Kindle Orwell

Is Amazon’s handling of the most recent Kindle fiasco a sign that it is time to dump DRM?

I also find it ironic that two of the author’s whose works were involved either recently or in the past (George Orwell and Ayn Rand) are authors that wrote works that warned against centralized authority over others. I think both authors would be horrified about the way their works were deleted.

http://www.fsf.org/news/amazon-apologizes

DRM gives a distinct advantage to those who employ it, but that advantage in and of itself isn’t necessarily unfair. Creators/owners of intellectual property have a right to impose certain limitations as to how that property is used. The laws merely haven’t caught up with the technology.

A suit was filed claiming that Amazon never disclosed to its customers that it “possessed the technological ability or right to remotely delete digital content purchased through the Kindle Store.” It’s a compelling argument. The average consumer can’t be expected to know all the ways in which a technology may affect them, and should be informed BEFORE they plunk down their money. What was clearly unfair was Amazon’s failure to disclose. Amazon should also have given customers some kind of notice before modifying content that had been paid for.

I agree with you about the irony, except that publishers and the like aren’t centralized authority. They aren’t authority at all. They can’t make anyone buy a Kindle, an Ipod, a PC, or any other electronic gadget. I don’t have a Kindle because I’m not independently wealthy, there are plenty of other ways spending $300+ can make my life better, and honestly I’m a little controlling. I want a certain degree of control in activities I involve myself in, and from Kindle’s inception I could see I couldn’t get it.

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