Comments on: The Author’s Guild is Wrong About the Kindle. And That’s Okay. They’re the Authors.

By: Fred

Fred — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:02:23 +0000

I wish it were that simple, Harry.

You say “Let the People Who Create Stuff Make Their Own Damn Mistakes” and then cite the record companies as an example. But, even though they claim to own the music, the record companies didn’t create it. The artists did. In many cases that creation happened decades ago and the artists are long dead. But still the record companies assert ownership. In fact, they assert continued ownership of music that consumers have already bought!

Also, the mistakes that get made can do more than just harm the businesses of the people who makes those mistakes. And those people have to take responsibility for the collateral damage.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:06:11 +0000

Hi,

That’s a tricky one! Personally as a consumer I think it should be included but as an author I know that I might want to have the text and speech separate.

WHy don’t Amazon just bundle this all up? I would be happy with that.

By: pdqnetworking

pdqnetworking — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:24:55 +0000

So if I am a blind or visually impaired person and I purchase the Kindle so that I can utilize the text to speech (TTS) feature on it, will I now be discriminated if it were to be removed. Will I be forced to only purchase braille versions or audio tapes/CDs of the books? TTS technology has been around for years; it does not infringe upon the royalties paid to “read” the written word. It is not like having a paid professional speaker verbally read the book back like that of an audio tape/CD version of the book.

Is the Writer’s Guild pressing this issue hard? …or is it just a few writers who think that they go up against Amazon to try to make another buck or two? I think the Kindle will be a boon to the publishing industry as a whole and that the majority of writers will not only get more exposure …but also a few more dollars.

…or the Writer’s Guild will fight to get either a couple more dollars or the muting of TTS; either way the end result will be hurting or killing this technology, inconveniencing the new techie readers and having blind and visually impaired people then sue the Writers’ Guild for discrimination

…and the only winners will be lawyers.

By: Spot Cool Tech

Spot Cool Tech — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:04:24 +0000

I’m a published author and subscribe to your Let the People Who Create Stuff Make Their Own Damn Mistakes philosophy too. I think it will take a bit to sort out these issues with the Kindle. In the long run though, even though many authors may not know it yet, the Kindle is one of the best things to happen to the business of writing.

By: spark240

spark240 — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:58:23 +0000

On reflection, I’m inclined to agree with the authors, and to think Amazon’s legal position is actually quite weak, long term. An audio presentation is not the same product as words on the Kindle screen. If the authors wish to sell only the latter, or a bundle of the two, that should indeed be entirely up to them. Suppose synthesis technology developed to the point where the Kindle, or something like it, could produce not just an annoying digital voice, but a 3-D holographic projection of the action, entirely extrapolated from the words and the device’s own programming. Science fiction, yes, for now–but is there a fundamental difference?

By: david

david — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:42:42 +0000

Text-to-speech wasn’t the primary factor in my decision to buy a Kindle 2, but it was one of the factors I weighed when making my purchasing decision. And I’m not too happy that amazon can pull back a feature that they promised me. In my opinion, they ought to be making some kind of gesture to their customers as well when they do this — if only to remind us that our opinions are as valuable as publishers are.

By: Amazon caves on text to speech « TechWag

Amazon caves on text to speech « TechWag — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:56:59 +0000

[...] The Author’s Guild is Wrong About the Kindle. And That’s Okay. They’re the Authors… (technologizer.com) [...]

By: Pullman

Pullman — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:52:41 +0000

Well I tell you one thing. I just got my Kindle 2 and I am loving “LISTENING” to $3 porno sex books by Jackie Christian from the Kindle store. This woman writes the best darn erotica that I have ever read in my life!