The Body Electric just hit iBooks

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by wizkid, Dec 20, 2012.

  1. wizkid

    wizkid Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Downloading now.


    Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations: The Body Electric
     
  2. Patrick O'Brien

    Patrick O'Brien Captain Captain

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    Avaliable for Kindle download as well:)
     
  3. King Bob

    King Bob Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    BillJ
    Just downloaded it from Amazon. Only payed $7.59 vs. the usual $7.99.
     
  4. Bizarro

    Bizarro Commodore Commodore

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    John Clark
    Just saw the email so I'm downloading it too.
     
  5. bfollowell

    bfollowell Commander Red Shirt

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    It looks like B&N has it available too, for $7.99

    I checked Booksonboard.com and, while they still have it only for pre-order, the price was listed as only $5.59

    The earlier Cold Equations books were listed at $5.59 as well. I saw a lot of other ST titles selling for cheaper like this and saw several listed under $5.

    - Byron
     
  6. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    Why would you pay $8.99 when you can get the exact same eBook (just eight days later) for only $5.56? You've overpaid by $3.43. BooksOnBoard (with the 1% off for Google Checkout) has it for $5.56 in ePub. You can use Bluefire Reader to read it on your iPhone or iPad. Bluefire Reader supports Adobe Adept DRM that most ePub uses (BoB uses Adept). The thing is, Apple is still being stupid when it comes to eBooks. $8.99 is just ass backwards.

    For those who use a Kindle to read eBooks, if you strip DRM, you can use Calibre to convert ePub to AZW3 or Mobipocket and be able to pay the lower prices.
     
  7. Tom Riker

    Tom Riker Lieutenant

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    ...and go to prison
     
  8. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    In the USA, stripping DRM for your own personal use is a grey area. There are exception(s) to the DMCA for stripping DRM from eBooks and then there is Fair Use. We do not know if Fair Use trumps the DMCA or not. So until it's ruled in a court of law that stripping DRM for personal use is illegal, it's going to remain a grey area. So please don't say it's illegal just like that when it's not yet decided. Besides, if I strip the DRM from an eBook for my own use, I'm doing nobody any harm.
     
  9. Tom Riker

    Tom Riker Lieutenant

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    The problem is you could buy an ebook, strip the drm and make a new copy and return the original for a full refund.
     
  10. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    That is not a problem. When you return an eBook, you have to say why and usually it's checked before you get a refund. Besides, you can buy with DRM, load it on your reader and still try to return it. Once I have it, I have it, DRM or not. So that is a non-issue. OK, you're against stripping DRM. But DRM is against my rights to be able to do what I want (other than sharing on the net) with what I bought.
     
  11. King Bob

    King Bob Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Just a lot of effort involved to save two dollars on an e-book that I can download directly to the Kindle.
     
  12. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    If you are setup properly to strip DRM, stripping the DRM takes as much time as it takes to load an eBook into Calibre. Then all you do is send it to the Kindle and it gets converted along the way. Not a lot of effort or a lot of time.

    Download eBook. Copy to Calibre (which has the DRM removal plugins already installed). Plug the USB cord into the Kindle. Send the eBook to the Kindle and it gets converted along the way. Eject the Kindle. DONE!
     
  13. Defcon

    Defcon Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Which is considerably more work than simply clicking "Buy now" and turn on your WiFi-Connection (if it isn't already active).
     
  14. Zedferret

    Zedferret Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    DRM will always be a thorny issue. If you buy a paperback (usually for a similar price) you can do what you want with it, you can give it away, lend it or sell it. With an ebook you can't do any of these things. I can't even put one of my books on my partner's e-reader.

    I've always wondered what authors think of e-books. They might get more sales, but I discovered many of the authors I like through second hand and borrowed books.
     
  15. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    Today's DRM implementations do allow for multiple devices to be authorized to the same account. So for example, if I had two Sony Readers, they could both be authorized to the same account and the DRMed ePub could be shared. Given this, it does make it possible to share the same eBooks with your partner. I do share some eBooks with family.
     
  16. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    Actually, it's only very slightly more work. if you plan on keeping a copy of your eBooks, then it's even less work.

    All you do is put the eBook in Calibre, DRM stripped. then plug in the reader to the computer, transfer the eBook to the reader and done. It may take longer, but the actual effort involved is not much more and when you are done, the benefits outweigh any extra effort. And you've paid $2.03 less this way unless you go via iBooks in which case, you've paid $3.46 more.

    If you want to pay more for the ever so slightly more convenience with a lot less benefit, feel free. I think it's silly.
     
  17. Defcon

    Defcon Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    ^ The most recent Star Trek Kindle releases are $5.99 at amazon, so I have no idea where do you get the $2.03 gap, when it's only $0.40.

    And I still think it is considerably less work to sit in the train, push a button and have the book on my Kindle in about a minute, instead of having to wait till I'm home, download it on my PC, strip it of its DRM (which violates Books on Board's TOS, by the way), convert it and manually download it on my Kindle.
     
  18. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    There are exactly two books at that price. The Body Electric is still at $7.59, as is anything before Cold Equations 1. I think the $2.03 gap is a good "typical example".

    Then you're overly trusting of Amazon, if it's not a process you're doing for purchases from them directly anyways.
     
  19. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    Most of the recent Star trek eBooks from Amazon are $7.59. The first two Cold Equations eBooks are $5.99 which is still more expensive then BooksOnBoard's price of $5.59. So, if you were to buy all three Cold Equations eBooks from Amazon, you would be overpaying by $2.98 given that at BOB with Google Checkout the final price is $5.53 each.

    Given that you feel that stripping DRM is too time consuming (when it's no more time consuming then dropping an eBook into Calibre once properly setup), you must really like DRM. Do you feel that you will always have a Kindle and not some other reader that handles ePub? Do you want all your eBooks locked behind Amazon's walled garden? Personally, I don't want my eBooks locked to any one platform/format. I want them to be free so I can do with them as I want/need.

    Sometimes I make changes to the eBooks to suit how I prefer them to be. I can't do that if I have them stuck behind a wall of DRM.

    But anyway, feel free to stick with the DRM and higher prices. Having done the DRM removal and the conversion process, I can honestly say that the extra time is very minimal.
     
  20. King Bob

    King Bob Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    There are very few books I've ever read more than once, so DRM really isn't an issue on e books for me. :shrug:
     
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