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Monday, June 18, 2012

Books / Money The State Department Cozies Up with Amazon.com, but Might Not Go All the Way

Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 12:30 PM

On Friday, Laura Hazard Owen at PaidContent reported on a State Department press release:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will announce the global launch of the Kindle Mobile Learning Initiative on Wednesday, June 20 at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

Described in a Friday afternoon press release as a “public-private partnership with Amazon and the U.S. government,” the program is designed to create “a global e-reader program that introduces aspects of U.S. society and culture directly to young people, students, and international audiences in new ways and expands English language learning opportunities worldwide.”

Now, tech journalist Rob Pegoraro says that press conference has been canceled. I haven't seen any official word as to why, but lots of bloggers are upset at the amount of money being spent on these devices. Here's what PaidContent said about the deal on Friday:

According to the information we have so far, the State Department would spend $2.29 million in the first year of the program, including a purchase of 2,500 Kindles, and the maximum cost of the program over five years would be $16.5 million, including a maximum of 7,000 Kindles per year. As I reported earlier this week, the potential program’s non-device costs are substantial but we don’t know yet which e-books will be preloaded on the Kindles.

Besides the huge amount of money changing hands, the big problem with distributing Kindles is that it locks the recipients into Amazon.com's proprietary Kindle e-book format, making it highly unlikely that the new Kindle owners will purchase or download books from any other online e-bookseller. This is a story to keep an eye on this week, for sure.

UPDATE 2:45 PM: Now, the official word is that the press conference has been postponed, with no rescheduled date announced.

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Kindle's can load PDF's, HTML, and few other formats as well. There's nothing stopping the government version from reading ePUB or anything else.

Posted by arbeck

on June 18, 2012 at 12:47 PM

Also, many public libraries loan e-books in the Kindle format. That's how I read most of my books these days. I use the Kindle app on my tablet, and check out the books wherever I happen to be.

Posted by Rob in Baltimore

on June 18, 2012 at 12:55 PM

1,2

The only way to use cross "compatible" formats is with the USB cord...meaning you need a whole other computer.

You can't download them directly using the Kindle's wifi or manage them in your Amazon Kindle web library.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on June 18, 2012 at 1:00 PM

I don't need a USB cable to get library books.

And the current limitation on other formats is something they could fix in 30 seconds of coding for a government version.

Suggesting that this was called off because of the kindle format is just trolling.

Posted by arbeck

on June 18, 2012 at 1:03 PM

You know, while concerns of Amazon becoming a monopoly may be valid, I have never had better fucking access to all the bizarre books I never would have had the opportunity to touch otherwise. Amazon, at this stage, is good for the consumer.

First off, how is this story even fucking newsworthy? The amounts of money involved are a fucking pittance when considered against the real crime being committed within government. Why don't you cover that, for chrissakes? I have this vibe that this all has to do with limousine-liberal discomfort with successful business--every successful business aside Apple--apparently. And that's just it. You like the things that are popular for trust-fund children who drink coffee on a Monday morning rather than vodka on a Sunday night. Other enterprise is all suspect.

I don't see a bit progressive about you people. Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive, and he was a fucking badass. There's not a whole lot "badass" in liberal politics today. So much empty posturing and loathing of the typical.

Posted by Central Scrutinizer on June 18, 2012 at 1:08 PM

3, Maybe it's different for tablets than it is for the stand alone Kindles, but when I sign out a book, the library's site links to the Amazon's Kindle Store, and it just loads into the Kindle app when I sync it with Amazon.

Posted by Rob in Baltimore

on June 18, 2012 at 1:13 PM

#5: potty mouth! 4 "fucking"s in three paragraphs. It is not a requirement to say this word when you post on Slog, you know. Some may think it is, but it isn't.

Posted by Sterno on June 18, 2012 at 1:37 PM

@Rob - Checking out a Kindle book also requires you to go to Amazon's website, whereas other library ebook formats allow you to remain on your library's website. Public librarians aren't very happy that their patrons are being directed to a commercial website to access library content, which is a public service.

Amazon knows when it's got customers, other companies, nonprofits - and now apparently government programs - by the balls, and they know exactly how to squeeze.

Posted by Chelydra_serpentina on June 18, 2012 at 1:41 PM

@3 - wrong.... You CAN send documents via the WiFi. The 'send to Kindle' software was released for Mac and the Minesweeper OS a few months ago. Authoritative as usual, STFU.

Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber

on June 18, 2012 at 2:44 PM

8, I don't know what the big deal about going to the Amazon site. The Kindle site is actually easier than the library's, and the Kindle app is miles ahead of the Overdrive Media e-book the library uses.

Posted by Rob in Baltimore

on June 18, 2012 at 5:11 PM

@everyone who shouted at me

Even if you can do some of this without the USB you still need a whole PC in order to set it up! The direct Kindle interace does not let you access the library and the web browser is piss poor.

Contrast that with a$59 Android tablet from Walmart which IS a whole computer and can also run the Kindle app for Android!!

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on June 18, 2012 at 8:21 PM