Slightly off topic - Ebooks

[omegahalo-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org (Chris O'Connell)]

Hi everyone,

I like the idea of getting an ebook reader, but am concerned about the
proprietary format these new devices seem to use.  My concern stems mainly
from the idea that if I buy an ebook on, say the iPad, I would not be able
to move the book to my Linux computer, a Kindle or any other type of device.

I've done some googling on this topic, but there does not seem to be tons of
information about this formatting question.

Does anyone have thoughts on this?

Thanks!

Chris