Bad news about the Kindle (attention kightp!!)

[kengr]

Seems there's a limit on how many times you can download a given book to it.

http://justanothermobilemonday.com/Wordpress/2009/06/20/what-amazon-does-not-want-you-to-know-about-the-kindle/

More details:

http://www.geardiary.com/2009/06/19/kindles-drm-rears-its-ugly-head-and-it-is-ugly/#more-34387

And this is why DRM (Digital Rights Management) is bad.

ETA: Some are saying it's a limit on the number of devices that you can install to
http://ireaderreview.com/2009/06/20/kindle-misinformation-courtesy-geardiary/

But even if that's the problem, it's still bogus because nowhere are you *told* this when you buy a book.

Comments

[seawasp]

Correction:

Nowhere are you told this when you RENT a book.

[kengr]

I'm hoping that one of these days a lawyer files a suit claiming misleading advertising. If the folks using DRM are required to state clearly and up front that:

You lose access when thee seller decides to shut down their rights servers...

You can't move it to a replacement reader/player if the old one breaks (or can only do so X number of times)...

You can't move it to a new unit if you want to upgrade...

etc.

Sales would be a lot lower.

Heck, the folks using "rights servers" ought to be required to escrow the software. With it becoming public domain if they decide to shut down the servers.

If they had the choice of maintaining them indefinitely *or* having the access be freely available to anybody once they decide to quit maintaining them, suddenly the DRM wouldn't should like such a good idea to them.

Of course, I'd also like it to be illegal to have any DRM that compromises the buyers "fair use" rights.

While I'm dreaming, I'd like to see the various outfits sending DMCA takedown notices for "fair use" video and audio on the web getting hit with the fines the law already provides for for filing false takedown claims.

[seawasp]

It'll all happen eventually, but the stupidity of the companies will make the eventually much more painful for them than they can easily imagine; fifty million pissed-off customers FINALLY getting pissed off enough to do something is a massive force indeed.