Comment Print Reprint Email

10 Dumbest Things on Wall Street in 2009 (Part 2)

BY Gregg Greenberg | 12/31/09 - 12:59 PM EST

Comment

Link

See what Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link are trading today.

4. Amazon.com Re-Kindles Orwell

(Originally published 7/24/09)

Somebody call the Thought Police! Amazon (AMZN ) stole my Kindle copy of 1984.

The online bookseller enraged customers last Friday when it remotely deleted electronic editions of certain books already purchased by readers for their Kindle devices. Ironically, and quite hilariously, one of those books wiped out by Amazon was the George Orwell dystopian classic set in a nightmarish world in which speech is repressed by a dark, omnipresent overlord called Jeff Bezos ... oops, we mean Big Brother. Our bad.

Amazon sends its digital books to Kindle owners over a wireless network. Amazon can also use that network to synchronize electronic books between devices and remove books entirely.

In an email message to customers, Amazon tried to explain away the mix-up, saying the books were added to the Kindle store by a company that did not own the rights to them.

"When we were notified of this by the rights holder, we removed the illegal copies from our systems and from customers' devices, and refunded customers," said Drew Herdener, Amazon's Minister of Truth.

Darn! We meant the director of communications. Sorry again.

"We are changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers' devices in these circumstances," said Herdener.

An authorized digital edition of 1984 from its American publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is still available on the Kindle. The U.S. copyright on 1984 does not expire until 2044, but it has already expired in other countries, including Canada, Australia and Russia where readers can download digital copies of the book without fear of committing a thoughtcrime.

Wait! Not a thoughtcrime, we mean breaking the law. ... Hey, what are you Amazon guys doing here? ... Get your hands off us! ... Where are you taking us? ... What do you mean re-education?...

Five Dumbest Final Thoughts -- All hail Jeff Bezos. All hail Jeff Bezos.

« First ‹ Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Next › Last »

Select the service that is right for you!

COMPARE ALL SERVICES

Action Alerts PLUS

TRY IT FREE

Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link actively manage a real portfolio and reveal their money management tactics while giving advanced notice before every trade.

Product Features:

$2.5+ million portfolio
Large-cap and dividend focus
Intraday trade alerts from Cramer
Weekly roundups

Dividend Stock Advisor

TRY IT FREE

New! $49.95/yr

Jim Cramer's protege, David Peltier, identifies the best of breed dividend stocks that will pay a reliable AND significant income stream.

Product Features:

Diversified model portfolio of dividend stocks
Alerts when market news affect the portfolio
Bi-weekly updates with exact steps to take - BUY, HOLD, SELL

Stocks Under $10

TRY IT FREE

David Peltier, uncovers low dollar stocks with extraordinary upside potential that are flying under Wall Street's radar.

Product Features:

Model portfolio
Stocks trading below $10
Intraday trade alerts
Weekly roundups

Real Money

TRY IT FREE

24/7 market commentary from Jim Cramer and 20+ veteran Wall Street gurus. Get access to the latest trading ideas on stocks, options, and ETFs as well as a real-time forum to see the pros exchanging their investment ideas.

Product Features:

Jim Cramer + 20 Wall Street pros
Intraday commentary & news
Real-time trading forum
Actionable trade ideas

Real Money Pro

TRY IT FREE

All of Real Money, plus 15 more of Wall Street's sharpest minds delivering actionable trading ideas, a comprehensive look at the market, and fundamental and technical analysis.

Product Features:

Real Money + Doug Kass + 15 more Wall Street Pros
Intraday commentary & news
Ultra-actionable trading ideas

Options Profits

TRY IT FREE

Our options trading pros provide daily market commentary and over 100 monthly option trading ideas and strategies to help you become a well-seasoned trader.

Product Features:

100+ monthly options trading ideas
Actionable options commentary & news
Real-time trading community
Options TV

To begin commenting right away, you can log in below using your Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, OpenID or Yahoo login credentials. Alternatively, you can post a comment as a "guest" just by entering an email address. Your use of the commenting tool is subject to multiple terms of service/use and privacy policies - see here for more details.