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-   -   News Amazon Remotely Deletes Purchased Copies of 1984 & Animal Farm From 1000s of Kindles (https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=210513)

teedubya 07-17-2009 06:54 PM

Amazon Remotely Deletes Purchased Copies of 1984 & Animal Farm From 1000s of Kindles
 
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Amazon basically guaranteed that I'll never buy a Kindle last night by bending to the wishes of a publisher and deleting every single legitimately-purchased copy of 1984 and Animal Farm from all Kindles remotely. Ridiculous.

Apparently, the publisher changed its mind about having electronic versions of Orwell's books. So Amazon removed them from the store and in the process remotely deleted the books from the Kindles of anyone who bought them, depositing a refund in their account in the process.

If there's a better argument for dead-tree books and against the Kindle, I'd like to know what it is. If you can't be sure that you own something after you pay for it, what's the point? How many people were halfway through these books that they paid for and now are shit out of luck?

Amazon says this is a "rarity," but even once is too many times for bullshit like this to happen. Once I buy a book from Barnes & Noble, I never have to worry about them breaking into my house and taking it back, leaving me a pile of singles on my nightstand.

And of course the fact that this happened to 1984, of all books, makes this even more surreal. [NY Times via Boing Boing]

teedubya 07-17-2009 06:54 PM

This has enough IRONY to choke a horse.

underEJ 07-17-2009 07:33 PM

I still love my kindle even though I have major reservations about the process of digital rights management and situations like this. I hope consumer activism will shape this into something great. The demand for a standard format is already getting notice (not fast enough, I know) but I like to be optimistic.

I use it for more than downloading books too. I am in a writing group and we can email pdfs to each other's kindles and we come better prepared for our rare in person meetings. The pdfs don't read as easy as the ebooks, but it is good enough.

There is plenty to recommend even with the major issues of digital rights and unit price. I think with a better unit price, more customers will add more pressure and then we will really see some progress.

That being said, they should send complimentary print editions to every customer that bought the ebook in addition to the refund.

sedated 07-17-2009 08:23 PM

wtf is a kindle?

luv 07-17-2009 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ari Chi3fs (Post 5907560)
How many people were halfway through these books that they paid for and now are shit out of luck?

Ummm, they could take the money they were refunded and go buy a regular copy of the book.

FAX 07-17-2009 08:28 PM

Amazing. You have to wonder if this wasn't some kind of publicity stunt by the publisher.

FAX

Lzen 07-17-2009 10:31 PM

That is messed up. They shouldn't have deleted them from people that already bought them. I mean, WTF? You already paid for it. :shake:

And 1984 of all books. ROFL Irony at its best.

Bwana 07-17-2009 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sedated (Post 5907772)
wtf is a kindle?

This

Bugeater 07-17-2009 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bwana (Post 5908166)
This

The thing pictured in the OP, you can download books to read on it.

Bwana 07-17-2009 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bugeater (Post 5908170)
The thing pictured in the OP, you can download books to read on it.

Heh, I must of still been living in a cave when it came out. I had no fricken clue about it.

luv 07-17-2009 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bwana (Post 5908176)
Heh, I must of still been living in a cave when it came out. I had no fricken clue about it.

Me too. I still buy the books that you put on a literal bookshelf.

sedated 07-17-2009 10:48 PM

books? I have an 32 inch electronic picture-book in my living room

007 07-17-2009 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luv (Post 5908181)
Me too. I still buy the books that you put on a literal bookshelf.

Literally?

luv 07-17-2009 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sedated (Post 5908185)
books? I have an 32 inch electronic picture-book in my living room

I have a 37". Mine's bigger than yours. :p

Lzen 07-17-2009 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sedated (Post 5908185)
books? I have an 32 inch electronic picture-book in my living room

Heathen!


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