Amazon and Barnes and Noble… Take Down Those Walls

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Posted By: May 28, 2010
Amazon and Barnes and Noble... Take Down Those Walls Listen to this article

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I saw a Barnes and Noble nook in the flesh for the first time this week. (I bought one when released but sold it without opening the box.) I was impressed. Seriously, I loved the hardware and could definitely see myself using one. The only problem is… I have a huge number of books that I purchased through Amazon and Kindle books won’t work on the nook (and nook books won’t work on the Kindle.)

Currently if you have books that you purchased through one but a new eReader that you would love to buy comes out on the other you either have to pass on the eReader or buy all new books. That might be fine if you use the reader for fiction books that you read just once but it doesn’t work if, like me, you have reference books on them.

All of which leads me to this…

I want to invite you to join with me and sign a petition demanding that Amazon and Barnes and Noble open their devices to other eBook formats.

So what do you say… Will you join me?

What’s that you say? The idea is stupid and absurd? They have every right to control what books go on THEIR device?

I could not agree more!

But the next time you start in about Apple’s “walled garden” remember this… As of this morning you can read iBooks, Kindle books and nook books on the iPad. Try that on a nook or a Kindle.

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.