Update: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos apologizes - see our press release, and Digg this news
This week's Kindle action is going great; together we've generated hundreds of 1-star reviews and tags.
Then there was a great article in Slate by Farhad Manjoo, Amazon's top "expert reviewer" on the Kindle's product page, retracting his recommendation. This would be a perfect article to share with friends and co-workers, to introduce them to the problem of DRM (diggable here).
If you haven't written a review yet, here are direct links to the review forms. Take a few minutes to explain to potential Kindle buyers why they shouldn't get one: 6" Kindle, Kindle DX.
If your review wasn't published by Amazon, definitely let us know. We'll be busy picking our next product to target (if you have any suggestions, email us at info@defectivebydesign.org). In the meantime, we thought we'd share some of our favorite reviews below. Awesome job, everyone.
"I had Kindle in my basket, ready to hit the purchase button. As an avid reader, I thought long and hard about going digital.... However, when the news broke that amazon deleted 1984 from owners' devices, my blood curdled. How stunningly and ironically 1984ish."
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"Amazon has created a book licensing service, not a book selling service. I'm disgusted by the idea that not only can I not share books with friends, but I can't even depend on having them myself."
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"Nice! Not only can you pay an insanely expensive amount for a book reader, Amazon can delete the books you buy too! Sounds like a great deal, doesn't it?"
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"I absolutely love the idea of having a library of books with me wherever I go. I love the choice of reading whatever book wherever I want, whenever I want and not have to search out a bookstore to purchase a book. Amazon provides this service very well. The problem with the Kindle is its restriction on user freedom. When I 'purchase' and ebook from Amazon, I do not own the book in the same way I own a physical book. I am not free to read it wherever I want (on any device I choose) nor can I give it away, share it with my friends, donate it or sell it. The user is entirely at the mercy of the distributor."
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"The technology itself is great. If it weren't for the the proprietary format of the eBooks and the DRM I would definitely get one. Those are killer defects for me, enough to cripple all the advantages of the technology. I want to have as much control over my eBooks as I want over my paper ones."