I decided I'd bring the COO's behavior to the attention of the company, since this is, IMO, a major Do Not Buy recommendation for the Stetson(R)(TM){can't be too careful} brand, and discovered that there are two such companies in association. There's the manufacturer in Texas, and the company in New York associated with them (marketer? brand name "guardian"?) and it's the New York office(Microsoft tm) from which this idiocy originated.
The CEO there is:
Pamela Fields
263 West 38th Street
10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Copyright is a government-granted, government-recognized, and government-enforced monopoly. And you think greed recognizes an artifical limit like "ideas" on its scope? Why pay for hired guns when the taxpayers can provide them?
When Congress passed a mandate that all wireless phones be trackable "for location in life-threatening emergencies," did anybody really expect that that would be the only time anyone might access the data?
The problem with this sort of "active discouragement" is that it's also seriously customer-hostile. We all know that the marginal cost of an additional eBook copy is effectively zero, so the tactic comes across as a deliberate rip-off, particularly to those of us who have gone almost 100% eBook.
That has a very negative effect on the customer's willingness to give them ANY money for eBooks, since it encourages an attitude of "They don't respect me, why should I respect them?"
It would be really bad for books and book publishers to be seen with the same contemptuous derision the MAFIAA have earned.
I'm sorry to break up a widely-held myth, but there ARE production costs associated with eBooks. The incremental cost of each additional copy is, of course, minuscule, but...
Books still need to be written, edited, copyedited including fact and continuity checking, proofread, and, for eBooks, they need GOOD formatting control to keep from driving readers crazy, just as pBooks need good typesetting for the same reason.
And if you're talking about reprints of older books, those books still need to be either scanned, OCRd and proofread, or typed-up and proofread. Even for a reasonably short piece of fiction, say a 350-page paperback, it takes me between 10-15 hours to do a good job, and I do scan-and-OCR to get source texts.
The above endeavors require people, and people like to eat hot food and sleep indoors. This is why I never quarrel with paperback-level pricing for eBooks.
However, I do agree that anything over about $8 for an eBook, particularly fiction, is ridiculous. I've never forgiven the idiots who insisted on $20 prices for eBooks years after the paperbacks had come out at $7.99.
Remember the Rootkit Incident? My recently-retired Clie turned out to be the last Sony product I will ever buy. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that attitude.
On the post: Insanity Rules: UK Judge Says Mass Revealing Of Ryan Giggs Name Means Injunction Is Even More Necessary
Re: I do wish people would try looking at the facts...
Translation of Governmentese: All your pages are belong to us.
On the post: Gene Weingarten Shows How To Respond To Bogus Trademark Threats: Stetson(R) Hats Suck
There's Stetson(R) and Stetson(?)
The CEO there is:
Pamela Fields
263 West 38th Street
10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
On the post: Court Slams FBI For Saying It's Okay For The Federal Government To Lie To A Court
We were warned of this a LONG time ago:
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
On the post: Appeals Court Effectively Opens The Floodgates For People To Claim Hollywood 'Stole' Their Ideas
"This kind of ruling..."
Copyright is a government-granted, government-recognized, and government-enforced monopoly. And you think greed recognizes an artifical limit like "ideas" on its scope? Why pay for hired guns when the taxpayers can provide them?
On the post: Indian Filmmakers Plan To Battle Piracy -- By Using Pirates' Own Computers Against Them
Re: Re:
On the post: Zappos Uses Mechanical Turk To Correct Spelling/Grammar Errors In Reviews... And It Increases Sales
Please define "proper" English?
Southern USA: Y'all listen up.
Upper-Class England: (phonetic) Of course the mawb wouldn't understahnd propeh English.
Cockney: Where 'ave all the aitches gone?
Tech Support: (sing-song) I speak proper english very good, sir.
The world teems with examples.
On the post: As People Realize That There's Tons Of Mobile Phone Tracking Data Out There, Fingers Start Pointing
Locking the barn door afterwards?
On the post: Is It Rude To Link To Someone Without First Asking Permission?
Permission-provider == Gatekeeper
On the post: TV People Realizing That The Internet Is Global
Answer to "What took them so long?"
On the post: 'Economics In One Lesson' Apparently Doesn't Include Pricing; Kindle Version Most Expensive
Re: Re: Re:
On the post: 'Economics In One Lesson' Apparently Doesn't Include Pricing; Kindle Version Most Expensive
Re: Re:
That has a very negative effect on the customer's willingness to give them ANY money for eBooks, since it encourages an attitude of "They don't respect me, why should I respect them?"
It would be really bad for books and book publishers to be seen with the same contemptuous derision the MAFIAA have earned.
On the post: 'Economics In One Lesson' Apparently Doesn't Include Pricing; Kindle Version Most Expensive
It's the same way at Barnes and Noble.
Obviously the publisher didn't read it.
On the post: 'Economics In One Lesson' Apparently Doesn't Include Pricing; Kindle Version Most Expensive
Re:
Books still need to be written, edited, copyedited including fact and continuity checking, proofread, and, for eBooks, they need GOOD formatting control to keep from driving readers crazy, just as pBooks need good typesetting for the same reason.
And if you're talking about reprints of older books, those books still need to be either scanned, OCRd and proofread, or typed-up and proofread. Even for a reasonably short piece of fiction, say a 350-page paperback, it takes me between 10-15 hours to do a good job, and I do scan-and-OCR to get source texts.
The above endeavors require people, and people like to eat hot food and sleep indoors. This is why I never quarrel with paperback-level pricing for eBooks.
However, I do agree that anything over about $8 for an eBook, particularly fiction, is ridiculous. I've never forgiven the idiots who insisted on $20 prices for eBooks years after the paperbacks had come out at $7.99.
On the post: Hospitals Argue That More Transparency On Medical Errors Will Decrease Dialogue On Fixing Them
Bureaucratic Mindset
It's also possible they fear the American Disease: lawsuits.
On the post: iPhone & iPad Recording Your Every Move
Re:
On the post: Feds Seize Poker Websites; Founders Indicted
Poker's Status
http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/pennsylvania-judge-rules-poker-is-a-game-of-skill-941/
On the post: Feds: 4th Amendment Shouldn't Apply To Online Emails Because... That Would Make Us Have To Work Harder
From "Touch of Evil" (Orson Welles)
On the post: You Would Think The Recording Industry's Main Magazine Wouldn't Copy Other's Works Without Permission
Re: Re:
It's called courtesy, and it's never appeared to be anything the recording industry has given much thought.
On the post: But... But... Piracy...
Subtitles, please?
On the post: Top Hacker Rejects Job Offer From Sony Over PS3 Jailbreak Legal Strategy
Not the first time stupid strategy has cost Sony.
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