Except... it's not at all close to paper. I've had a Kindle for a year and it's my main reading device, and the fact that the "paper" is about 30% gray, not even *close* to white, is the thing that bugs me the most. Of course the blacks are nowhere near as black as print either, so the overall contrast level is tiny compared to paper. I can easily read a paper book in light levels that are way too low to read my Kindle2. The main way it's "very close to paper" is that it's illuminated by ambient light.
(Not to say I don't love it -- the convenience factor is amazing.)
Interestingly, when Cyanogen (homebrew Android ROM maker) was C&D'ed by Google, someone wrote an app to support him (simple voting/contrib app). Of course since there's no approval process needed, it shot to the top of the popularity charts in no time.
The problem is that the skriptkiddie virus kits all get written by a few smart folks, who pass around techniques like patching netstat (or the network stack). So it's not that the botnet author worries about this, it's that it's a known technique so all the rootkits just implement it as a matter of course. Hang around the cracker groups a while and your eyes will be opened.
Android's open source, people have root access, they can flash new ROMs any time, and you don't see cell towers bursting into flames from this. Apple's just spreading FUD. That horse has already left the barn, and Apple is left holding the door.
What do you think a subsidized e-book would go for? -$5.00 perhaps?
I'm partly serious. There are still production (scanning, proofing, formatting) and distribution (whispernet) costs even though they're smaller than with hardcopy, and royalties which are unchanged.
They do subsidize the books (if by subsidize you mean "sell for less than hardcopy"). I just bought Outliers for Kindle for $9.99; hardcopy is $14.83 from Amazon, or $18.19 from B&N.
System going down in 5 minutes.