6 ms·

I've often wondered about the viability of students purchasing or renting textbooks for the Kindle. Just imagine the panic/terror that would ensue if a student'

I've often wondered about the viability of students purchasing or renting textbooks for the Kindle. Just imagine the panic/terror that would ensue if a student's collection of textbooks just disappeared in the middle of a semester. If my collection of novels disappears, I'm inconvenienced. If my collection of textbooks disappears, my academic progress is severely jeopardized. Both seem extremely wrong as you mention, but I see potential for situations that are life-ruiningly wrong.

MrMember 14y ago
When Amazon remotely deleted 1984 from people's Kindles a few years ago a student lost the digital notes he had been creating as he was reading it for a class. He ended up suing Amazon, but I have no idea if it was ever resolved or if it's still ongoing.
- dtparr 14y ago
  Amazon settled fairly quickly: http://arstechnica.com/business/2009/10/amazon-stipulates-terms-of-book-deletion-via-1984-settlement/ http://arstechnica.com/business/2009/10/amazon-stipulates-te... The most interesting/relevant bit from the article "In it, Amazon's attorneys agreed to legally binding terms that describe its content deletion policy. When it comes to blog and periodical content, as well as software, Amazon retains the right to perform a remote delete. But when it comes to books, deletions will only occur under a limited number of circumstances: failed credit card transactions, judicial orders, malware, or the permission of the user."
  - tomerv 14y ago
    Perhaps I'm not reading this correctly, but it looks to me like Amazon does not hold the right to delete books in the case of a ToS abuse, which means that they shouldn't have deleted the books in this case.
    - lambada 14y ago
      IIRC that case was based entirely in the US. As somehow Amazon UK seem to be involved in this case too, it's possible that those agreements don't apply to this case.
    - dtparr 14y ago
      I would have thought the same. Perhaps the 'Amazon' that is bound under this settlement is a different corporate entity as the 'Amazon' in this case. E.g. Amazon.com vs. Amazon.co.uk
      - rmc 14y ago
        As a tangent, I hate how trademark law protects the "Amazon" brand for book sellers, but there are 2 different companies. I think that if the company wants to keep a trademark, then any company that uses/is licenced that trademark is legally counted as the same company. This way Joe Soap, upon seeing the "Amazon" trademark, is not able to screwed around by corporate structure shenanigans. Or Amazon Ltd. have the choice of giving up the trademark.
        stickfigure 14y ago
        I doubt that would matter in this case. Different laws apply to different jurisdictions. The fact that Amazon US and Amazon UK are two different companies is a red herring; a purchase in one jurisdiction may entail different rights than a purchase in other jurisdictions, even from the same company.
Evbn 14y ago
This is the thesis of RMS's The Right to Read, written over 30 years ago, and one of the few works to have passed from the genre of science fiction to historical fact, by remaining unchanged while the world changed over time.
- salvadors 14y ago
  Over 30 years ago? Best I can tell it was first published in 1997, which is only half that.
donniezazen 14y ago
First think came to my mind. I am reading textbook for a course I am taking. I am not taking any paper notes as I just highlight and take online note on Kindle Reader Webapp/mobile app. I would be devastated if I lose my bookmarkings and data.
- fluidcruft 14y ago
  If you would be devastated, why are you relying on something you cannot backup? That's not rational.
  - spindritf 14y ago
    Did you have backups of your notes in college?
  - donniezazen 14y ago
    This article made me aware of it. There are not many quality options. Amazon Kindle is an amazing product. For example, Neuroscience Exploring the Brain by Bear et al. is not available on Google Play and is $30 over on Barnes and Noble.

MrMember 14y ago

When Amazon remotely deleted 1984 from people's Kindles a few years ago a student lost the digital notes he had been creating as he was reading it for a class. He ended up suing Amazon, but I have no idea if it was ever resolved or if it's still ongoing.

dtparr 14y ago
Amazon settled fairly quickly: http://arstechnica.com/business/2009/10/amazon-stipulates-terms-of-book-deletion-via-1984-settlement/ http://arstechnica.com/business/2009/10/amazon-stipulates-te... The most interesting/relevant bit from the article "In it, Amazon's attorneys agreed to legally binding terms that describe its content deletion policy. When it comes to blog and periodical content, as well as software, Amazon retains the right to perform a remote delete. But when it comes to books, deletions will only occur under a limited number of circumstances: failed credit card transactions, judicial orders, malware, or the permission of the user."
- tomerv 14y ago
  Perhaps I'm not reading this correctly, but it looks to me like Amazon does not hold the right to delete books in the case of a ToS abuse, which means that they shouldn't have deleted the books in this case.
  - lambada 14y ago
    IIRC that case was based entirely in the US. As somehow Amazon UK seem to be involved in this case too, it's possible that those agreements don't apply to this case.
  - dtparr 14y ago
    I would have thought the same. Perhaps the 'Amazon' that is bound under this settlement is a different corporate entity as the 'Amazon' in this case. E.g. Amazon.com vs. Amazon.co.uk
    - rmc 14y ago
      As a tangent, I hate how trademark law protects the "Amazon" brand for book sellers, but there are 2 different companies. I think that if the company wants to keep a trademark, then any company that uses/is licenced that trademark is legally counted as the same company. This way Joe Soap, upon seeing the "Amazon" trademark, is not able to screwed around by corporate structure shenanigans. Or Amazon Ltd. have the choice of giving up the trademark.
      - stickfigure 14y ago
        I doubt that would matter in this case. Different laws apply to different jurisdictions. The fact that Amazon US and Amazon UK are two different companies is a red herring; a purchase in one jurisdiction may entail different rights than a purchase in other jurisdictions, even from the same company.

Evbn 14y ago

This is the thesis of RMS's The Right to Read, written over 30 years ago, and one of the few works to have passed from the genre of science fiction to historical fact, by remaining unchanged while the world changed over time.

salvadors 14y ago
Over 30 years ago? Best I can tell it was first published in 1997, which is only half that.

donniezazen 14y ago

First think came to my mind. I am reading textbook for a course I am taking. I am not taking any paper notes as I just highlight and take online note on Kindle Reader Webapp/mobile app. I would be devastated if I lose my bookmarkings and data.

fluidcruft 14y ago
If you would be devastated, why are you relying on something you cannot backup? That's not rational.
- spindritf 14y ago
  Did you have backups of your notes in college?
- donniezazen 14y ago
  This article made me aware of it. There are not many quality options. Amazon Kindle is an amazing product. For example, Neuroscience Exploring the Brain by Bear et al. is not available on Google Play and is $30 over on Barnes and Noble.