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NEWS: Independent Bookstores File Suit Against Amazon, Major Publishers


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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 4:52 pm Reply with quote
Okay guys, seriously? The ebook vs real books debate was old years ago. I am convinced that both will be able to exist together just fine, with some people having a preference for one and others happy with both.

Will it change things in publishing, without a doubt. I personally am banking on ebooks eventually killing the hardcover but since I don't really like hardcovers, I am fine with that. But ultimately, I definitely think we'll have a situation like the escalator and the stairs: both still exist, even though they do the same thing in different ways.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:06 pm Reply with quote
supercreep wrote:

I've had my Kindle for over three years. E-book formats do not work that way. I read on the go a lot, and having my Kindle is a hell of a lot easier than carrying a giant hardcover, or paperback. I keep all of my e-books on my Kindle, my laptop, and the cloud. I think I'm going to be okay.
Consider yourself fortunate
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Mr Adventure



Joined: 14 Jul 2008
Posts: 1598
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:24 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
The whole point of e-book is just past me. What good is buying a novel that you can't physically own and put on a shelf?

To read them.

Quote:
I mean paper and ink may crumble and fade in hundreds of years, but one is never going to loss their entire paper library when a chip, or display screen fails in a e-reader.

Cloud storage means you're never in danger of losing your library due to hardware failure.


People who put more value in the physical medium* something is presented on rather then the work itself, is what is past me.

*or obsessing about something equally arbitrary like 'book smell' or 'holding something in my hand'. Both of which, again, have nothing to do with the actual content itself. Which is the reason people buy books in the first place.

Mohawk52 wrote:
supercreep wrote:

I've had my Kindle for over three years. E-book formats do not work that way. I read on the go a lot, and having my Kindle is a hell of a lot easier than carrying a giant hardcover, or paperback. I keep all of my e-books on my Kindle, my laptop, and the cloud. I think I'm going to be okay.
Consider yourself fortunate

Interesting thing about that article, while it does paint a picture of inferor hardware. It doesn't say anything about losing content. The woman may have had to switch devices a couple of times due to a bad string of hardware malfunction, but presumably she never lost her previous purchases.
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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2633
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:32 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
Consider yourself fortunate


Yes technology is not perfect and things break down but nothing is perfect. There are benefits and cons to everything.

I still like regular books for collectible reasons but having an E-reader is extremely convenient.

It always seems to be the people who never tried E-readers who are the most against them. But really you don't like them fine, what is exactly is the point of proving how bad they are?
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
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Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:36 pm Reply with quote
Mr Adventure wrote:
Interesting thing about that article, while it does paint a picture of inferor hardware. It doesn't say anything about losing content. The woman may have had to switch devices a couple of times due to a bad string of hardware malfunction, but presumably she never lost her previous purchases.
It's technology mate, and somebody else's tech as well. It's only a matter of time. So when the Sun pumps out a CME that takes out all the power stations on the planet, I'll still be able to read my paper books in candle light by fire.

Last edited by Mohawk52 on Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mr Adventure



Joined: 14 Jul 2008
Posts: 1598
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:36 pm Reply with quote
Anyway. About the lawsuit. For a while now I've been getting the sensation that Amazon and publishers have been colluding to

Amazon's sales power is beyond the scope of B&M stores, and publishers aren't doing anything to really incentivizing B&Ms to stay in business (with bulk discounts, promotions, what-have-you)

The eSales question is a tough one, mostly because you can't really see a person walking into a print book store and buying a digital book. But many B&M book stores do have online shops of their own, where I presume they want the option of selling eBooks to consumers.

That sounds completely reasonable to me. Especially if we ever want to see B&M stores have a chance to grow in this changing book economy.
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Mr Adventure



Joined: 14 Jul 2008
Posts: 1598
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:38 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
Mr Adventure wrote:
Interesting thing about that article, while it does paint a picture of inferor hardware. It doesn't say anything about losing content. The woman may have had to switch devices a couple of times due to a bad string of hardware malfunction, but presumably she never lost her previous purchases.
It's technology mate, and somebody else's tech as well. It's only a matter of time.


"Its only a matter of time until your house burns down/you lose everything in a flood" - An equal argument fallacy
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:44 pm Reply with quote
Mr Adventure wrote:

"Its only a matter of time until your house burns down/you lose everything in a flood" - An equal argument fallacy
I'm insured for those losses. Try doing that with digital property.
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Mr Adventure



Joined: 14 Jul 2008
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:48 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
Mr Adventure wrote:

"Its only a matter of time until your house burns down/you lose everything in a flood" - An equal argument fallacy
I'm insured for those losses. Try doing that with digital property.


Early days. That's why fighting for DRM free content is so important.


I wonder if an insurance company would let you pay for 'case of service termination' on digital goods? Might be worth investigating if you have a significant investment into ePubs.
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:07 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
People who put more value in the physical medium* something is presented on rather then the work itself, is what is past me.

*or obsessing about something equally arbitrary like 'book smell' or 'holding something in my hand'. Both of which, again, have nothing to do with the actual content itself. Which is the reason people buy books in the first place.


People who care so little for books that they can destory their soul by reading e-books are past ME, thank you very much.

A physical book has a "soul" that digital ones just don't have. E-books are insulting to authors like me. You wouldn't understand unless you were well-read or an author like myself.
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Sewingrose



Joined: 11 Jan 2011
Posts: 579
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:17 pm Reply with quote
[quote="Chagen46"]
Quote:
People who put more value in the physical medium* something is presented on rather then the work itself, is what is past me.

*or obsessing about something equally arbitrary like 'book smell' or 'holding something in my hand'. Both of which, again, have nothing to do with the actual content itself. Which is the reason people buy books in the first place.


People who care so little for books that they can destory their soul by reading e-books are past ME, thank you very much.

A physical book has a "soul" that digital ones just don't have. E-books are insulting to authors like me. You wouldn't understand unless you were well-read or an author like myself.[/quote

Speak for yourself. I can understand your view just fine, but do not project your emotions onto all authors, considering I know many who are just fine with ebooks, because they make their books more available to new readers.

I can understand the joy of having paper copies as much as the next bibliophile, but that doesn't mean I'm not buying both ebooks as well as physical. Books are text on paper and ebooks are text on screen, and for quite a number of books that is plenty enough for my to enjoy the text.
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Ortensia1980



Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Posts: 803
Location: some town near Amsterdam
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:23 pm Reply with quote
Sounds like it'll be tough, but best of luck to them. They've got my support.

Personally, I have no interest in owning an e-reader. As long as they keep printing books, I'll keep buying books.
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14813
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:10 pm Reply with quote
All these talks remind me of when we switched from cel animation to digital animation. Remember when cel animation had a soul? Wait, no ya don't? Laughing
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Mr Adventure



Joined: 14 Jul 2008
Posts: 1598
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:22 pm Reply with quote
enurtsol wrote:
All these talks remind me of when we switched from cel animation to digital animation. Remember when cel animation had a soul? Wait, no ya don't? Laughing

Oh the poor soul of the Vinyl Record! Or the Video Game cartridge! Who will mourn the DVD when it is gone?! feh

Objects have no more soul then their owners project on them. Built from nothing but a mish-mash of nostalgia and familiarity. As soon as you get used to something else, that becomes familiar and nostalgic. Its a learning trick that's wired into us.

Now I'm not saying specific physical artifacts can't create emotional resonance, and should be treasured. But projecting such a thing on an entire media, and then ostracizing its competitors out of misguided loyalty does you no good. It especially does you no good as an author, in fact it makes me wonder why you treat your potential audience so poorly.
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:34 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Oh the poor soul of the Vinyl Record! Or the Video Game cartridge! Who will mourn the DVD when it is gone?! feh


The difference is that the replacements for those offered heavy benefits with no drawbacks. Cannot be said for e-books.

Quote:
It especially does you no good as an author, in fact it makes me wonder why you treat your potential audience so poorly.


I fail to see what you mean.
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