They might be ok -- from the website it seems that they are not offering any ownership interest in future profits, but rather "enough beer to match your pledge" and a certificate. Thus, people paying are not "led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party."
I think this is probably a joke though. I don't see how they could actually make it work.
You say that ebook readers should do things that "couldn't be done before," but nothing you describe is really new. Multimedia, hyperlinks, "news feeds"; all of these things have been around for some time, even on handheld devices. The point isn't to blur the line between ebook readers and desktop computers; we're already inundated by multimedia. I agree that ebook readers can do more, but as some of the comments have pointed out, there is something intrinsically enjoyable about reading a novel without hyperlinks, music and other distractions. Do things that haven't been done before, but remember, it's a book we're dealing with here. All media experiences are not to be lumped into one.
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They might be ok -- from the website it seems that they are not offering any ownership interest in future profits, but rather "enough beer to match your pledge" and a certificate. Thus, people paying are not "led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party."
I think this is probably a joke though. I don't see how they could actually make it work.
You say that ebook readers should do things that "couldn't be done before," but nothing you describe is really new. Multimedia, hyperlinks, "news feeds"; all of these things have been around for some time, even on handheld devices. The point isn't to blur the line between ebook readers and desktop computers; we're already inundated by multimedia. I agree that ebook readers can do more, but as some of the comments have pointed out, there is something intrinsically enjoyable about reading a novel without hyperlinks, music and other distractions. Do things that haven't been done before, but remember, it's a book we're dealing with here. All media experiences are not to be lumped into one.