The Economist this week says:
The simplest difference [between iPods and ebooks] is that transferring one's old music CDs onto iPods is easy, whereas transferring one's old books onto an e-book is impossible.
Whenever anyone says that something is "impossible" it catches my attention. Is this really impossible?
You could buy new ebooks this way. First, buy the physical book at a bricks-and-mortar store. Then you can visit a website and enter a one-time code from your sales receipt. From that point forward, that book is always available to you online. Doesn't sound too hard does it now? All it takes is one major publisher and one major bookstore chain to get started.
How to transfer old books? If your book is out of print, scan your ISBN code and voila, you have it. If your book is in print, take it to a participating bricks and mortar store. They attach a big sticker that would completely destroy the cover if you removed it. Then they give you your one-time code. They can charge you at cost and I'm sure they'd be happy to have a reason for people to enter their stores.
Probably I'm wrong and maybe you don't want a permanent sticker on your book ... but IMPOSSIBLE?
1 comment:
Snoring Thunder, this is the most boring post I've ever read. For a man who wrote "The Finger", can't you do any better??
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