[danielrhodes]

Any piece of hardware which is replaced by software is a win for consumers.

In this case, maybe the carrier is gated by Apple. However that's a big step beyond a carrier locked phone at the hardware level like it used to be.

[kalleboo]

> Any piece of hardware which is replaced by software is a win for consumers.

Replacing physical books and optical media with online DRM was a huge loss for consumers. Being able to remotely revoke the right to use something you bought is incredibly onerous.

> However that's a big step beyond a carrier locked phone at the hardware level like it used to be

"like it used to be"? Unlocked phones have always been easily available.

[adventured]

Whether it's a loss or win is dependent on the consumer's preferences, not your opinion. Consumer votes so far say that you're wrong, very wrong in fact. Consumers on average are having no problems with Amazon DRM.

It's a huge win for me. I will trade the DRM from Amazon in exchange for the hyper convenience, built-in lighting, and numerous other features of a kindle reader that holds hundreds of books, so that when I fly I don't have to lug around physical books. Not to mention I can only carry a few books with me when I travel, whereas with the kindle I can carry practically unlimited. Last but not least, kindle books are cheaper and should always be.

Consumers are overwhelmingly agreeing with me, the kindle is vastly superior to traditional books. They agree so emphatically, within another decade it's likely that over 3/4 of all book sales will be digital. Consumers didn't have to be dragged into that world, they went willingly: they chose the kindle + Amazon while traditional books were still very widely available and easy to purchase.

[userbinator]

That's because the average consumer is generally unaware or apathetic of all the negative aspects of DRM - until it inconveniences them massively - and it's to the advantage of the companies that they be kept unaware. The convenience aspect is appealing but you can have even more convenience without DRM. I don't have to "lug around physical books either"; I have a few hundred DRM-free PDFs on my laptop which runs a free and open-source operating system, and I can read or copy between devices or do whatever else I want with those files, whenever I want.

Let's not forget what could happen if we let these companies and their DRM schemes take over completely: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html

[xg15]

...until Amazon decides that it doesn't like the publisher of the book you're reading.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18ama...