Give me a Hand Pulling My Soapbox Over Here, Will Ya?

My feeling about the Evil E-readers is most likely known to many here, although it has been awhile since I pulled out my soapbox..
And yet..I will admit that on occasion, these Evil E-reader do tempts even me, if just a little bit.

Recently I was up in NY state for the weekend with my brother and sister-in-law and the SIL is the owner of an Evil Kindle. Yes, much about it is wrong, especially the Kindle's proprietary format. But having the choice of all those books on one thin little device, where as I was limited to the one bulky book I could fit in my suitcase...yes, I can see some advantage, at least for traveling.

But I will still wait. Wait for the industry to deal with some still huge issues.

Recently there was an article in the Wall Street Journal that discussed several of the issues that we hold outs have. Bottom line, I want to be able to control the “books” that I buy. But that is not yet the case.

“Reading devices like the iPad, Kindle and Nook will come and go, but you'll likely want your e-book collection to stick around. Yet unlike music, commercial e-books from the leading online stores come with restrictions that complicate your ability to move your collection from one device to the next.”

Things seem to be getting a little better, be opening up a bit. Apple, using some free apps, allows you to open your Amazon purchased Kindle books on a number of different devices now, like the iPhone and a PC. Also books purchased from Sony's bookstore and Borders Kobo can be opened on some other devices using Adobe Digital Editions to transfer them. And I am sure there are also some less than fully legal methods out there to even open up the Amazon software...but why does it have to be so complicated? I want it simple. Buy what I want, where I want, read it with any device I like and do with it what I will. Is that too much to ask?

As I see it, there are two separate issues. First, you want to decide which device you want to buy. Which is easier, nicer to read, most versatile, what is the cost...just like any other devices you buy.
Second, you want to decide where, at what e-bookstore, you buy your “books”. Again, who has the best selection, are easiest to download, has the best prices. I want to buy my books and do with them what I want. Read them on any device I own, loan them out, give them away, just like I can with a “real” book.
Why should one decision have anything to do with the other?
Why, oh why, should it be so complicated, so restricted?

But perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel, as the WSJ says, a way that Google seem to be exploring in it's soon to be release commercial service.

“Google, which plans to launch an e-bookstore later this year, says customers will be able to access its books through apps on popular devices and through a Web browser on any device—including a phone or computer. Google's argument is that we shouldn't lock ourselves into one bookstore if it is going to offer titles that are dependent on special apps or devices.”

The simply answer is that all the e-bookstores except the industry standard of the e-Pub format, without adding their own restrictive DMR (digital rights management) software, just as the music industry finally had to except the m3p format. But...

“For now, the e-bookstore choice comes down to which compromises readers are willing to accept.”

How about none? So, in the meantime, I will still be waiting.