Comments on: Eleven John Steinbeck e-books now available LEGALLY

By: jmurphy

jmurphy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:32:59 +0000

Re-read the portion of the post that I quoted.

You said (re-arranging the sentences to emphasise the point):

“In fact, that’s exactly what the Penguin Group (USA) is doing…making (was “make”) legal editions available for free.”

But that’s not true at all. Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:36:21 +0000

Hi, jmurphy. Price will vary according to the retailer, but the books are definitely not free. I can understand. To stay in business, a publisher has to sell SOMETHING. E has value in itself, not just as a promoter of the paper edition. Depends. With some books, “free” may make sense, but with others it won’t. Thanks. David

By: jmurphy

jmurphy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:47:47 +0000

The best way for publishers to deal with such problems…is to make legal editions available for *free*. In fact, that’s *exactly* what the Penguin Group (USA) is doing.

So, these books are free, then? Or $17.00? Which is it?

By: Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:41:03 +0000

I didn’t get as far as checking the ir site (got distracted by something else). $17?! Ha. Ha. Ha. Nothing like price-gouging to encourage piracy too!

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:16:16 +0000

Excellent point, Adam, but not all e-book prices for the books are that high. - David

By: Adam Gott

Adam Gott — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:12:25 +0000

It’s a start but $17 for a 50+ year old ebook is a scam in my eyes. And I am not even considering the fact that it is DRM’d.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:15:00 +0000

DRM-haters everywhere could/can rejoice if Microsoft format is in use, given the ease with which a commonly available program cracks it.

Meanwhile, of course, the pirated versions let you own the book for real without even that level of fuss.

Nothing like DRM to encourage piracy, no?

Thanks,
David
(with a reminder to people NOT to mention the program, because of the DMCA)

Note: I corrected the present comment. Earlier I was thinking that Fictionwise offered The Red Pony in Microsoft Reader rather than just Mobi.

By: Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:06:50 +0000

Well, we’d need it in Microsoft Reader format to really get excited, no?