 years, so this is a legitimate question, not being snarky. Can you somehow check out e-books at libraries these days? Some people actually prefer that experience.
Yes. Most libraries (in the UK) will let you check out ebooks online. See, for example, http://ebooks.surreycc.gov.uk
A few will let you take your eReader to the physical library and help you put books on there.
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#73"We're sorry. Kindle Unlimited is currently only available for US customers. Please visit us again when it is available in your country"
Again.
Companies just don't learn. This is the Internet. If you sell digital content online, there is no "US customers". There are exactly two groups of customers: those with credit cards that are willing to pay you and all the rest.
This whole idea of segmenting by country is not only outdated, but harmful to business and outright offensive to customers that were not "included" in the "segment" that was "chosen".
Let's see, what will those people left outside the door do? Will they wait and "visit us again when it is available in your country"? Surely! They will patiently regularly check the webpage to see whether Amazon has graciously agreed to take their money. Or they'll just turn to Bittorrent and get the goods anyway, right now.
Anticipating responses: yes, I know, the usual narrative is that it's the evil publishers. So what? Amazon fights the publishers on other fronts, why can't it arrange for worldwide licensing here?
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#74I'm very disturbed by the steady erosion of ownership that has been happening for the past few years. Subscription models are an attractive way to get some digital content for a low price, whether it's music, software, movies, or books—but the internet has a notoriously short memory, and I fear that we're condemning ourselves to becoming cultural goldfish.
I have books and records from my youth that sit on my shelf and are there for me any time I want to revisit them. Heck, I even have software from back then because I never got rid of my Apple II.
Of course, there are emulators, and Spotify probably has 60%-70% of the records that are in my collection, and I can find A Wrinkle in Time on the Kindle. But how long is that guaranteed to be the case? And how can I be sure that the digital simulacrum are really the same as the originals, if the originals are gone?
For the moment, it's an easy answer—just don't use the subscription services, and keep owning things. But will that always be an option? Why should ownership continue to be an option ten, twenty, or thirty years from now, when it's so much more attractive to companies to rent their products to you for a constant stream of monthly income?
Will books end up getting unskippable "updates," or even being deleted at the whim of the publishers or Amazon one day?
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#75This service would have the extremely interesting effect of replacing itself with all your reading sources. Consider: Given a choice between buying a book elsewhere and reading it here, you're going to choose the latter because it's free. But also, if you normally read a book per month, since you're paying for it whether you read or not, you'd have to basically read more from here to be able to make it "worth it". So…
Are books fungible?
If you're in a rich Western country, the time you spend reading a book probably has an opportunity cost much greater than the cost to acquire rights to read the book. Why would you spend 10 hours with a book whose marginal cost is $0, when you could pay $10 and spend those ten hours with a better book?
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#76We're sorry. Kindle Unlimited is currently only available for US customers. Please visit us again when it is available in your country. (figured)
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#77To all the "this is just a 10 dollar library card", I ask you this: if library books are the way to go, why do people buy endless amounts of books from amazon. Amazon became successful by selling books. Audible is another successful company that offers a feature that according to you, can be achieved at a library. Clearly libraries are missing something or else we'd be using them more. Maybe it's one click instant ac…
I'm surprised by all the comments in this thread saying that you have to physically go to your library during their open hours to borrow a book. Most libraries I know offer digital downloads through the Overdrive app.
I regularly borrow audiobooks and ebooks from the library with a couple of taps on my iPhone.
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#78I love the idea, but the selection is not good enough (for me) yet. I keep an Amazon wishlist as a "reading queue" and none of the 60 books (technical, business, pop-psych) in it were available on Kindle Unlimited. I usually buy 2-3 Kindle books a month at around $9/per, so I would definitely use this service if the selection improves. I kind of wonder if Amazon could get away with charging $9/month for any book they…
How'd you find the overlap between the two? I'm trying to do the same but can't find a simple way to do it other than checking every book.
Me neither - I just opened 60 tabs :)
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Laws.
Specifically which?
Depends on country. Laws for selling books can actually get quite complicated (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_book_price_agreement)
Re: Kindle Unlimited
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Contracts. See this explanation by author Charlie Stross: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2014/07/some-ram...
But amazon have no problem selling me ebooks and audiobooks even thou in am located outside the us.
Sure, because those books have rights to be sold in your geo. OR, your account is based in the US (billing address).