The Kindle 2: The Good and the Bad
Does Amazon realize what it makes possible for those who struggle with print access? Apparently not. Too bad, because the Kindle 2 truly is a "revolutionary wireless reading device." First, the bad news : Amazon has caved to the Author's Guild and backed away from the Text-to-Speech feature available in the newest Kindle . According to the NY Times , Amazon has released this statement, bowing to pressure, partially excerpted here: Kindle 2�s experimental text-to-speech feature is legal: no copy is made, no derivative work is created, and no performance is being given. Furthermore, we ourselves are a major participant in the professionally narrated audiobooks business through our subsidiaries Audible and Brilliance. We believe text-to-speech will introduce new customers to the convenience of listening to books and thereby grow the professionally narrated audiobooks business. Nevertheless, we strongly believe many rights holders will be more comfortable with the text-to-s...