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Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

consumerist.com

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Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#81

Post by bcl »

nobody314159265 wrote: post #45
bcl wrote: post #18

You can backup the files from your kindle easily. I also hear it is pretty simple to strip the DRM. I don't see why this belongs on the front page. There are no real details here.

With some technical knowledge and violating federal law - you can get access to stuff you already own? That's like saying your banks' ATM network going down isn't news because you can always get through the vault door with some C4 and take your money that way.

That's not an accurate analogy. You have the books on your kindle (and in your backup if you made one). They're yours, you bought them. I have the right to access material that I own, even if that means removing the DRM from it.

The article is really light on details. Without more information I really don't see why this story has legs.

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#82

Post by nobody314159265 »

bcl wrote: post #81
nobody314159265 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With some technical knowledge and violating federal law - you can get access to stuff you already own? That's like saying your banks' ATM network going down isn't news because you can always get through the vault door with some C4 and take your money that way.

That's not an accurate analogy. You have the books on your kindle (and in your backup if you made one). They're yours, you bought them. I have the right to access material that I own, even if that means removing the DRM from it. The article is really light on details. Without more information I really don't see why this story has legs.

"I have the right to access material that I own, even if that means removing the DRM from it."

Not according to the DMCA you don't. Accessing material you bought - what are you? Some kind of terrorist?

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#83

Post by stefs »

JonLim wrote: post #51
pyre wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that it's silly to blame the user because they waited a month. You have no idea what was going on in that person's life to cause them to wait that long. You also don't know that person's personality. Maybe they are a major procrastinator. Maybe they are phone phobic. To say that the person was obviously in the wrong/doing something shady/to blame just because of how long they waited seems like you're really s…

Didn't say they were obviously wrong, just that something feels missing. However, not sure how it's silly to blame a user if they waited a month. Personal issue? Fine. But procrastinator and phone phobic aren't really excuses for this. If you're really concerned about your Kindle (I would be VERY concerned if it were more than a day.) then I would do almost anything in my power to fix it. Wait a month? But that's a w…

this whole thread is ridiculous, because he clearly stated that he did contact amazon several times, with no result besides "sorry, we don't know/can't say what's going on either"

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#84

Post by vidarh »

moskie wrote: post #23

Is it safe to assume that eBooks will eventually go through a similar lifecycle as mp3s? Where, at first, publishers force DRM on items sold, but eventually give in because of customer complaints and demands regarding stuff like what happened in this article?

Personally I'm refusing to buy DRM'd books at all, and it's also so far kept me from buying a Kindle (which, if I were to buy it would be only used for non-DRM content).

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#85

Post by gamble »

JonLim wrote: post #9
jordan0day wrote: post #6

I just received a Barnes & Noble "Nook SimpleTouch" (the basic, e-ink screen one), and while I like it, this sort of thing has me very worried about using most of its (limited set of) features. That is, while the Nook has something like 1 gb of internal storage for books, about 75% is reserved for content you have to purchase through Barnes & Noble. That leaves about 230 mb for your own files. (The Nook does feature…

To be 100% honest, I've bene nothing but very very happy with my Kindle. Purchased a book by accident? Refund instantly or done within 5 minutes. Switching devices? No problemo, pages are synced up to the last page you read. Wiping your device? All your books are online and available for download. This seems like a fringe case that I'm not too worried about. I have a full purchase history on Amazon.com and if anythin…

They aren't intentionally being pricks; they just don't care. Caring costs too much. It's cheaper to have an unresponsive automated customer service system that lets a certain percentage of customers suffering from edge cases fall through the cracks. This guy was the unlucky one today.

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#86

Post by phuff »

vidarh wrote: post #84
moskie wrote: post #23

Is it safe to assume that eBooks will eventually go through a similar lifecycle as mp3s? Where, at first, publishers force DRM on items sold, but eventually give in because of customer complaints and demands regarding stuff like what happened in this article?

Personally I'm refusing to buy DRM'd books at all, and it's also so far kept me from buying a Kindle (which, if I were to buy it would be only used for non-DRM content).

The Kindle works great with all kinds of non-drm-ed content, fyi. Mobi, epub converts easily, html, etc. I have read a ton of non-drm-ed stuff on mine.

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#88

Post by marshray »

JonLim wrote: post #78
jordan0day wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't doubt I'd probably have a very similar experience to yours with my device. It's entirely possible that I could use it as intended for the next ten years and never experience a single hiccup with the service. I guess worrying about those edge cases just kind of comes naturally, perhaps a little too much personal experience with Murphy's Law? Perhaps really my chief complaint boils down to the stereotypical iss…

Actually, as a device purchaser, I personally don't care about edge cases. (It can happen to anyone.) However, as a service provider, edge cases are what keep me up at night but are fantastic opportunities for providing even better service. I'm not saying Amazon shouldn't care, but I personally wouldn't care too much about an edge case as long as Amazon does that person good. As for DRM: if it isn't invasive or affec…

DRM isn't inherently "used for" one thing or another.

A kill switch is a capability one party has over another. Once in place, it can be used for any purpose.

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#89

Post by FilterJoe »

This makes for a great story but how do we know it wasn't totally made up? There is no link from the consumerist article to a post from the original source (someone whose purported first name is Ryan). Searching for word-for-word sentences from the article on Google, I just find this consumerist post and pages that quoted from it more recently.

Even if Laura Northrup was really given this information by someone who is really named Ryan, how do we know that Ryan isn't making this story up? Or perhaps there's a part of it that is true but important parts of the story are omitted or exaggerated?

This kind of thing seems to be happening more each year on the internet - widely circulated stories considered credible just because it's widely circulated.

All that being said - I own both a Kindle Touch and Nook Simple Touch but have spent a total of $0.99 on content, for the same reasons cited by many in this thread. However, I'm very comfortable with a Netflix model. I've used the Nook to read in stores a little and I intend to use the Kindle Touch with my prime account to read borrowed books.

I predict that some day, Amazon or Barnes and Noble will come out with some kind of "content guarantee: you buy it, it's yours, forever." And I think this guarantee will quickly be copied by all competitors. The market for e-content will then be extended to nervous Nellies like me.

Re: Amazon Puts Your $1000 Kindle Library 'On Hold,' Apologizes, Shrugs

#90

Post by vidarh »

phuff wrote: post #86
vidarh wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I'm refusing to buy DRM'd books at all, and it's also so far kept me from buying a Kindle (which, if I were to buy it would be only used for non-DRM content).

The Kindle works great with all kinds of non-drm-ed content, fyi. Mobi, epub converts easily, html, etc. I have read a ton of non-drm-ed stuff on mine.

Yeah, I know, it's just a lot less of a "must have" as long as it won't replace my regular book purchases.
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