New York Times:
In George Orwell's "1984," government censors erase all traces of news articles embarrassing to Big Brother by sending them down an incineration chute called the "memory hole."
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
I had 1984 on my Kindle... It was removed and replaced with an copyright notice. However, after seeing yet another article on it today, I was discussing it with a family member, and I opened the book to read the copyright disclaimer to her. NO DISCLAIMER
I was going to buy a kindle so I could read electronic books, but I wanted more. Now I have a netbook and read them there. I also have the option to get my books from someone other than Amazaon. And I make sure I get copies that are not locked or linked to the system from which I bought the books. I'm really glad I didn't get a kindle...
I've put plenty of books on my Kindle from free sources. The conversion is simple and even provided by Amazon. You're not limited to Amazon books.
Amazon, pulled an OJ. O. J. Simpson went to retrieve memorabilia that he was legally his. Now he rots in jail.
(Amended)
Amazon, pulled an OJ. O. J. Simpson went to retrieve memorabilia that he thought was legally his. Now he rots in jail.
Last week I contemplated buying a Kindle - I thought of the books on my floor piled next to full book shelves...
But this Orwell thing gives me pause. Very creepy that ANYONE could come and take away a book I bought. Amazon should have paid all profits from sale of the Orwell books to the true owner of the copyright.
I'm going to watch for more developments --Amazon had better come up with an exceptable mea culpa and promise to never do this again, or I will have to keep buying those heavy tree-killing books at Barnes & Noble.
Co - sign
Mistake 1: Devising a distribution system that doesn't prevent bootleg copies of copyrighted material.
Mistake 2: Alienating a loyal customer base with such intrusive actions.
Amazon should have left the purchased files in place and reimbursed the copyright holder.
Co -sign
I read years ago that the CIA bought the rights to 1984 and Animal Farm and are indeed the only works of fiction that the government owns. Anyone know the veracity of this rumor?
This is why we can't have soley online libraries. Instead of burning books they only have to press the delete button. I am never buying kindle.
Well, I'm glad I don't have the money for something like Kindle. I prefer reading the old-fashioned way, but I had no idea that books could vanish from these systems. I had no idea that Amazon had control over what is on the system that you buy. Good thing to know.
This was the right thing to do. What appears to be the case was that the books were published but the publisher didn't have the correct rights to the books. They weren't allowed to do it and notified Amazon. Thus the books were illegal. They refunded the money of those that purchased the books and had the Kindle remove it. This happens all the time. If you purchase a book but want a refund this is the process they go through once you connect to the Whispernet service. It checks your Amazon.com to see if you've purchased any books or have a new addition to a subscription and will download them to the Kindle.
Normally if you bought a store copy of a book getting an illegal copy of a book back would be impossible. It's possible here.
It's not theft when they shouldn't have sold it in the first place. If it was a legal copy and they just all of a sudden removed it then I can see people being upset. When you access the Whispernet you allow Amazon to makes changes to the Kindle either via software updates, downloading of items, overwriting of files (the Amazon daily blog just gets rewritten each time it downloads so you don't have copies piling up), etc. Removing a file and refunding you (which they can do and have done if you order something by mistake, has errors, etc) is right in that same area.
This really is not a big deal. Amazon should have communicated better yes I agree.
Although it may have been legal (which is still debatable). even Amazon now realizes it was a bonehead move. Also, copyright law has been rewritten in the United States to the point of ridiculousness. George Orwell died in 1950, in the U.S. the copyright won't expire until 2045, 95 years after his death. The only benificiaries of the copyright are descendants whom he never met. The purpose of copyright laws were to benefit the creators of work - not their untold scions. Meanwhile, the copyright has already expired in numerous countries and all of George Orwell works are available freely on the internet. If you don't see the irony in this, you have never read Orwell. "Some animals are freer than others."
Please, if you don't fully understand the issues, the best write-up I have read thus far is here.
http://db.
And if you think your Ipods or Itunes are any safer, please read the article. For some reason, people must think that Itunes are superior to MP3's. I have three portable media devices, all more costly than Ipods and worth every penny. HI-MD is far superior technology. However, Sony has made some mistakes regarding DRM also.
Amazon violated their customers trust. They should have learned from the huge mistakes that Sony made. Sony legally(?) incorporated DRM technology that the public rejected. Is Apple still selling Itunes with DRM and charging extra for Itunes without DRM?
The legality isn't debateable. Amazon 'sold' something they didn't own, which means that the buyers didn't own it either. The text was a bootleg, just like a bootleg copy of a movie or a CD.
irony
I would have never purchased the Kindle from Amazon if I knew beforehand they had the ability to erase stuff off that machine without my permission. What I find amazing is that I have downloaded over 100 books from www.gutenb
Also, how would Amazon know if I legally purchased a book from elsewhere and installed it on my Kindle? I think Big Brother is alive and well and working for Amazon now.
Sorry, I meant that I downloaded over 100 books "Free" at no cost from gutenberg.
Also do not buy these compilations of books on CDs on Ebay because all these people do is copy and repackage what is free on gutenberg and charge you for something you can get yourself for nothing. I looked at the list of books these people were selling on CDs on Ebay and went to gutenberg and found the same exact books there.
Project Gutenberg is fine, for what it is -- thousands of really, really old books in the public domain. But you will find almost nothing there published since, say, 1950.
If I owned a Kindle, it would now be a pricey doorstop. That or I would demand a refund of my monies and return the device to them. I would then use my refund to trade up to the Sony device. Truthfully, I would use the money to purchase the Archos 5g Internet Media Tablet.
http://www
Henri Crohas must be in league with the devil because his company makes some diabolically clever devices. I own the previous generation device, the Archos 605 wi-fi. Long before there was an Ipod, Archos launched the first hard drive portable music player. Although Ipod may have stolen Archos' thunder, Archos devices are much more appealing to me. The Archos device is a bit more expensive than the Kindle. However, with it's internet and 3.5g ability, I can tap into the Google library for free via the internet and download a pdf copy of any full text. I can't see how the Kindle has any advantage over this, and the 5g retains all its other functions. When I'm done reading, I can watch an HD movie.
So, what is it with Amazon -- have they been taken over by the Right Wing Conspiracy? Wasn't there just recently a thing about them removing all gay/lesbian books from their rating system? What's up with that???
Oh good lord, not everything is a conspiracy. Read the article, not just the headline. (Wasn't that one of the things Orwell was writing about?)
GOP- George Orwell Party
If I were to pay money for something and then the company I bought it from erased it at the very least I would want my money back. Amazon should have notified these people in advance before invading their e-books (Kindles) and snatching the books out of there. I find this callousness increasing as our consumer rights are being eroded. This is also true of our civil rights, Orwell was RIGHT about big brother in principle although he misdated the event; unfortunately it will happen in the next few years.
I am curious as to how Amazon knew that the Orwell books on the Kindle were obtained illegally. Anyone can copy a book they legally own onto a Kindle.
If you read the it's pretty obvious. It was published by a third party who didn't own the rights to publish it.
Loading comments…
First Posted: 07-18-09 11:14 AM | Updated: 08-18-09 05:12 AM