With printed books
You can buy one with cash, anonymously
你能够用现金匿名购买
Then you own it
然后你就拥有了它
You are not required to sign a license that restricts your use of it.
你并不需要签署一份声明去限制自己的使用
The format is known, and no proprietary technology is needed to read the book
可以自由的阅读书本
You have the right to give, lend or sell the book to another
你有权力把书给、租或者卖给别人
You can, physically, copy the book, and it's sometimes lawful under copyright.
你能够物理拷贝书本
Nobody has the power to remotely destroy your book
没有人有权利远程删除你的书本
Contrast that with Amazon ebooks (fairly typical):
与之相比，Amazon电子书是这样的
Amazon requires users to identify themselves to get an ebook
Amazon需要用户自证身份才能拿到电子书
In some countries, including the US, Amazon says the user cannot own the ebook
在某些国家，包括美国，Amazon认为用户不能拥有电子书
Amazon requires the user to accept a restrictive license on use of the ebook
Amazon需要用户签署一份限制用户使用电子书的条款
The format is secret and only proprietary user-restricting software lawfully supports it.
电子书格式是秘密的，只有专有的限制用户权力的软件可以合法的支持这种格式
The Kindle tells Amazon what page the user is reading, plus any notes the user enters
Kindle会告诉Amazon用户读到了哪一页，还有就是用户记得任何笔记
An ersatz “lending” is allowed for some books, for a limited time, but only by specifying by name another user of the same system. No giving or selling
Copying the ebook is blocked by Digital Restrictions Management .
拷贝电子书是被DRM所禁止的
Amazon can remotely delete the ebook using a back door. In 2009, Amazon deleted thousands of copies of George Orwell's 1984. this way
Amazon能够用后门远程删除电子书，在2009年的时候，Amazon用这种方式删除了数千份George Orwell的1984小说的拷贝
Amazon can do anything to a Kindle user through a universal back door.
Amazon能够用通用的后门对Kindle用户做任何事情