Its possible to buy DRM free ebooks from itch.io and it is where I get everything that I can.
Amazon’s killing a feature that let you download and backup Kindle books
Submitted 1 year ago by misk@sopuli.xyz to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theverge.com/news/612898/amazon-removing-kindle-book-download-transfer-usb
Comments
StarlightDust@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
roofuskit@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Adding on to this that Barnes and Noble sells DRMed ePUB files that are relatively easy to strip DRM from using Calibre.
So if you can’t find a book anywhere else, at least they don’t use a proprietary format and still allow you to download your books using their PC software.
I was a semi-early adopter in the ebook space and I have refused to get onboard with the kindle ecosystem from the start. There’s no reason for their proprietary format other than complete control over things they pretend to sell you. Amazon is also the Walmart of books and uses their position to browbeat publishers and authors into taking smaller cuts of sales.
Rozz@lemmy.sdf.org 1 year ago
Do the non-kindle e-readers link to Libby? I may eventually try to get my wife and I off our kindles and she uses that when she can.
JustTesting@lemmy.hogru.ch 1 year ago
EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 1 year ago
I hate Amazon’s proprietary format too because one time it was the only download available and my reader just can’t display it!!
LordCrom@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I told people years ago. You don’t own those books.
I own my books… They are made out of this thing called paper and line the wall of my office. All the volumes I value I have of copy of for myself and future generations of my family
tomkatt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
And mine are digital, DRM stripped, stored locally, backed up to my NAS, and cloud.
Don’t be a Luddite.
almost1337@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I’m quite glad that I never bought fully into Kindle/Nook/Kobo and instead went with an eInk Android tablet.
Lem453@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Kobo connected to calibre web is the ultimate freedom/privacy ereader
Rolder@reddthat.com 1 year ago
I’ve got a kobo Clara HD with plenty of pirated books on it, works pretty well, would recommend
Dil@is.hardlywork.ing 1 year ago
im glad i didnt even try eink, i just went to best buy tried the cheapest tablets and the s9 fe works perfectly for me, wanted to like the p12 lenovo but the brightness was terrible on it, couldn’t see shit. I think id be dissapointed in my reading experience if eink is so much nicer, i like having options to watch media and do other stuff
EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 1 year ago
I used to have a normal tablet before buying my e-reader and can say with certainty it is night and day difference. So much more comfortable to read on e-ink. Even comics are usually good in black-and-white.
roofuskit@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Kobo and Nook ebooks are still ePUB and easy enough to free from their DRM.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Technically, official Kobo books are KEPUB, which is their own proprietary version of EPUB they use for their store, but they can read EPUB and other formats just fine. And if they don’t, Calibre solves that problem.
(Converting books to KEPUB is sometimes worth it, especially if they have illustrations mixed in with the text, because then you are able to do things more easily like zoom in to the image on the reader.)
scottrepreneur@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Which model did you end up with? Do you like it?
almost1337@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I went with a Box Note Air 3C, and it’s great. I hear the new model is basically the same but faster.
polysics@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I sure am glad I got a Kobo for myself for Xmas and ripped all my books to it. Guess I’ll be recycling my Kindle for good.
sunshine@lemmy.ml 1 year ago
I just got a Kobo color (don’t recommend the color feature; no book is ever going to use it except the red-letter Bible and House of Leaves) and gifted the old Kindle to a friend. I e-reader is an awesome gift actually because for a lot of people it’s something they would never evenly in years take a chance on, but that they would love it if they tried.
phx@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
The color might make more sense if you’re into manga or graphical novels as opposed to just ebooks
amos@mander.xyz 1 year ago
Interesting that you don’t recommend Kobo Color. I was thinking of gifting my mother a kobo but I might just go for a BW version.
lepinkainen@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s semi-decent for comics if you massage them a bit
ChapulinColorado@lemmy.world 1 year ago
If your model accepts a custom OS, some of them make decent e-ink displays for weather, family photos, etc.
polysics@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah I’ve actually thought about doing that and making it an office desk calendar or something. Thanks for reminding me!
billwashere@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m guessing audible will follow soon after.
KeefChief13@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Knew this would happen
ghashul@feddit.dk 1 year ago
I’m glad I started converting all my amazon books long ago. When I finally got a Kobo last month, there were no issues since the work was done.
TheFunkyMonk@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I noticed this feature wasn’t available for my Colorsoft and asked support about it. They assured me it would be added later. This is exactly what I expected to happen.
Pika@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
you returned it as soon as that was the answer right? I know that would be my answer.
R3D4CT3D@midwest.social 1 year ago
you will own nothing & like it
/s
JoMiran@lemmy.ml 1 year ago
__init__@programming.dev 1 year ago
I’m waiting for them to get rid of the send-to-kindle email thing to receive books from calibre. I’m surprised it has survived for this long. I’ve wanted to try out a kobo but can’t justify it cause my 10+ year old kindle still works perfectly fine for reading. But once they remove that feature or drop support for my device, it’s kobo time.
ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Check out boox for a properly open(-ish) platform, it’s android based.
njordomir@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Apparently Boox has been a stomping all over the GPL licensing terms. You can find a lot of info on it, but here is a non-reddit link: www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277431
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Totally did not see this coming. Like, fifteen years ago or whenever.
Yingwu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Absurd. Glad I have a Kobo.
lepinkainen@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Just swapped to a Libra Colour last month and I’m feeling better about the choice every day
CarbonBasedNPU@lemm.ee 1 year ago
My libra 2 breaking just after they were discontinued will forever be an unhappy event. I know the libra colour exists but I can not stand color e-ink screens.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The Kobo Clara Color’s screen doesn’t look any different to me with non-color eBooks than their non-color version. The only thing that’s really different is that the book cover you see when it’s powered off is in color. Now I will admit that e-ink color is not very good, but it doesn’t ruin the experience of reading just a regular book.
Yingwu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Wow, I just bought it last year before they discontinued it then. Interesting that only colour screens are available now. It must mean that they are at least as good though?
End0fLine@midwest.social 1 year ago
I switched to Kobo a few years and couldn’t be happier. I hated supporting Amazon.
andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 1 year ago
Yep. Not to gloat, but I never touched Amazon’s ebook marketplace.
My current e-reader is a second-hand Kindle that has a permanent message asking if I would just please connect to a WiFi network just one time just for a moment PLEEEEEASE.
I get my books from libgen, Gutenberg, or Kobo, and keep them on my computer. They’re organized in Calibre, and I transfer them over on a USB cable.
afterworkparty@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I know I switched ages ago but I’ve never managed to port my existing library of ebooks off the kindle
GoumLeChat@jlai.lu 1 year ago
That’s why I avoided Kindle and picked a Kobo. Sure you can remove DRMs from the books you’ve bought. But at some point they could block you from doing that. They can change anything at anytime and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Anivia@feddit.org 1 year ago
It’s pretty easy to jailbreak a Kindle and block firmware updates. But the fact that it is necessary in the first place sucks
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
That is no different than Kobo. Thus far, Rakuten have been pretty good about not caring more than the bare minimum. But there is nothing stopping them from doing the same bullshit with firmware updates to the kobos and drm updates to the store and apps.
I am finally migrating from kindle to kobo (tried kindle to boox last year and it was bad…) but I am under no illusions that I am just hoping one company is better than another. I mean, the other is Amazon so it is a pretty safe bet. But still.
zecg@lemmy.world 1 year ago
there is nothing stopping them from doing the same bullshit with firmware updates to the kobos and drm updates to the store and apps.
I never connect the Libra to any network, how can they do anything? I did actually install some updates since there were a few annoying bugs, but I just downloaded the firmware on the pc from pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html and updated it offline. Now all those bugs seem fixed and poor Kobo still hasn’t seen the interwebs
GoumLeChat@jlai.lu 1 year ago
Well there’s a key difference, Kobo allows epub. I don’t think they could legally remove it from devices already on the market?
cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Just dont update and keep it off the internet I guess
turtle@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Ugh, thanks for the warning. Time for me to download and de-drm all my old kindle books and never again buy anymore.
gitamar@feddit.org 1 year ago
Try this python script: github.com/Jedi425/BulkKindleUSBDownloader
turtle@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Awesome, thank you!
mesamunefire@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That’s terrible…
Just fyi there is some good publishers like baen that still support and don’t plan on removing ebook format downloads.
TommySoda@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The optimist in me says they’re doing this to avoid piracy.
The pessimist in me says they’re doing this so they can purge books because of the Trump administration.
Either way, I can’t say I’m a fan.
AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The optimist in me says they’re doing this to avoid piracy.
Won’t pirates just buy their source copies on a different platform, so now Amazon loses the original sale as well?
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
The “original sale” in that case is not even pennies. So… not sure why amazon would care?
Also: Many smaller authors basically depend on kindle because of the ease of use of the web portal and incentives to do larger discounts for their audiences. One of my favorite guilty pleasures has talked about exactly this (although he IS investigating alternatives).
And, much like with video games: The Sandersons of the world will be pirated. MAYBE a Dalglish will be too. But nobody cares enough to go after a Samphire or Shel.
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Por que no Los dos?
You will own nothing and like it!
Junkernaught@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
The only surprising thing about this is that the functionality existed in the first place.
FlyingLoon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I mean, I agree with this. I have a kindle and had no idea you could directly connect it to download books. Guess I learned my new thing for the day.
adarza@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
early models didn’t have wifi, only usb or cellular from one provider or another–and those models’ 3g connectivity was killed off years ago.
this will obsolete all the non-wifi kindles still in use.
CidVicious@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
You can still use calibre to sideload onto them. Where you get the books is another issue.
jonathan@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
It’s the old bait and switch, they had to have this feature to build initial trust in ebooks.
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
… a 17 year bait and switch (or however long Kindles have been around for)?
qwestjest78@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
This is why you never connect your kindle to the internet. Calibre forever
phx@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
This doesn’t track.
To pull my books into calibre, I need to first download them onto the Kindle, which requires wifi.
qwestjest78@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
My kindle has been on airplane mode for years and I read new books all the time with it, but hey, whatever works for you
EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 1 year ago
I just tried Calibre hoping it would help me get the metadata in my library in order… But maybe I am stupid, but I don’t understand the purpose of this software. It apparently can’t choose the MTP device as your library, only a folder on your computer? And only push the books onto the reader? I don’t get how that’s massively different from just copypasting the files into the reader. Is the main point convenient metadata editing?..
Chee_Koala@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s a library manager, like iTunes, or Plex for movies, Google Photos/Picasa for photos/images . You pick a spot for you library locally, and then your local lib is a jump off point to load in on to any reader device you want. It will understand what device you are pushing it to, and automagically convert it to supported file-types.
The big difference with just copy-pasting is that you have a full library somewhere locally, and you can pick and choose what you load up on your reader. For me and maybe you, those lists are pretty close to identical, but what if you have a very large collection? And what if i just had to RMA my Libra? One click and a couple minutes after i receive my replacement, all of my books and reading progress will be synced back. If you had put your lib on the device itself, you would have had to rebuild it from scratch.
alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
It’s like iTunes, but for books.