E-book reader | ebook books

From the user’s point of view:
• Can be incompatible with new or replacement hardware or software
• Require care in handling and storage of the files, to avoid damage or loss
• Can Phone Home to track readers and reading habits
• Can restrict printing
• Devices are for most prohibitively expensive and can be lost, stolen, and damaged like any electronic device
• Batteries run out.
• Their average price is considered by many to be too expensive when compared to the print edition.
• Many readers prefer paper and print to a computer screen.
• Sometimes unavailable to international users due to legal issues.
• Protected e-books cannot be transferred between different people.

From the publisher/author’s point of view:
• Can in some cases be hacked, or disseminated without approval from the author or publisher (some formats are more susceptible to this than others)
• Not normally a good format choice for works that have extensive and/or large illustrations, such as works in art history, photography, large maps, etc.
• Ebook files can be easily copied, violating copyrights. Vending them in Read Only Memory cartridges tends to suppress this, and one can still sell or give away your copy- by selling the cartridge, just as one could sell or give away a paperback or hardbound book. Software for computers has been successfully sold in this manner, with that for the obsolete TI-99/4A as a case in point. This is however more expensive to create and distribute than electronic files.

thanate  May 18 About e-book