'Elitist': angry book pirates hit back after author campaign sinks website

[The Big Peat]

I think you're making my point!

And I can honestly say I haven't broken even the most inconsequential of laws in this past year - and probably not since June 2014 (when I stopped driving).

Which is odd, because I thought my point was in direct argument against "The simple fact that there's even a slight chance of being prosecuted is enough to make most people wary of breaking the law." Not sure what's going on here!

 

[Cathbad]

Which is odd, because I thought my point was in direct argument against "The simple fact that there's even a slight chance of being prosecuted is enough to make most people wary of breaking the law." Not sure what's going on here!

I win!

 

[psikeyhackr]

. Within Europe paper and electronic books are even taxed differently; books are VAT free and ebooks have VAT added.

What is the logic of that?

 

[psikeyhackr]

That's where reviews by reputable newspapers and magazines come into it. If the reviews are good, the book is usually going to be worth reading?

Reputable Reviewers? How many SF reviews even mention the science in the story. I pay attention to Jo Walton because she admitted that she did not like PKD. LOL

 

[Vertigo]

What is the logic of that?

None!!!

Actually it is historic. Books have never had VAT on them but ebooks are classified as digital media and all digital media (software, games, music, films, etc.) is subject to VAT so ebooks get scooped up with the rest. This is being looked into but it will require legal amendments. Of course what makes this worse is that it is/was being looked into by the EU. Suspect for the UK it will now go on the back burner for the next decade or so.

And of course it is that classification that shifts things from theft to copyright infringement.

Another thought has just occurred to me with regard to ebook piracy. If you steal a book you are not stealing it from the author but from the owner. In the case of a shop the shop is the owner. When you pirate an ebook you are 'stealing' direct from the author; there is no 'seller' involved. So again there is a distinction there.

 

[RJM Corbet]

Reputable Reviewers? How many SF reviews even mention the science in the story. I pay attention to Jo Walton because she admitted that she did not like PKD. LOL

I still want a paper book in my hand. Kindle is mostly ok, designed for ease of reading. But trying to read a pdf on a phone is, for me, strictly to check out how to fix my washing machine or other task -- purely for information, not enjoyment or relaxation.

 

[psikeyhackr]

I still want a paper book in my hand. Kindle is mostly ok, designed for ease of reading. But trying to read a pdf on a phone is, for me, strictly to check out how to fix my washing machine or other task -- purely for information, not enjoyment or relaxation.

I have often converted PDFs to TXT files and used the AIReader App to do text-to-speech.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neverland.alreader&hl=en_US

 

[RJM Corbet]

I have often converted PDFs to TXT files and used the AIReader App to do text-to-speech.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neverland.alreader&hl=en_US

Oh, ok. Thanks. Well, I'm obviously way behind, and not proud of the fact.

But I have books in my bookshelf I dip into, poetry, spiritual books and stuff like that -- others I have read part of and bookmarked (with an actual bookmark) with intention to go on at a later stage, etc. I can't imagine someone ordering the complete works of Shakespeare on Kindle, or the Barchester Chronicles, or Vanity Fair, or Ulysses? Does this mean these works just aren't ever read by the 'screen generation'?

But most books I read for entertainment and then give away. I don't keep them.

The whole internet publishing thing seems so immediate and -- yes -- commercial? Find a popular market and write for it? Often YA, etc. Why? To be able to say 'I'm a writer'?

Where is the literature/wtiting in all this? By literature I do not exclude popular and best-selling writers. Of course not. I hope real books always take front place in this whole internet/kindle publishing thing.

I do apologise for sounding irritated and old-fashioned. I'm not expressing myself very well.

(post edited)

 

[Ursa major]

Just to be clear also you aren't "taking" anything - it's not possible to take something which is infinitely reproducible.

First of all, the person reading copyright material without the permission of the copyright owner, permission that is granted only when payment has been made, has taken something: the price of that consent. Besides. I also mentioned "using without consent".

(By the way, what were you saying about morality?)

 

[Dave]

I have often converted PDFs to TXT files and used the AIReader App to do text-to-speech.

The most recent version of Microsoft Word will also do this. It sounds like Stephen Hawking.

The person reading copyright material without the permission of the copyright owner, permission that is granted only when payment has been made, has taken something: the price of that consent. Besides. I also mentioned "using without consent".

So, can we sue Microsoft for reading copied content from a Word doc.?

 

[psikeyhackr]

I can't imagine someone ordering the complete works of Shakespeare on Kindle,

I can imagine it but it hardly seems like a good idea.

Books by Shakespeare, William (sorted by popularity)

I have no idea when Shakespeare's copyright expired, but I suspect it has been a while. Just make a donation to Project Gutenberg. I think my $12/yr is more than worth the money.

 

[psikeyhackr]

The most recent version of Microsoft Word will also do this. It sounds like Stephen Hawking.

AIReader does not sound that bad but when it encounters Dr. and St. it says drive and street instead of doctor and saint.

 

[RJM Corbet]

I can imagine it but it hardly seems like a good idea.

Books by Shakespeare, William (sorted by popularity)

I have no idea when Shakespeare's copyright expired, but I suspect it has been a while. Just make a donation to Project Gutenberg. I think my $12/yr is more than worth the money.

Neally 60k titles is quite impressive, have to say. So what would the complete works of Shakespeare cost, to download on Kindle? Or are you talking about free pdf via Project Gutenberg?

EDIT: Gutenberg being the first printing press -- that made previously restricted written documents widely available ... sorry, as you can see: I'm clueless but wanting to know

 

[psikeyhackr]

So what would the complete works of Shakespeare cost, to download on Kindle?

$1.99 but it would not be in text form that I could do text to speech with.

 

[Ursa major]

So, can we sue Microsoft for reading copied content from a Word doc.?

Do you mean a Microsoft employee/contractor or the company?

 

[Ursa major]

I can imagine it but it hardly seems like a good idea.

Why not?

I have, somewhere, a single volume containing Shakespeare's complete works... but it is rather heavy and not something you'd want to lug around if you were, say, travelling light.

 

[J Riff]

any art theft is generally thot of as a 'soft target' innit? not many writers will strike back, and money is money no matter how it's nicked.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Why not?

I have, somewhere, a single volume containing Shakespeare's complete works...

Kindle has it for $1.99 and Project Gutenberg has it for free.

Shakespeare does not need the money anymore.

 

[Dave]

Do you mean a Microsoft employee/contractor or the company?

I strongly suspect that, although it sounds like Stephen Hawking, it isn't a real person inside my laptop speaking to me. I also think, considering, it probably isn't his fault, he is just coded that way.

More seriously, this problem is a generational thing. My back end-of-the-baby-boomer generation expects to pay, up-front, in return for goods and services, in whatever form they take. It starts right back in the classroom, where if you copied work you'd get your exercise book thrown at you, and detention or even the cane. There is software available today, but how can a teacher realistically stop plagiarism, carried out internationally, on an industrial scale, and promoted by unscrupulous people? (We've even had the adverts on this site before.)

 

[RJM Corbet]

Kindle has it for $1.99 and Project Gutenberg has it for free.

Shakespeare does not need the money anymore.

Interesting:
Project Gutenberg - Wikipedia

Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks".[2] It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library.[3] Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domainbooks. The project tries to make these as free as possible, in long-lasting, open formats that can be used on almost any computer. As of 23 June 2018, Project Gutenberg reached 57,000 items in its collection of free eBooks.[4]...