The Original Big Brother is Watching You on Amazon Kindle

The Original Big Brother is Watching You on Amazon Kindle

www.guardian.co.uk

One of my most treasured possessions is a copy of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, a battered paperback which has seen better days. I've lent it to countless people, and every time it's come back more rumpled than before. Some of the pages have coffee stains on them; the spine is cracked; the cover has fold marks from being hurriedly stuffed into raincoat pockets. It may look a mess, but it's still readable. And it's mine...

(visit the link for the full news article)

I could be overheard saying such...although it is a quote from the article.

My favorite line from above..."And it is mine."
What's not to love about a book that you own?

And who wants Big Bro watching your every move? I dont...
That is why I would never own this little spy machine in the first place...

But do many of you know this?

."The device software will provide Amazon with data about your device and its interaction with the service ... and information related to the content on your device and your use of it (such as automatic bookmarking of the last page read and content deletions from the device). Annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar markings you make in your device are backed up through the service."

Make no mistake...
The same company that erased electronic copies of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm for their Kindles is spying on you!

On Friday 17 July both books suddenly disappeared from the Kindle.

This was not because of a technical glitch - the texts were remotely deleted, without warning - by Amazon.

Which of course brought to mind Orwell's account in Nineteen Eighty-Four of how government censors in the future would erase all traces of news articles embarrassing to Big Brother by sending them down an incineration chute called the "memory hole".

We're sleepwalking into a nightmare of perfect remote control. If nothing else, the tale of Amazon, Orwell and the memory hole ought to serve as a wake-up call.

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

The only reason the books were deleted was because the publisher that put them on Kindle didn't have the rights to them. This is no different than the police repossessing a stolen item that you bought on eBay. At least in this case the people got their money back. They are free to go and re-buy one of the many other copies of those books that are on Amazon from publishers who legally own the rights to them, and pick up where they left off.

reply to post by LiquidLight


Perhaps...although I am not comfortable with this:

."The device software will provide Amazon with data about your device and its interaction with the service ... and information related to the content on your device and your use of it (such as automatic bookmarking of the last page read and content deletions from the device). Annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar markings you make in your device are backed up through the service."

Of course I do not own a Kindle...never will. What privacy I still have, I cherish.

I'm not going to say that this isn't a privacy violation, but at least they tell you they're doing it so you can make your own decision on whether or not the convenience is worth the invasion. For me, I couldn't care less if Big Brother knows what I'm reading and what page I'm on.

reply to post by LiquidLight


Trusting soul?



Even Amazon's Kindle's own TOS doesn't allow Amazon to remove an e-book after it’s been bought.

the idea of a company reaching on to my device and removing content I had put on there is beyond the pale UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Imagine Apple deciding somehow that the music on your iPod wasn't there legitimately and deleting it for you?

Entelligence




[edit on 25-7-2009 by burntheships]