Alyx ⏚RE: https://mastodon.social/@Edent/116367891507649986
I love e-ink devices. I love the comfort of reading on an e-ink display. But this. This is a deal breaker.
Petra van Cronenburg@x_cli What about alternatives to the Kindle?
@NatureMC I own a Kobo as well, but this should really be considered as a wake-up call for all (future) e-ink reader users: we are one capitalist decision away from owning an expensive brick. We need to either own our devices (open source software, open hardware) or buy physical copies.
@x_cli Yes but this was clear since we have ebooks. The problem is also that Amazon has its own DRM and format. It was the worst prison but people loved it.
It's different with epubs. You can even lent epubs from your library. If you have an epub reader, it should be open for all???
@NatureMC
Well, I guess I ignored the signs 😅 Or I am super guilable. I thought they would never pull off something like that because that would be a market killer. Google did the same with their Chromebook, and I owned a Chromebook as well. I am slowly learning my lessons...
Regarding DRMs, I only buy content with weak DRMs that can be removed if the company starts misbehaving.
@x_cli No, you are not guilable at all! It's Amazon's marketing that promised only the best and kept secret the backgrounds.
I have been working in the book industry for decades as an author and publisher. That is the only reason I am familiar with the technology! The problem was that, in the early years, ebooks were pirated on such a massive scale that authors needed protection – and that is how DRM came about. Self-publishers saw that Amazon was effectively fostering a dependency with its
@x_cli own system. But they couldn’t sell elsewhere; other bookshops were still closed for them: Amazon knew that full well. Many were afraid to publish without DRM, even though it is possible to do so on Amazon as well.
As you say, I dream of an open device with which I can shop in *any* bookshop. Tablets would work but I do love ink tech for my eyes so much!