I've honestly never heard of anyone who bought a Microsoft ebook instead of a Kindle ebook.
I'm skeptical of digital, but if I do buy digital, this is why I only buy from something that's been established and will be around for the forseeable future. I have zero doubts about Audible, Steam, or Comixology collections for the time being because they're platform independent. I won't buy digital console games because once that console is defunct it's just a matter of time until the servers shut down forever.
Few years ago when i substitute taught i was talking about watching old nickelodeon shows and that i had doug seasons 1-4 on dvd. New at the time off amazon. At that time it was on netflix. Kid said why would you buy that, its on netflix. Well few months later it wasnt. Thats why. Now its on the plex server. So got it digital(myself) and physical. Good to go
Good thing I discovered that archive.org, if you have an account on there, will let you "borrow" for up to two weeks up to five "books" at a time like a virtual library. There's quite a few on there I might add.
Don't buy anything unless it's something that's honest to goodness yours to keep.
Precisely why if I were to pay for something digital, I have no moral issue of finding it on a pirate site and downloading it later on. I'd be pissed if I dumped a bunch of money into a digital architecture for movies and then losing them all.
I agree; if I'm expected to pay even a $1 for it, it better be the real deal. Not some fake downloaded crap.
And as I said before, if we ever get to a point where you can no longer get at least the major blue chip games on proper physical disc/cartridge format, then that's the end of the line for me as far as modern gaming goes. Not that I do hardly any modern gaming to begin with...
And yes, MS will give refunds, but that's not the point.
But that kind of IS the point.
If a DRM-protected platform refunds your original purchases rather than stripping the DRM when they shut down, then there is no problem.
So this is a case study in handling a DRM-server shutdown WELL.
(versus how someone like Nintendo has handled their Wii and WiiU download-only content)
From my perspective getting a refund is NOT the point. Bibliophiles often annotate their books, sometimes meticulously. It's similar to investing many hours into a game, to say unlock the platinum trophy, and then having that game pulled so that there is NOTHING left of your achievements. Not a perfect analogy, but you get what I'm saying. And, at the end of the day, you don't own the game. You're still renting it but you can't lend it, resell it, hold it in your hands (you know you enjoy this... , or do anything you can with a true physical copy. Of course, if you paid $5 for it versus $30 for a physical copy and you realize that you're just renting the game, okay I see no problem. However, it's amazing how many people don't realize that companies want digital-only because then they become true lords and the rest of us serfs.
The idea of annotating digital books is completely foreign to me, so I can't relate to that concern, at all.
If someone wants to annotate, seems like paper books should be their method from the get-go, as no matter how good of a tool your e-reader has for annotation it is going to be shit compared to the ease of use of a pen and a highlighter.
On the game side -- "losing achievements" is not really a concern I have, either.
Maybe it is a function of growing up on the NES, where most games didn't even have a save feature of any kind.
I definitely enjoy achievement systems as a sort of guide to feeling like you got the most from a game in the first place.
But once I'm "done"... definitely isn't something I'd lose sleep over if it just went away, because I don't need some digital placeholder to remind me of what I managed to do in a game a few years down the line.
But saying there is "nothing left of your achievements" just seems kind of sad, if your memory of the experience isn't a sufficient reminder of your gaming enjoyment.
You can use a stylus to highlight and write on digital "papers", so it's almost a 1:1 analog to using a physical book. However, I find using a screen for reading a book (textbook, anyway) much more awkward than using a book.
Also agree on the achievement thing. They're fun to get, but if they get lost or whatever, who cares? SMB/DH didn't have achievements, but I sure as hell had fun playing both games with my brother when I was a kid. That's a better memory than grinding 5000 hours to get every item in FFXIII for that stupid achievement (which I never did because grinding in that game is beyond ridiculous).
As for DRM, I'm 50/50 on it. I understand the desire/need for it, and I understand the frustration it brings to the end user.
The idea of annotating digital books is completely foreign to me, so I can't relate to that concern, at all.
If someone wants to annotate, seems like paper books should be their method from the get-go, as no matter how good of a tool your e-reader has for annotation it is going to be shit compared to the ease of use of a pen and a highlighter.
On the game side -- "losing achievements" is not really a concern I have, either.
Maybe it is a function of growing up on the NES, where most games didn't even have a save feature of any kind.
I definitely enjoy achievement systems as a sort of guide to feeling like you got the most from a game in the first place.
But once I'm "done"... definitely isn't something I'd lose sleep over if it just went away, because I don't need some digital placeholder to remind me of what I managed to do in a game a few years down the line.
But saying there is "nothing left of your achievements" just seems kind of sad, if your memory of the experience isn't a sufficient reminder of your gaming enjoyment.
You can use a stylus to highlight and write on digital "papers", so it's almost a 1:1 analog to using a physical book. However, I find using a screen for reading a book (textbook, anyway) much more awkward than using a book.
Also agree on the achievement thing. They're fun to get, but if they get lost or whatever, who cares? SMB/DH didn't have achievements, but I sure as hell had fun playing both games with my brother when I was a kid. That's a better memory than grinding 5000 hours to get every item in FFXIII for that stupid achievement (which I never did because grinding in that game is beyond ridiculous).
As for DRM, I'm 50/50 on it. I understand the desire/need for it, and I understand the frustration it brings to the end user.
For actual "e-ink" based e-readers, I have never seen one that uses a stylus, since the screen refresh is so slow I think it would be pretty hard to use.
I guess by virtue of device market share most ebooks are probably read on android tablets or ipads rather than on e-paper.
(though I still think annotating your books seems like kind of an odd thing to do, even in traditional paper format)
Regarding DRM (and your 50/50) -- I would have no issues with it, at all, if platforms that used it were required by law to strip DRM when they shut down, rather than leaving it as a matter of trust.
Comments
Me today: Yeah digital downloads are fuckin dumb
Me tonight grocery shopping: Oh that's sick I'm definitely buying that!
that's amazing. I saw the brand and thought of the episode even before seeing the free offer.
I'm skeptical of digital, but if I do buy digital, this is why I only buy from something that's been established and will be around for the forseeable future. I have zero doubts about Audible, Steam, or Comixology collections for the time being because they're platform independent. I won't buy digital console games because once that console is defunct it's just a matter of time until the servers shut down forever.
Don't buy anything unless it's something that's honest to goodness yours to keep.
And as I said before, if we ever get to a point where you can no longer get at least the major blue chip games on proper physical disc/cartridge format, then that's the end of the line for me as far as modern gaming goes. Not that I do hardly any modern gaming to begin with...
Originally posted by: arch_8ngel
Originally posted by: avatar!
Originally posted by: arch_8ngel
Originally posted by: avatar!
And yes, MS will give refunds, but that's not the point.
But that kind of IS the point.
If a DRM-protected platform refunds your original purchases rather than stripping the DRM when they shut down, then there is no problem.
So this is a case study in handling a DRM-server shutdown WELL.
(versus how someone like Nintendo has handled their Wii and WiiU download-only content)
From my perspective getting a refund is NOT the point. Bibliophiles often annotate their books, sometimes meticulously. It's similar to investing many hours into a game, to say unlock the platinum trophy, and then having that game pulled so that there is NOTHING left of your achievements. Not a perfect analogy, but you get what I'm saying. And, at the end of the day, you don't own the game. You're still renting it but you can't lend it, resell it, hold it in your hands (you know you enjoy this... , or do anything you can with a true physical copy. Of course, if you paid $5 for it versus $30 for a physical copy and you realize that you're just renting the game, okay I see no problem. However, it's amazing how many people don't realize that companies want digital-only because then they become true lords and the rest of us serfs.
The idea of annotating digital books is completely foreign to me, so I can't relate to that concern, at all.
If someone wants to annotate, seems like paper books should be their method from the get-go, as no matter how good of a tool your e-reader has for annotation it is going to be shit compared to the ease of use of a pen and a highlighter.
On the game side -- "losing achievements" is not really a concern I have, either.
Maybe it is a function of growing up on the NES, where most games didn't even have a save feature of any kind.
I definitely enjoy achievement systems as a sort of guide to feeling like you got the most from a game in the first place.
But once I'm "done"... definitely isn't something I'd lose sleep over if it just went away, because I don't need some digital placeholder to remind me of what I managed to do in a game a few years down the line.
But saying there is "nothing left of your achievements" just seems kind of sad, if your memory of the experience isn't a sufficient reminder of your gaming enjoyment.
You can use a stylus to highlight and write on digital "papers", so it's almost a 1:1 analog to using a physical book. However, I find using a screen for reading a book (textbook, anyway) much more awkward than using a book.
Also agree on the achievement thing. They're fun to get, but if they get lost or whatever, who cares? SMB/DH didn't have achievements, but I sure as hell had fun playing both games with my brother when I was a kid. That's a better memory than grinding 5000 hours to get every item in FFXIII for that stupid achievement (which I never did because grinding in that game is beyond ridiculous).
As for DRM, I'm 50/50 on it. I understand the desire/need for it, and I understand the frustration it brings to the end user.
The idea of annotating digital books is completely foreign to me, so I can't relate to that concern, at all.
If someone wants to annotate, seems like paper books should be their method from the get-go, as no matter how good of a tool your e-reader has for annotation it is going to be shit compared to the ease of use of a pen and a highlighter.
On the game side -- "losing achievements" is not really a concern I have, either.
Maybe it is a function of growing up on the NES, where most games didn't even have a save feature of any kind.
I definitely enjoy achievement systems as a sort of guide to feeling like you got the most from a game in the first place.
But once I'm "done"... definitely isn't something I'd lose sleep over if it just went away, because I don't need some digital placeholder to remind me of what I managed to do in a game a few years down the line.
But saying there is "nothing left of your achievements" just seems kind of sad, if your memory of the experience isn't a sufficient reminder of your gaming enjoyment.
You can use a stylus to highlight and write on digital "papers", so it's almost a 1:1 analog to using a physical book. However, I find using a screen for reading a book (textbook, anyway) much more awkward than using a book.
Also agree on the achievement thing. They're fun to get, but if they get lost or whatever, who cares? SMB/DH didn't have achievements, but I sure as hell had fun playing both games with my brother when I was a kid. That's a better memory than grinding 5000 hours to get every item in FFXIII for that stupid achievement (which I never did because grinding in that game is beyond ridiculous).
As for DRM, I'm 50/50 on it. I understand the desire/need for it, and I understand the frustration it brings to the end user.
For actual "e-ink" based e-readers, I have never seen one that uses a stylus, since the screen refresh is so slow I think it would be pretty hard to use.
I guess by virtue of device market share most ebooks are probably read on android tablets or ipads rather than on e-paper.
(though I still think annotating your books seems like kind of an odd thing to do, even in traditional paper format)
Regarding DRM (and your 50/50) -- I would have no issues with it, at all, if platforms that used it were required by law to strip DRM when they shut down, rather than leaving it as a matter of trust.