Edd's Tavern - Blog

Seriously, I’ve moved. I’m here.

Go on, now.

My current project consuming most of my spare time is now Edd’s Tavern.

If you’re interested in creating your own blog, free and with more memory, features, and support than other places, and think you might enjoy an online community filled with intelligent, funny, and respectful, open-minded individuals, stop on by and join in the fun.

Even though I’ll have another blog over there, that one will focus on issues that impact the Edd’s Tavern community. Since I hate throwing things out, I’ll keep this blog for more random musings.

If you haven’t already heard, Amazon removed unlicensed copies of 1984 from Kindles to rectify their mistake in allowing them to be purchased in the first place.

What Amazon did was amazingly stupid. Illegal? Maybe, maybe not; I didn’t see anything in the TOS that gave Amazon the right to remove any kind of content from your device. The question is, was it really on your Kindle?

“Buying” an e-book from Kindle gives you the right to download a copy of the original material. But does the content remain on your Kindle after you’ve read it? I doubt it. I don’t own a Kindle but I find it hard to believe that it has enough memory to store every publication you might purchase. An easier and simpler solution would be to allow those who purchased the copy unlimited access to it via their Kindle, which I would be willing to bet, is what Amazon does. Again, I don’t own a Kindle but this just seems obvious in hindsight.

Notice I wrote, “in hindsight.” Even if I had gotten around to obtaining a Kindle, I would not have given much thought to the process by which the material appeared on my screen as long as it performed as I expected it to. So now we know. We have all gotten a crash course on the mechanics and capabilities of this gadget.

But Amazon always knew. They are familiar with its products and services and should have been familiar with the perception of the Kindle by its owners as well as the customer’s perception of their relationship to the digital content downloaded to it. It was Amazon’s duty, not legally or morally or ethically but as good business practice, to be explicitly clear on the actual technicalities and what they mean in regards to the consumer’s rights and reasonable expectations, or, done its utmost to ensure that the end result of “buying” a book for a Kindle satisfied customer expectations.

Someone at Amazon made a big mistake and heads may roll, but all they’ve really done is exposed the man behind the curtain. Let’s see if they admit the Kindle is not a great and powerful library in and of itself or if they try to shift the blame to the consumer for not realizing that what appeared to be happening was not what was actually happening.

I never expected them to be perfect, however, and if they’ve learned from this snafu, I’ll probably still buy a Kindle.

Just procrastinating again today and looking for new features to add. Let me know what you think of the <— Shoutbox.

In Real Life, I avoid these subjects like the plague since everyone has a strong opinion concerning them and most of the time it does not jibe with mine at all.

But online I’ve met many open-minded individuals with the sensitivity and decorum to have intelligent mature conversations on these matters (mostly due to the fact that I really only frequent a limited number of forums that are designed and regulated to encourage this).

Roy and El have made some interesting comments on politics (see Suggestions) and I am taking this opportunity to try to become one more internet forum that bucks the trend and has rational discussions on senstive topics.

In response to Roy’s observations on political scandal: This is one instance where I see a benefit to increased media coverage and transparency. If enough citizens are informed of the activities our leaders while on the job, we can put measures in place to police them accordingly.

In response to El’s question regarding government run health care: No country’s political organization today is representative of a ‘pure’ system. The most one can say is that the US shares more traits with a democratic system than with a socialist/communist/etc. system. Doesn’t it therefore make sense to take the best features of other systems and tweak them so that we may gain the most benefits from them? This is just another example of why I dislike labels – we shouldn’t refer to our political system as democratic, we should simply call it ‘American’ and just focus on doing what is best for all.

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I’ve got a couple of projects going on right now and very little free time. I’ll try to get something worthwhile up this weekend. Thanks for your patience.

I want to let everyone know I am open to suggestions for post topics, site improvement, reading material, causes to support, etc. Simply leave a comment and let us all know your ideas or recommendations in this designated post.

Thanks for your input and assistance in elevating the interestingness of this blog.

I don’t intend for this to become one of those self-affirmation blogs but I want to take a moment to remind you to take some responsibility for how your day progresses. Whether you will spend it at work, school, doctor’s office, or just goofing off online, your attitude toward those around you will play a large part in determining the mood for your day.

So find something to be happy about, remind yourself how important your job or education is, take a moment to encourage or compliment someone else and you will ultimately reap the most from it (I am a firm believer that being nice to others is a selfish act [which is a good thing!]).

Happy Thursday

-edd

Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that I made a rather prophetic post when speaking about a new technological toy and its rapid obsolescence. Yes, that’s right, a week and a half ago I whined about how I can’t even properly yearn for a Kindle before a new and improved version looms over the horizon and, lo and behold!, the Kindle DX is revealed. (Pre-order now and you just might get one before the next model comes out.)

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time tweaking the site, mostly things that aren’t readily observable to the casual visitor. Hopefully, the adjustments will make things easier and more pleasant for everyone.

Thanks for your patience.

P.S. If you experience any difficulties posting a comment, please email me at edd@eddstavern.com.