Amazon Stymies Lendle E-book Lending Service 237
CheerfulMacFanboy writes "CNET quotes Lendle co-founder Jeff Croft: 'They [Amazon] shut the API access off, and without it, our site is mostly useless. So, we went ahead and pulled it down. Could we build a lending site without their API? Yes. But it wouldn't be the quality of product we expect from ourselves.' Croft also said 'at least two other Kindle lending services got the same message' yesterday.'"
Read... (Score:4, Insightful)
Without the functionality being sanctioned by Amazon's own API, we aren't sure if there is a legal sinkhole waiting to ruin us.
10$ says Amazon has their own 'lending' service come online involving modest per-loan fees within 6 months.
Hay guyz (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's make a web site that completely and entirely depends on some interface provided by large perpetually hungry company!
And compete with that company!
Re:Hay guyz (Score:3, Insightful)
It's interesting that the "quality they expect from themselves" depends entirely on them not actually doing any work themselves. I know I could build a quality [insert product here] if I were given enough time to research and develop. The fact that they say it just wouldn't be good enough, rather than it would take too long, is kind of sad.
Re:Hay guyz (Score:3, Insightful)
I think they mean that without the API, the most important features are missing. Unless your research and development includes hacking Amazon, I don't see what you could accomplish.
No problem... (Score:4, Insightful)
Har, har, har
Dear Amazon (Score:5, Insightful)
While I understand that the Kindle is sold somewhat as a loss-leader and a mechanism to try to sell ebooks for absurd prices (it's bad enough that paperbacks are $9; to charge that same price that costs you NOTHING to duplicate, NOTHING to store, NOTHING to ship, NOTHING to advertise is...hard to swallow), at some point even your lawyer-swaddled management must recognize that if one too blatantly attacks all *reasonable* means of use of that hardware, the only things left are going to be people who are willing and able to use your hardware WITHOUT your consent/cooperation, ie pirates.
Cutting off Lendle (and with a classy c&d sent from a 'do not reply' email address and no recourse to appeal or discuss), secretly editing books, purging books that people have purchased - all of these things simply indicate that you as a vendor are untrustworthy. Therefore the trusting will go elsewhere, the unscrupulous will continue to use Kindles and here's the kick: you're not going to see a DIME of their activities.
Re:Hay guyz (Score:2, Insightful)
Interestingly, lots of companies have made their main communication line (E-mail) and quite a few documents run via Google. My own company will be doing this as well. This will not end well.
Re:Capitalism At Its Finest (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hay guyz (Score:4, Insightful)
Why would you buy a book that can:
a) be remotely disabled
b) be remotely altered
c) decide when/where/how you read it.
All under the control of Amazon... a profit driven company.
It's basically sleepwalking into 1984.
Re:Dear Amazon (Score:1, Insightful)
Am I the only one who gets fed up of the complaints about the prices of E-books and Downloaded computer software, where the argument is based solely on the fact there is no physical medium, and therefore it should cost less than it's physical counter part. There are a lot more factor's which go into determining the value of a product than the cost of materials alone. Convenience and Novelty spring to mind as things which people are happy to pay for in a wide range of products.
How much these are worth to you is a personal thing, but I'm more than happy to pay a full paperback price when i buy my e-book in exchange for the convenience on not actually having to go to a shop. then there are the additional features you get from an E-book, such as searching and note taking, the fact that all my books are backed up on servers etc. All of these things are added value.
Let's be clear. I'm not necessarily saying that the price of e-books isn't to expensive, but simply that there is a lot more to the value of a product than the cost of its materials (you just need to look at 'Designer products' to see that). So fine, if e-books are too expensive, vote with your feet and don't buy one, but the evidence seems to be that people are willing to pay the current prices, and in the end that's what really determines the value of a product.
Re:Capitalism At Its Finest (Score:3, Insightful)
forces me to buy Hospital insurance
So many stupid US people grumble about being forced to pay for other people's healthcare, blahblahblah.
They don't seem to realize that they're ALREADY paying when some uninsured person queues up at ER and either eventually gets treatment and/or dies there (that still costs money). Even just turning them away costs money and time (won't be surprised it lowers the effectiveness of the ER in treating actual emergencies).
Guess where the money comes from?
Guess how efficient the "long queues at ER" method is at providing healthcare?
Just look at how much healthcare costs per capita in the USA and what the US citizens get for it, and then compare with other countries.
eBooks are not books (Score:3, Insightful)
Calling these things eBooks ought to be considered deceptive labeling.
It's not a book if you can't lend it.
It's not a book if you can't resell it.
It's not a book if it won't last thirty years under ordinary casual home storage conditions.
It's not a book when a public library can't buy one copy and lend it out as often as they wish.
It's not about feel of the cloth covers or the smell of the dust or the silverfish living in real books, it's about replicating the functionality all books have had for five hundred years.
Re:Capitalism At Its Finest (Score:3, Insightful)
What you really mean is if you get really sick - and young people can and do get really sick - you'll be uninsured and expect me, through my taxes and my insurance contributions to pick up your tab? Or do you have a six figure sum tucked away for medical emergencies?
The largest hospital near me is state owned. When an uninsured person turns up there, it is my taxes that help pay for it. At the other, private hospitals you are right, they have to eat that cost and consequently increase their charges resulting in higher insurance premiums, so I pay for those folk too.
Re:Capitalism At Its Finest (Score:5, Insightful)
You've previously stated [slashdot.org] that you make close to $150k, why not just say that instead of skirting around the question?
Oh, I know, it's because you know no one will take your claim of being "poor" seriously. Well, fortunately for us, this isn't 4chan and your posts never get erased.
Have a nice day. :)
Re:Capitalism At Its Finest (Score:3, Insightful)
What makes me really laugh about the Americans whinging about people spending their taxes on healthcare, is that despite spending nearly twice as much per capita on healthcare than Canada, they still have a lower life expectancy for reference [wikipedia.org] and their infant mortality is significantly higher. And even funnier, their % of government revenue spent on health, is higher than Canada too.
Surely a solution to this is for the government to regulate the healthcare and medical insurance industries to ensure the cost isn't completely ridiculous so EVERYONE can afford healthcare.
Oh - and before anyone bleats on about not being able to see a doctor when you like - Canada has a very similar number of physicians per capita to America. There is no need for rationing.
Also - for the parent posting - when will you decide your body is failing enough for you to get insurance? When you're 30? When you're 40? When you're 50? Sickness can strike at any time - it's not just limited to the old.