Book vending at railway stations

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Shouldn't there be such vending machines with a screen, USB socket, SD slot (both covered with hatch till you purchase) and WiFi so that ebooks can be bought too?

Originally Posted by Quoth

I'd thought about it before for physical bookshops and decided it wasn't a viable idea. Physical bookshops could maybe have POD eventually.

Not a vending machine for ebooks, but something along similar lines: If you take a Nook into a Barnes and Noble store and connect to the store's WiFi, you can sample a book for an hour. Not limited to the free sample otherwise available at websites. You can of course, buy the book as well.

[haertig]

I normally load my Paperwhite with a dozen or so books before a trip so I'll have plenty of choices for a new book to start. But on rare occasions, I have wished that I had loaded a book that I did not. So I pull out my cellphone and use the web browser to connect to my Calibre Web server at home. I download the book to the cellphone. I can either read it on the cellphone with Moon+ reader, or I can transfer it to my Paperwhite. I have not actually done the Paperwhite transfer in the past, but I think I am set up to do that. I have an OTG USB cable ("On The Go") with USB-C on one end (my cellphone) and microUSB on the other (my Paperwhite 4). I need to try if this will work. It has worked just fine for other devices. My point-n-shoot camera specifically. I take a picture with the camera, transfer that to the cellphone with the OTG cable, then upload it over the cellular network using the web browser on the cellphone. My only question is when I plug the Paperwhite into the cellphone, what will the cellphone see in regards to the Paperwhite? Will I be able to find the correct directory on the Paperwhite to copy the book to? I just need to try it and see what happens. I don't want to ever take my Paperwhite out of airplane mode, hence me buying that OTG cable.

[ownedbycats]

Idea: Partner with eReader vendors. Instead of plugging your device into a strange kiosk (security risk and inconvenient), have the kiosk instead provide a voucher code which can be inputted into the reader (or reader app on the smartphone) and download to the device over a provided wifi connection.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by haertig

I normally load my Paperwhite with a dozen or so books before a trip so I'll have plenty of choices for a new book to start. But on rare occasions, I have wished that I had loaded a book that I did not. So I pull out my cellphone and use the web browser to connect to my Calibre Web server at home. I download the book to the cellphone. I can either read it on the cellphone with Moon+ reader, or I can transfer it to my Paperwhite. I have not actually done the Paperwhite transfer in the past, but I think I am set up to do that. I have an OTG USB cable ("On The Go") with USB-C on one end (my cellphone) and microUSB on the other (my Paperwhite 4). I need to try if this will work. It has worked just fine for other devices. My point-n-shoot camera specifically. I take a picture with the camera, transfer that to the cellphone with the OTG cable, then upload it over the cellular network using the web browser on the cellphone. My only question is when I plug the Paperwhite into the cellphone, what will the cellphone see in regards to the Paperwhite? Will I be able to find the correct directory on the Paperwhite to copy the book to? I just need to try it and see what happens. I don't want to ever take my Paperwhite out of airplane mode, hence me buying that OTG cable.

File browsers are somewhat variable on Android but with a good one it should just mount as a USB drive and you'll be able to see all contents and copy files between them. But yeah, you need a file browser if your phone doesn't have one.

One advantage of using an Android eReader is I can use Nearby Share to transfer books/documents to my eReader without a cable or anything.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Idea: Partner with eReader vendors. Instead of plugging your device into a strange kiosk (security risk and inconvenient), have the kiosk instead provide a voucher code which can be inputted into the reader (or reader app on the smartphone) and download to the device over a provided wifi connection.

What would be the point of that when the ereader can already download the book from Amazon/B&N/Kobo/etc.? Also, the stores don't need to pay any percentage to a third party 'vending machine' that at that point is adding dubious value.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

What would be the point of that when the ereader can already download the book from Amazon/B&N/Kobo/etc.? Also, the stores don't need to pay any percentage to a third party 'vending machine' that at that point is adding dubious value.

I was thinking the kiosk would be able to take cash while eReader stores can't

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I was thinking the kiosk would be able to take cash while eReader stores can't

That indeed is the only value. You can only buy paper books in a physical store today if you want to be anonymous. Autocratic regimes are now estimated to be about 50% of countries rather than 20% some years ago. There are certainly countries were buying books, news, video or music is safer anonymously. Even free Internet downloads are not anonymous.
Bookshop owners can vanish in some countries. So really an anonymous ebook vending machine would be unlikely to be allowed. Some countries now ban not just two way internet by satellite but even home TV dishes. A dish on a balcony inside a plastic box will work, so some cities have a high mast in the direction of a popular satellite with a jammer pointed at the city. Cuba has hosted uplink jamming to disrupt USA East coast sat feeds on satellites over the Atlantic downlinking to parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Idea: Partner with eReader vendors. Instead of plugging your device into a strange kiosk (security risk and inconvenient), have the kiosk instead provide a voucher code which can be inputted into the reader (or reader app on the smartphone) and download to the device over a provided wifi connection.

You'd have to trust the shop that the WiFi isn't malicious. Man in the Middle attacks on HTTPS do work. Only a VPN is safe.

Sadly even democratic countries have used "fake" cell/mobile sites (they are portable and the mast bit can be remote and about shoe-box size) without even a warrant to do MiM attacks. It's certainly a lot more costly to have a malicious mobile/Cell base station than WiFi airpoint, but affordable even for a rich individual or criminal organisation.

Copper based phone, fax and even xDSL is easily "listened to". A MiM attack on xDSL isn't hard. Pretty hard on DOCSIS 2.x or 3.x cable (insider "attack" with permission of ISP or an edge router in ISP with a backdoor is the way to do cable internet. I'm not sure about gpon fibre to the home as I've not been involved with designing stuff for that.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Quoth

... You can only buy paper books in a physical store today if you want to be anonymous. ...

I think you could buy anonymously if you wanted to, at least in the U.S.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Quoth

That indeed is the only value. You can only buy paper books in a physical store today if you want to be anonymous. Autocratic regimes are now estimated to be about 50% of countries rather than 20% some years ago. There are certainly countries were buying books, news, video or music is safer anonymously. Even free Internet downloads are not anonymous.
Bookshop owners can vanish in some countries. So really an anonymous ebook vending machine would be unlikely to be allowed. Some countries now ban not just two way internet by satellite but even home TV dishes. A dish on a balcony inside a plastic box will work, so some cities have a high mast in the direction of a popular satellite with a jammer pointed at the city. Cuba has hosted uplink jamming to disrupt USA East coast sat feeds on satellites over the Atlantic downlinking to parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Buy gift card with cash. Create new account with burner email. Buy book. Remove DRM. Read book?

[haertig]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

What would be the point of that when the ereader can already download the book from Amazon/B&N/Kobo/etc.?

The same could be said for bottled water. Why buy it from a vendor when you could bring it from home or just walk over to the water fountain a few steps away?

It's just advertising, trying to generate an impulse buy. The novelty of it would no doubt snag some people as well. "Wow, look! You can buy an ebook from this vending machine! I've got to try that!!!" Without giving two seconds of thought to the fact that they already have 349 ebooks loaded onto their Kindle. It may be a silly concept, but that doesn't mean it won't make money anyway!

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by haertig

It may be a silly concept, but that doesn't mean it won't make money anyway!

I actually think it would make very little money. I think very few people would be interested. That's why I don't think it will happen.
Could be totally wrong though.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by haertig

The same could be said for bottled water. Why buy it from a vendor when you could bring it from home or just walk over to the water fountain a few steps away?

I guess. But your argument reminds me of a decade ago when every business pitch would start with "Starbucks convinced people to pay $5 for a cup of coffee..." Yeah, Starbucks did that. Everyone else quoted them because nobody else was able to do something similar.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I guess. But your argument reminds me of a decade ago when every business pitch would start with "Starbucks convinced people to pay $5 for a cup of coffee..." Yeah, Starbucks did that. Everyone else quoted them because nobody else was able to do something similar.

Except for the bottled water people!

[Quoth]

Costa was the big alternative to Starbucks in UK & Ireland. Owned by a pub chain. Now owned by Coca-Cola who also are a major bottled water seller.
Covering all the bases?