Not that I agree with everything in the article, but it's interesting how Amazon's cross-platform distribution mechanism makes it a significantly more attractive option for readers.
I had a very handy WiFi scanner on my iPhone that I used for identifying dead zones on my network. One day after an iPhone update, the program was no longer on my phone — because Apple deemed WiFi scanner programs as having “mimimum functionality.”
I’d paid for that program, but I no longer had access to it — and Apple refused to refund the measly two bucks I paid because it was a purchase over 30 days old.[...]
The store works like that ? Poof, gone, no refund, if you dare to update firmware ?
To be fair, Amazon pulled this stunt with a copy of 1984 (of all things). But unlike Apple, as soon as Amazon became aware of how grossly stupid it was to yank a book off Kindles (and the delicious irony of it being 1984), Jeff Bezos came out with an apology and made an explicit promise not to do it again.
I'd rather they could not do it, period. And that one didn't even involve firmware updates - just a plain yank on the leash (their 3G link) ...
[I suppose it's a lost cause pointing out that the title is Nineteen Eighty-Four, not 1984 ? Ah, the time when writers were paid five cents per word ...]
It's also fair to point out that while the way that Amazon removed Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm was maladroit, they didn't have any choice in the matter. In some parts of the Anglosphere, but not the US, their copyrights has lapsed. The company who's copies they pulled didn't have the right to sell them in the US.
This is very different from Apple's [whatever you want to call it] approach to what you can do with a stock i[whatever].
Just a late note: if Amazon, or whoever, sold me, by mistake, a pirate copy of some paper book, I'd be rather miffed if one of their employees came into my house and took the book from my shelves.
With electronic devices, the "sellers" are making it normal for them to keep the keys to the house. Sounds more like a rental, with rather uninhibited landlords ...
True, but if you were ever under the impression that you were buying Kindle books instead of renting them you weren't paying attention. As of yet, the doctrine of first sale just does not apply.
And that makes sense given the architecture: even if your Kindle could hold every book you "bought", the system still protects you against loss or destruction of that device (or it's inevitable eventual replacement). Given that, the legal liability of Amazon changes a whole lot from the old world where they had no responsibility after shipping it to you.
Good points, thanks. I didn't look because I'm not interested in DRM'd files - never "bought" one yet.
Arguably, it may be deceiving the customer to have the buttons say "Buy" instead of "License". The terms are elusive; with a couple of minutes of clicking, I only found this for the paper+ebook "Amazon Upgrade": http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=1...
You may return a particular Online Book for a full refund within 30 days of your purchase date, provided that you have not accessed more than 20% of its digitized pages.
[...] Amazon grants you the non-exclusive right to keep a permanent copy [...]. Digital Content will be deemed licensed to you [...] you may not sell [...]
I seem to remember some legal kerfuffles a while ago about resale of boxed software (with the 'first sale' you mentioned). Things don't seem to be going well for "buyers" ... (And I wonder if that is really good for sellers, in the long run.)
To first order, Amazon sells content and Apple sells hardware. Folks who sell the former tend to be way, way more platform agnostic than those who sell the latter.
This article is actually entirely wrong. :( Amazon, in fact, should be learning about future proofing purchases from Apple, not the other way around. Apple's "you will throw this device away in a year and get a new one" hardware-oriented monetization strategy has caused Apple to /nail/ future proofing.
Amazon's Kindle service provides you with a limited number of downloads for each of your purchases, and there is no obvious way to back up your data. Burn through too many devices and you are out of luck; there isn't even a way to tell how many that magic number is.
Meanwhile, Apple always provides powerful backup and migration mechanisms: you can get a new Mac, plug it into the old one via Firewire, and have it transfer all of your apps and data seamlessly to the new system.
(And yes, I'm "that saurik", and I obviously have no reason to be defending Apple, my sworn enemy ;P. This article is simply jacked up.)
Revisiting notes, much later - thanks for the comment. Also, some of the ZDnet comments attribute iPhone 'removed' app problems to API breakage, not deliberate deletion.
9 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 35.4 ms ] threadI’d paid for that program, but I no longer had access to it — and Apple refused to refund the measly two bucks I paid because it was a purchase over 30 days old.[...]
The store works like that ? Poof, gone, no refund, if you dare to update firmware ?
To be fair, Amazon pulled this stunt with a copy of 1984 (of all things). But unlike Apple, as soon as Amazon became aware of how grossly stupid it was to yank a book off Kindles (and the delicious irony of it being 1984), Jeff Bezos came out with an apology and made an explicit promise not to do it again.
I'd rather they could not do it, period. And that one didn't even involve firmware updates - just a plain yank on the leash (their 3G link) ...
[I suppose it's a lost cause pointing out that the title is Nineteen Eighty-Four, not 1984 ? Ah, the time when writers were paid five cents per word ...]
This is very different from Apple's [whatever you want to call it] approach to what you can do with a stock i[whatever].
With electronic devices, the "sellers" are making it normal for them to keep the keys to the house. Sounds more like a rental, with rather uninhibited landlords ...
And that makes sense given the architecture: even if your Kindle could hold every book you "bought", the system still protects you against loss or destruction of that device (or it's inevitable eventual replacement). Given that, the legal liability of Amazon changes a whole lot from the old world where they had no responsibility after shipping it to you.
Arguably, it may be deceiving the customer to have the buttons say "Buy" instead of "License". The terms are elusive; with a couple of minutes of clicking, I only found this for the paper+ebook "Amazon Upgrade": http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=1...
You may return a particular Online Book for a full refund within 30 days of your purchase date, provided that you have not accessed more than 20% of its digitized pages.
Interesting.
P.S. Ah, terms for ebooks are under the Kindle hardware (unlike MP3s, etc.) http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...
[...] Amazon grants you the non-exclusive right to keep a permanent copy [...]. Digital Content will be deemed licensed to you [...] you may not sell [...]
I seem to remember some legal kerfuffles a while ago about resale of boxed software (with the 'first sale' you mentioned). Things don't seem to be going well for "buyers" ... (And I wonder if that is really good for sellers, in the long run.)
http://www.geardiary.com/2009/06/19/kindles-drm-rears-its-ug...
Amazon's Kindle service provides you with a limited number of downloads for each of your purchases, and there is no obvious way to back up your data. Burn through too many devices and you are out of luck; there isn't even a way to tell how many that magic number is.
Meanwhile, Apple always provides powerful backup and migration mechanisms: you can get a new Mac, plug it into the old one via Firewire, and have it transfer all of your apps and data seamlessly to the new system.
(And yes, I'm "that saurik", and I obviously have no reason to be defending Apple, my sworn enemy ;P. This article is simply jacked up.)
"That Saurik" :) http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/13/360idev-saurik-on-the-mobile-... , http://cydia.saurik.com/
P.S. submitted the TUAW link, good piece.