Agreed on so many levels. I have a (slightly OCD) issue with stuff. I've been working hard to reduce my library of about 100 books down to the bare essentials. (Mostly beautiful technical references).
The Kindle has been a godsend in my desire to be mobile, but not go without. I expect the iPad, too, to further allow me to enjoy the technical riches out there without causing more than a few watts of transmission waste.
To think that an author who so valiantly argues against "Stuff" would not have their book available in "non-stuff" format is, kind of mind boggling.
Surely the Kindle counts as the "stuff" the author is railing against, as opposed to hardcopy books. In fact, by not having a Kindle version, I'd argue she's sticking to her principles more than otherwise.
"The Story of Electronics (working title), due in early 2010, employs the Story of Stuff style to explore the high-tech revolution’s collateral damage—6 billion tons of e-waste and counting, poisoned workers and a public left holding the bill."
Disclaimer: I do not necessarily agree with the statements made by this author or the logic (or lack thereof) used to derive her conclusions that we're all in a giant conspiracy.
Since one of the main points behind "The Story of Stuff" is that the electronics industry is driven by consumerist propaganda, and that the real cost of electronics comes from the lives of third world citizens, I don't find it surprising that they don't support Kindle. The movie is a little bit overboard, perhaps, but it has a definite anti-gadget flavor.
This article blames the author for not having a Kindle version of her book.
That is a very simplistic view of what it takes for some authors to be able to sell Kindle editions (I used to work in that exact field) --
* their contract with the publisher may give all digital rights to the pub. This is the case surprisingly often. Depending on the publisher's priority or digital strategy, a kindle edition may take forever.
* Royalties may be different fir digital editions, eg the publisher may want to take a much bigger cut since they don't have to pay for printing, distribution, etc. If the author doesn't like that, it can seriously delay or halt digital publication.
* Agreements with other dist. channels may prevent a Kindle edition. File under either 'digital strategy' as above or 'publisher greed/stupidity.'
Please tell me that this complaint about being unable to access an anti-capitalist screed on a Kindle is edgy performance art targeting latte liberals.
The author should have watched the entire interview if he was going to blog about it.
Annie Leonard sounded reasonable, not knocking all material things, but rather saying that we should get good use out of what we do have. Also, Colbert himself at the very end of the interview obviously liked either her and/or what she said.
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 34.7 ms ] threadThe Kindle has been a godsend in my desire to be mobile, but not go without. I expect the iPad, too, to further allow me to enjoy the technical riches out there without causing more than a few watts of transmission waste.
To think that an author who so valiantly argues against "Stuff" would not have their book available in "non-stuff" format is, kind of mind boggling.
"The Story of Electronics (working title), due in early 2010, employs the Story of Stuff style to explore the high-tech revolution’s collateral damage—6 billion tons of e-waste and counting, poisoned workers and a public left holding the bill."
Disclaimer: I do not necessarily agree with the statements made by this author or the logic (or lack thereof) used to derive her conclusions that we're all in a giant conspiracy.
That is a very simplistic view of what it takes for some authors to be able to sell Kindle editions (I used to work in that exact field) --
* their contract with the publisher may give all digital rights to the pub. This is the case surprisingly often. Depending on the publisher's priority or digital strategy, a kindle edition may take forever.
* Royalties may be different fir digital editions, eg the publisher may want to take a much bigger cut since they don't have to pay for printing, distribution, etc. If the author doesn't like that, it can seriously delay or halt digital publication.
* Agreements with other dist. channels may prevent a Kindle edition. File under either 'digital strategy' as above or 'publisher greed/stupidity.'
Annie Leonard sounded reasonable, not knocking all material things, but rather saying that we should get good use out of what we do have. Also, Colbert himself at the very end of the interview obviously liked either her and/or what she said.