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Comment by dfranke | Hacker News Reader

This apology doesn't fly for me. The issue is not with their use of discretion in yanking paid-for content off users' devices. The issue is that they gave themselves that ability to begin with. Once I see that "feature" removed, I'll be happy.

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I actually think it is a textbook apology - short, no excuses and straight to the customers. I think having a quick apology is more important than presenting some kind of ten point plan as the first step.

But I agree that the end of the matter is the solution, not the apology, and we have yet to see how this ends.

If Bezos wanted to fuck around with his apology, he'd have used more cushiony words. "Stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles" doesn't allow for much leeway with how he views Amazon's actions here. He's saying straight out that they made a mistake.

They are apologizing for using the capability the gave themselves but are doing nothing towards a real solution. They still have the ability to remotely wipe your books. I'm glad I never bought a kindle and will not buy one as long as it "licenses" me the books instead of selling them to me.

They are apologizing for using the capability the gave themselves but are doing nothing towards a real solution.

Which is Jeff's modus operandi from way back. Remember the one-click patent, and how he agreed that it was a goofy thing to be allowed to patent, and how he promised to spearhead a patent-reform effort?

I totally agree. I wonder what other unadvertised "features" the kindle has, which are transmitted secretly by the always on wi-fi.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!

The Kindle has a switch on the back that turns off the whispernet. It saves battery life.

I may be wrong, but I read on LinuxJournal review of Kindle 2, that only first generation Kindles have a physical switch for the whispernet. New models activate whispernet automagically.

Perhaps someone with the new Kindle can comment?

With the Kindle 2, you just hit the menu button and turn off Whispernet there.

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