Pirated eBook: $0.00
# times you can loan: unlimited
# years you can own: unlimited
Resale value: $0.00

That is the waste of human knowledge with time. Failing to secure the knowledge of the world's past is criminal. Digital copies of all published work should exist, in a single location, for the preservation of knowledge.

I agree that rightholders should be able to control access to their content. Perhaps a payment system can be worked into the equation. The cost should be considerably less than print works, simply because digital data doesn't require printing, etc, etc... Orphan works should, however, remain part of our history, and should be accessible. Furthermore, any work in the public domain should be available.

So far, I've bought three books for which excerpts were available. They were scientific works, which I would not have considered buying unless I had seen a preview, to ensure they had the relevant data I needed. I then donated those books to my library.

Win, win, win, for everybody. Vive le googlebooks...

Maybe.

But we don't really need them, since there are plenty of ethical reasons to pirate something for the very sake of pirating.

My landline isn't powered any more, DSL signal only.

It would cost 10 euros a month to have it connected to the phone network/power grid.

Well, in 2009 the audio system is still a complete mess and the screen configuration (setting the resolution and multiscreen settings) not far behind.

So much true.

When Spore was released, I downloaded the iso, mounted, installed, put the crack, et voila. Not a single different line from usual. Works like a charm.

Their aim is definitely to shot at the second-hand market.