The EU VAT must have something to do with it. After all, if you buy online interstate in the U.S. you are most likely not paying much, if anything, in taxes. Europe has the VAT, plus higher taxes all around on the sale of goods.
I bet they wish they lived in the States! Then they wouldn't pay taxes like that! But then they'd have to pay for crappy healthcare, eldercare, daycare, schools that teach math, etc.
I prefer to think of it as "absconding" with someone else's data, as in "Have you played the new video game from (major developer)?", "Yes, I absconded with it from a bit torrent tracker and have enjoyed playing it." Or maybe "Have you seen the new Hellboy?" "Yeah, I absconded with a DVD-rip and skipped the theaters. Had I gone I would have wanted my ten bucks back."
Um, one thing about the whole DRM/eBook thing: no resale. I work in a used book store (not exactly a tech job, I know) and we do a pretty good business in used books, both as a storefront and over the internet (rare books sell much better on ABEbooks or Amazon than they do out of a storefront). With eBooks, you can't sell your old books for cash or exchange them for other eBooks at a store, lend them to a friend, or sell them yourself over the internet once you've finished reading them. In other words, a traditional book has a very long lifetime and can be enjoyed by several readers many times, can grow in value (1st Ed., inscribed copies, etc), and has a physical presence.
And if you leave on on the seat next to you at the airport you aren't out hundreds of dollars.
Slashdot Mirror
The EU VAT must have something to do with it. After all, if you buy online interstate in the U.S. you are most likely not paying much, if anything, in taxes. Europe has the VAT, plus higher taxes all around on the sale of goods. I bet they wish they lived in the States! Then they wouldn't pay taxes like that! But then they'd have to pay for crappy healthcare, eldercare, daycare, schools that teach math, etc.
I prefer to think of it as "absconding" with someone else's data, as in "Have you played the new video game from (major developer)?", "Yes, I absconded with it from a bit torrent tracker and have enjoyed playing it." Or maybe "Have you seen the new Hellboy?" "Yeah, I absconded with a DVD-rip and skipped the theaters. Had I gone I would have wanted my ten bucks back."
Um, one thing about the whole DRM/eBook thing: no resale. I work in a used book store (not exactly a tech job, I know) and we do a pretty good business in used books, both as a storefront and over the internet (rare books sell much better on ABEbooks or Amazon than they do out of a storefront). With eBooks, you can't sell your old books for cash or exchange them for other eBooks at a store, lend them to a friend, or sell them yourself over the internet once you've finished reading them. In other words, a traditional book has a very long lifetime and can be enjoyed by several readers many times, can grow in value (1st Ed., inscribed copies, etc), and has a physical presence.
And if you leave on on the seat next to you at the airport you aren't out hundreds of dollars.