Share iBook on iPad Purchases

tonal wrote:
All set..thank you.

I was told by someone that had an I pad that u can share, she claims to share all the time, however, I can't get in touch with this person. So is this a fact?that we can share our iBooks with other iPad owners?

I have an iPad and a Mac and my wife has a Kindle. If I buy a book from Amazon, I can share that book between the Mac, the iPad, and the Kindle quite easily.

I don't see how to do that with iBooks from Apple. I don't even see how to link different devices in iTunes to the same account. I've tried several times, and have not been able to see how it works. Maybe you can't. Apple is not nearly as open as Amazon. Not a knock on Apple. Obviously, with a Mac and iPad, I like Apple products a lot. But, I'm a realist and Apple tries to lock you into their space and they don't share nicely. That's a key drawback if you go Apple.

The way I resolve this is that I don't buy anything on iTunes. I buy on Amazon which allows me to share my purchase on my various devices (music, books, etc.). I wish I could use iTunes, but it just too restrictive (or I don't know how to use it). Either way, Amazon is way ahead of the curve here as they make the sharing available, AND easy to use. So, Amazon gets my money, not Apple.

If Apple does not allow one to share a book with a friend or relative then I doubt to many will be buying iBooks. Apple has more than enough money and needs to not be so Greedy. If I buy a real book and wish to share it or give it away I can. Give me real anyday. Thsi will be one of its downfalls. Besides the library is free. I only recently bought an iBook cause it was the only way it was sold. I buy all my music as a CD (real) and then if I wish to load to itunes or share with ANYONE....I can. I work hard for my money so I have a right to what I own.

ddocean, I second your comment. My wife and I have two separate Apple IDs, and it is very incovenient (and unfeasible right now) to become a single Apple ID household. So, we simply do not buy books on iTunes. We use Amazon Kindle or Nook, both with apps on the iPad/iPhone. We have no problem sharing the same Amazon/BN id.

BTW, in Amazon we end up sometimes buying the paperback version, as it is cheaper than the Kindle/iBooks/Nook prices (not even including the tax deduction once you donate the book to Goodwill :-) ).

In my opinion this restrictilons make the economic value of iBooks worhless, especially if you are in a family houshold that like to share books we buy are Barnes and Noble for the same price as iBooks.

This is why we dont but any books on line yet. I have hundreds of books on my shelf I can lend to anyone I want as many times as I want. Paper is good!

"...I work hard for my money so I have a right to what I own."

First, read the EULA you agreed to. Second, who said you "own" that eBook? Again, read the EULA. ;-)

And if you truly believe that you should be able to do whatever you want with what you "own," you should be paying the author for any copy/duplicate you make. Sorry, you can't have it both ways.

Lastly, Apple is not the cultprit here, anyway. The book publishers are the ones who set the rules for what can be done with their products. Period. Do some seraching about the facts. ;-) Book publishers are being just as protective and difficult as the music business is. Stop blaming the messenger.

If my wife and I decide to use the same iStore ID to allow us to share a few ibooks, does that mean we will have a merged identity in other applications, such as mail and facetime? I think that's the problem we started out with and decided to separate our devices into separate IDs. I may be confused about apple ID and iTunes/iStore IDs - are they one in the same?

I realize this is an old thread but I thought I would throw my thoughts in here.

You are of course correct about the EULA. The same is true of a physical book. You cannot make copies and make money from this. You can't even make copies and give them away. This is effectively stealing the hard work of others. But it is common to lend physical books. If this were not the case, libraries would not exist. The fact that digital books are simply a different format shouldn't change this long understood principle. If you want to watch a movie in your house, do you have to pay for the DVD for every person sitting in the room? Of course not. It should be possible to allow a person to read your digital book as long as it's not a copy and only one person can be reading it at a time.

And it is understood that Apple does not set this rule, however, they may be able to put some pressure on the industry. Apple is now the second largest company in the country and has a fair amount of power. They got the music industry to agree to removing DRM from iTunes music content so there's always hope.

I need help

How do I share iBooks with a family member?