I'm probably totally missing the [sarcasm] and [joke] tags on your comment, but the Tesla is certainly the most successful electric car in it's class (or at all right now), and realistically, SpaceX is the most realistic alternative to the Russians. None of the other commercial space companies have anything remotely close to being ready for service; Jeff Bezos' "Blue Trampoline" or whatever he calls it is a "vanity" project that has a long, long way to go to be taken seriously.

Did they? All the sources I looked at say Chrome is the leader (followed by IE, then Firefox).

People say "six of one, a half dozzen of the other", but I'll still take Google fiber of anything relatd to Comcast. And don't fool yourself, all broadband providers track and profile their users, I might as well get decent high-speed out of the deal.

Even if Microsoft drove all the software companies out of business, they still wouldn't be a monopoly because there is plenty of free software...

No. Although they do have a huge retail place and a separate Technical Books store, they actually do most of their business on-line.

No, that's not the Amazon plan. In fact, they are trying to drive publishers out of business and force authors to deal directly with them, as the only choice. As the de facto monopoly, they can dictate to the authors what they will pay, and it ain't going to be pretty.

Sure they are. But that doesn't make it right.

Cheap books now, but in the long run, fewer choices.

...that consumers dump Amazon in favor of Powell's Books.

It's difficult to take seriously someone who doesn't understand punctuation and basic grammar.

[Citation Needed]

But also, Osteopathy leaps a bit toward the âoealternative medicineâ side of things, it wouldnâ(TM)t surprise me if Osteopaths have some issues with medical articles based on more traditional medicine.

Having said that, how dare these quacks question the accuracy of Wikipedia! Donâ(TM)t they know they can run the gantlet of snooty Uber Editors with âoeownership issuesâ and correct these articles themselves? Of course you can be banned doing thatâ¦

oOOOOoooo! Chelsea Clinton! Sexy!

Exactly the point of why monopolies like Amazon are not good for society. Amazon's day of reckoning is coming, I'm surprised the European Union has not already taken them to task. It will happen.

Sure, you say, "How are cheaper books not good for me?" Amazon destroys local economies. If you want to race to the bottom and live in Soylent Green or A Clockwork Orange, you have no problems with this.

Here in the USA, if you must buy via the Internet, try http://www.powells.com/

CR, you've turned this into a "paper vs ebook" argument, but I think you miss Strosss point: Amazon's monopolistic stranglehold on distribution forces the price down which puts publishers out of business. This results in Amazon being the dominant publisher, working directly with authors. But it also allows Amazon to dictate to authors what they will pay, just as they did with the traditional publishers. This is not "free market", it is a monopoly no less than Microsoft was, and it's not good for consumer choice.

Second point: It may not seem like it here at Slashdot, but the desire to have and to hold and to read "real" books is not dead. Certain segments of the current generation might feel that way, but I don't see it. The bookstores in my town are always busy, the library in my town is always busy, and many of the books (of the so-called "dead tree" variety) are often on hold by several library patrons before I get to check them out. I suppose you're going to say "What a quaint idea! To check out a book!", but many people still enjoy the experience of turning pages...

I know I'm probably the minority, but when I buy a technical book in electronic form, I immediately print it out and put it in a three-ring binder, much easier to locate what I'm interested and flip back and forth between sections... And here's the high-tech sacrilege: I print them out single-sided with wide margins. I use the blank side for notes...

Now get off my lawn.

Many people have opined about the suspicious behavior of the bot known as "Karpeles" ... More recently, this bot has been very quiet.

Are those rounded corners? Isn't there a patent on that?