eBook dis-satisfaction

Elspode · 12-25-2006, 11:09 AM

The ultimate goal of new media formats is, in my opinion, to try to force the buying public to repurchase the same product every time technology changes. I've got a thousand DVDs, but they're a paltry 420 lines. Blu-Ray will give me a real 1020 lines of rez on a high-def TV...and so on and so on...

It is all about separating you from your money. But then, it is hard to argue with the fact that HiDef pictures are enormously superior to regular NTSC standard analogue TV.

Sigh.

Flint · 12-25-2006, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elspode

...enormously superior...

But in what sense? If the goal of technology is simply to be technology then we could sit around and stare at the owners manual of expensive products, and marvel at the specs (is that where the emphasis belongs?). If the goal of a TV is to be a monitor to display a series of images designed to evoke emotional respsonse while telling a story, then 25% better hardware isn't going to improve that basic premise. It could be argued that higher resolutions and more lifelike colors could "fool" our brain into "being there" but the question is: did we find movies un-enjoyable 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 50 years ago? If we didn't know a "better" picture was available we wouldn't be complaining about an "old" TV. In fact, the latest TV technologies display an image that contains more detail than the human brain is designed to process - visual technologies have progressed into the realm of audiophile electronics, where thousands of dollars cannot produce an audible difference to the human ear.

SteveDallas · 12-25-2006, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

did we find movies un-enjoyable 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 50 years ago? If we didn't know a "better" picture was available we wouldn't be complaining about an "old" TV.

Next you're going to tell me it's a waste of money to upgrade my Windows XP with Office 2000 so I can have Vista and Office 2007.

mbpark · 12-25-2006, 03:49 PM

It's not about new tech. We all love that

.

It's about people attempting to put artificial restrictions on tech, ostensibly for the purpose of copyright protection, which also restrict usage of the product.

If someone wants pirated content, they're going to get it, no matter what. The rules of the marketplace dictate that one (see: Xbox, Playstation Mod Chips, pirate DVDs, pirate copies of Windows Vista and XP).

People will accept a lower quality pirated product than a full quality retail product (see: Windows XP that fails WGA and half the movies sold on the streets that are bad cam copies of the original) as long as they are easy to use.

Companies haven't woken up and fully realized that no matter what, protection of digital data from unauthorized duplication is never going to be a 100% solution. They (esp. in the case of these eBooks) are taking measures which are very draconian to protect this content. They are taking measures reserved for governments to protect their innermost secrets by compartmentalizing the OS and its programs. Like I said before, the only other time I have seen the copy-paste functionality disabled in such a way is by the systems used to enforce Bell-LaPadula type security on TS workstations.

They need to strike a balance by realizing the usage patterns of their users, and designing a scheme by which users wish to pay for product (see: iTunes) by providing financial incentive to do so (see: iTunes costing less than the record store and allowing single-track purchases most of the time), and most importantly an easy way to recover lost data (when you transfer your paid-for tracks from one machine to another, you just need to reauthorize yourself).

In other words, they need to provide good customer service

.

In this case, if the eBook vendor offered these incentives, we would not be having this discussion.

hideouse · 12-27-2006, 06:52 AM

MBPark, CutePDF will print my eBook one page at a time. A great improvement!

12-25-2006, 11:09 AM	#1
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	The ultimate goal of new media formats is, in my opinion, to try to force the buying public to repurchase the same product every time technology changes. I've got a thousand DVDs, but they're a paltry 420 lines. Blu-Ray will give me a real 1020 lines of rez on a high-def TV...and so on and so on... It is all about separating you from your money. But then, it is hard to argue with the fact that HiDef pictures are enormously superior to regular NTSC standard analogue TV. Sigh. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

12-25-2006, 03:49 PM	#4
mbpark Lecturer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 761	It's not about the technology... It's not about new tech. We all love that . It's about people attempting to put artificial restrictions on tech, ostensibly for the purpose of copyright protection, which also restrict usage of the product. If someone wants pirated content, they're going to get it, no matter what. The rules of the marketplace dictate that one (see: Xbox, Playstation Mod Chips, pirate DVDs, pirate copies of Windows Vista and XP). People will accept a lower quality pirated product than a full quality retail product (see: Windows XP that fails WGA and half the movies sold on the streets that are bad cam copies of the original) as long as they are easy to use. Companies haven't woken up and fully realized that no matter what, protection of digital data from unauthorized duplication is never going to be a 100% solution. They (esp. in the case of these eBooks) are taking measures which are very draconian to protect this content. They are taking measures reserved for governments to protect their innermost secrets by compartmentalizing the OS and its programs. Like I said before, the only other time I have seen the copy-paste functionality disabled in such a way is by the systems used to enforce Bell-LaPadula type security on TS workstations. They need to strike a balance by realizing the usage patterns of their users, and designing a scheme by which users wish to pay for product (see: iTunes) by providing financial incentive to do so (see: iTunes costing less than the record store and allowing single-track purchases most of the time), and most importantly an easy way to recover lost data (when you transfer your paid-for tracks from one machine to another, you just need to reauthorize yourself). In other words, they need to provide good customer service . In this case, if the eBook vendor offered these incentives, we would not be having this discussion.

12-27-2006, 06:52 AM	#5
hideouse Coronation Incarnate Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 91	CutePDF MBPark, CutePDF will print my eBook one page at a time. A great improvement! __________________ If you need a straight line, I've usually got a few to spare.

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