Amazon boss Jeff Bezos sounds like he's whining when he comments on Google Books.
Bezos was not very agreeable when it came to Google and its plans to scan "orphan" books, or those without copyright holders, into a massive digital library.
"We have strong opinions that I'm not going to share," he said. "That settlement needs to be revisited and it is being revisited. It doesn't seem right to get a prize for violating a large series of copyrights."
The story and the
story he's "not" commenting on.
Google isn't violating anything, other than Bezos's territory, as far as I can tell. See, the first paragraph says "those without copyright holders". It's hard to be sure, but when there's a $125 million agreement, it's hardly the same thing as scanning a book and putting it on The Pirate Bay while flipping off Doubleday, is it?
Should I feel sympathy for poor Jeff? Was he thinking, in a sympathetic way, of booksellers - or publishers, or even authors - when he launched the Kindle? Please. The man is crushing entire industries with that thing and he's going to whine now, about Google? The man needs to get a grip and stop moaning because someone else has come to play his game.
Of course, Bezos is also quoted as saying "I'm grumpy when I'm forced to read a physical book. You can't turn the pages with one hand." Really? Aw, poor grumpy man... OMG, the world's coming to an end! I need two hands to read a book! What the hell kind of endorsement of the Kindle is
that? What's the guy doing with his other hand, that it's an issue? He's either lazy or ought to broaden his "reading" horizons.
I love Amazon, and I'm not actually a fan of Google, at all. But I am
so annoyed by the feeling here that Jeff thinks his demolition of other industries is "good business", but if Google comes into the sandbox, he's going to turn into a crybaby.
Go shopping, Jeff - it can be done with one hand.
Anna