So they encrypt it via cloud-stored keys. I hope their market share will tank after a few public outrages. Make sure you’re not one of the victims.
Amazon is making it impossible to remove the DRM from Kindle Books
Submitted 5 months ago by dantheclamman@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I don’t know why people buy an stuff like this and get surprised when this happens.
Plenty of other electronics that you have full control over.
dantheclamman@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I am honestly surprised it took this long! Kindle has been around a long time and it’s not like Amazon was any less evil back then. It makes me wonder if the competition has been starting to make them nervous!
interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 5 months ago
Plenty ? Really ? And what are those ?
Four times the prices and from four years ago ?pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
Unless Kindle prices came way down, Boox are comparable in price, nicer in features, and allow side loading any eBook or Android APK (including the Kindle APK, if you can still get a copy of it.)
nuggie_ss@lemmings.world 5 months ago
You can read books for free on just about any general purpose computer.
ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 5 months ago
Kobo e-readers are 1-to-1 alternatives that allow you to easily transfer epubs or PDFs to it with a USB cable.
rumba@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
Having your cake and eating it too isn’t on the menu
Kindles were loss leaders to get you in their ecosystem, just like all the shitty cheap tablets they sold.
The from four years ago part is real, but honestly, 4 year old devices read books about as well as current devices as long as you’re not trying to go all fancy.
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
Yarrrrrr
sailorzoop@lemmy.librebun.com 5 months ago
Are there any good “open” alternatives to the Paperwhite? I’ve been drooling over getting an e-ink reader for like a month straight now. kindlemodding.org/…/kindle-models.html
Most of the current models can be jailbroken, but I’d definitely rather another route. (Not having to deal with checking second-hand market seller’s firmware versions etc)MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
PocketBook if you eant openness and long runtime (book-replacement).
Kobo/Onyx if you want Android flexibility, with possibility to flash LineageOS/PostmarketOS (though they’re slow for tablet use).
Luckaneer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
Pocketbook readers are pretty nice
Jeremyward@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I have a super note, which is an eink tablet, reader, it’s quite nice and drm free but a bit pricey.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 5 months ago
Wait, can’t you just load non-Amazon books on the Kindle? I thought this is only about the ability to redistribute books you buy from Amazon.
I mean I’d still sure like to hear if there’s a good alternative. But if not, I think you can still use it, just don’t buy Amazon books for it. Recommend researching first though.
edgesmash@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I second the Kobo. Bought one when my old kindle died, no regrets.
Siegfried@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I only read books uploaded through calibre
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
You sure can.
I’ve used calibre in the past.
cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
amazon: finally we defeated piracy
one kid with a computer: snickers
MITM0@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Remember to pay your local pirate.
myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
Why not just remove the Amazon from the ebooks?
_cryptagion@anarchist.nexus 5 months ago
There’s no such thing as “impossible” when it comes to piracy.
Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Just wait until you can only stream books, not download them, with random words replaced with synonyms using an algorithm that lets them track down who the originator of any scanned copies is.
That might sound ridiculous, but streaming-only to prevent perfect copies and hiding purchaser identifiers in the data are both DRM techniques that have been explored in other media already. There’s no limit to how anti-consumer publishers can get when they think there’s slightly more money to be had.
piecat@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Log2(8.2billion) is about 33. That means if each word only had 1 synonym, you only need to change 33 words to uniquely identify who was responsible.
21 words need to change if each has 3 options. 17 words for 4 options.
rumba@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
There’s no impossible because if you can see it, it can be captured and digitized, but there is a level of complication that can make it unreasonable. They could make it unreasonable to crack the drm outright and require you to screenshot/OCR it. Then they can limit the OS to make to difficult to automate capture.
Bottom line, they’re just kicking payers off their network when it’s easier to pirate it than to buy it through their service.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
but there is a level of complication that can make it unreasonable.
Lol, just read the Arch Wiki about Bluray playing. Unreasonable only needs a bit longer.
EffortlessEffluvium@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
The analog hole works on a lot of stuff
cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 5 months ago
require you to screenshot/OCR it
So just like what people do with paper books.
czl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
Something something, piracy is a service problem. That’s why Spotify et al. still thrive, but more and more the Netflixes of the world are being replaced with yaaar
beejjorgensen@lemmy.sdf.org 5 months ago
I will never, ever purchase a book I can’t remove the DRM from.
And there are people out there who are absolutely fanatical about book preservation. They will photograph every single page and run it through OCR and recreate an ebook just so it gets preserved. DRM is absolutely pointless and stupid.
BCsven@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
Exactly this. As an idiot I purchase DRM music when Microsoft had its own music store. Some years later they closed it and there was no way to validate music keys.
But thankfully I still have an old Roxio9( I think) CD, and back then Roxio didn’t know what DRM was and would take the mp3 and burn it to DVD anyway, bypassing the key check, then I would just rip it back off the DVD…DRM is useless
tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
For real.
When I still had Netflix and Disney+ I’d want to watch a show on my PC, but I’d just get black screen and no audio because something about my setup the DRM didn’t like, possibly that I had USB displaylink monitors.
So I had to watch on another device.
DRM isn’t stopping any pirates. It’s just making life a pain for paying customers.
SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Amazon can go suck a fuck!
moopet@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
How exactly does one suck a fuck?
nuggie_ss@lemmings.world 5 months ago
Let me show you.
hakunawazo@lemmy.world 5 months ago
DRM-free.
Th3D3k0y@lemmy.world 5 months ago
You never saw a video where someone cleans up their partner after the good time?
Treczoks@lemmy.world 5 months ago
OK, so kindle is off the list of potential readers.
Any recommendations for a good reader that can do epub, PDF, and maybe even html with CSS?
Creativity@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
I came across this giant comparison table of eReaders last time I was researching an upgrade. While it doesn’t list supported file types, anything running an android operating system that lets you download apps for reading from google play would meet your needs.
pipe01@programming.dev 5 months ago
I like my kobo
wischi@programming.dev 5 months ago
I use my remarkable 2 for that. Pretty expensive compared to other typically ebook readers but I use it to take notes too and it’s basically a pen and paper replacement for me.
clif@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Also saying Kobo. I’ve got the Kobo Libra Colour and love it.
It’s the only ereader I’ve ever owned but I used the spouse’s Nook and Kindle a couple of times in the past and the Kobo kills it. Granted, we’re talking about a nearly new release of the Kobo vs a 5+ year old Kindle so it’s not a fair comparison.
Because of eInk and auto-sleep, the battery lasts me well over a month of casual reading (~30min before bed) with the occasional multi hour weekend session. Backlight is present and is totally readable in dark areas at <10% brightness; 100% brightness is like a supernova in your face. While the Libra Colour is not specifically a note-taking tablet like a reMarkable, it does just fine for quick notes/todo lists/etc but I did splurge on the ($60) stylus. There’s a “notes” application that comes pre-installed.
eBook support for writing in margins (or over text), underline/circling, highlighting, etc is really nice but occasionally the highlight is flakey when trying to highlight the end of a paragraph. That seems to have been specific to certain epubs rather than an “always” thing, but it happens in around 20% of epubs I’ve used.MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com 5 months ago
Seconding a Kobo. They have Overdrive (library) integration in the US and their eink and full color options are both great.
dantheclamman@lemmy.world 5 months ago
You might try one of the larger Kobos to be able to read PDFs comfortably. The little ones might be a bit cramped with most PDFs. For html I’ve never tried that with Kobo, but a lot of people swear by the Android e-ink tablets from Onyx and Boox, though those are sometimes pricey!
Paradox@lemdro.id 5 months ago
Boox Go 7 Color II
Install KoReader on it (it runs Android so it’s literally just installing a new app) and you’ve got the best reading experience out there
beejjorgensen@lemmy.sdf.org 5 months ago
I have a Kobo and it does OK. Nothing special.
lustrum@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Buy a pocketbook and don’t log into any accounts. Fuck em. I keep mine airgapped.
CrayonDevourer@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I’ve been slowly filling my wife’s Kindle Oasis full of pirated books over the last 2 years. I got it initially because it had internet service everywhere and I could just email her the epubs to simplify loading things.
A couple of weeks ago, even though airplane mode is always on for this thing, (so no wifi either) – this thing wipes something like 400 books from her library overnight. Granted, they were all pirated, but they’re doing some nasty stuff there. It looks like there’s renewed effort to combat this.
Sooooo, I sold it and bought her a Kobo Libra Color. Now, I just have her open up send.djazz.se – give me the 4 digit code, and I can upload books to her that way. Goodbye Amazon. Don’t let the door hit you.
MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com 5 months ago
Cannot recommend Kobo enough. You can jailbreak it if you like, but I didn’t get much benefit from that personally. I’m partial to the overdrive integration, but if you’re loading epubs you probably aren’t using that. If in the US, I’d recommend at least setting it up, since it’s pretty easy and maybe more immediate for some books, but obviously she won’t get to keep the epub after.
tehn00bi@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Kobo is on my Xmas list. I still have a gen 2? Kindle and it’s still pretty workable.
clif@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Not that I would know from experience, but I hear there are Calibre plugins that will allow a user to pull the DRM’d book (downloaded via Overdrive) to a computer and remove the DRM.
I’ve read that it’s a polite thing to do because you’re able to return borrowed books much more quickly so other users can check them out.
moopet@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
That’s weird and sounds like some kind of software problem. I can’t see how that would happen otherwise. I have a Voyage and don’t have wifi configured on it at all, just add books with calibre and it’s been fine for a decade.
CrayonDevourer@lemmy.world 5 months ago
It’s not a software problem, the Oasis has cell service.
Lanske@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Moved away from amazon and kindle a while back
Engywuck@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
Just imagine giving money voluntarily to Amazon.
Rooty@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I have an ereader and I’ve never bought an ebook. The fact that they’re priced the same as paperbacks is absurd.
GreenShimada@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I like to go check out the book I want from the library, and when it gives me the Amazon DRM version I just go search for the epub version online and download that. IIRC, completely legal as I have legal access to the book…somehow.
Rooty@lemmy.world 5 months ago
IDC personally. I remember publishing houses basically forcing the Internet Archive from letting people download books *during the fucking pandemic. They killed fair use, fuckem.
desmosthenes@lemmy.world 5 months ago
- www.gutenberg.org
- openlibrary.org
- www.planetebook.com
- archive.org
- www.smashwords.com
- books.google.com
- www.freetechbooks.com
- www.getfreebooks.com
- www.openculture.com/free_ebooks
- www.goodreads.com
- www.oreilly.com (trial)
- annas-archive.org
- pdfcoffee.com
- singlelogin.re
- www.ereaderiq.com/freebies/
- www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/free-ebooks
- digilibraries.com
- www.overdrive.com
- manybooks.net
there’s so many others and of course torrents
Iamaquantummechanic@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Isn’t goodreads owned by Amazon?
TAG@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Assuming you have a card from a participating library.
artyom@piefed.social 5 months ago
Every time I go to checkout a book on Libby it’s like 6-10 weeks’ wait. If I put a hold on it then I’m just not in a place to read/listen at that time and then I feel bad for hogging it instead.
Better to just pirate or buy from a non-DRM distributor.
orwellianlocksmith@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Anyone else notice that the download interface page for Anna’s archive has suddenly changed? I can’t figure it out.
AtariDump@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Shoutout to Anna.
orwellianlocksmith@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Have you noticed that the download interface page for Anna’s archive has suddenly changed? I can’t figure it out!
tehn00bi@lemmy.world 5 months ago
The best books are on IRC.
Paradox@lemdro.id 5 months ago
Check out standard ebooks. They take public domain books and “clean” them up with really good typesetting, spelling fixes, and other things. All free too
Jason2357@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
Standard is fantastic! The books are better quality than what they charge for on “marketplaces” and can be read for free or downloaded wholesale for a song. Add to that they host an opds catologue that fbreader can browse and you have incredibly convenient public domain books right to the ereader.
dantheclamman@lemmy.world 5 months ago
It is remarkable how many books available for free on Gutenberg are sold in the same format on Amazon (it’d be one thing if they were special editions, new translations etc, but they’re the same!)
nyan@lemmy.cafe 5 months ago
People out to make a quick buck are banking on suckers not knowing about Project Gutenberg, or failing to check it, or not wanting to do a couple of extra steps to get something onto their Kindle.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
You can also use Book Bounty to integrate LibGen support into Readarr. It’s a workaround for one of Readarr’s biggest weaknesses, as torrents historically aren’t great for ebooks.
Fiery@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
Didn’t readarr get discontinued a few weeks ago?
desmosthenes@lemmy.world 5 months ago
calibre ftw always and forever
melfie@lemy.lol 5 months ago
It’s a weird concept that you buy a device and then have to find an exploit that hasn’t been patched in order to do what you like with it as though you’re a hacker trying to breach someone else’s system, but it’s actually your own system you’re trying to breach.
mariusafa@lemmy.sdf.org 5 months ago
DRM on Kindle it’s a known fact. That’s why Richard Stallman calls it Swindle
Boxscape@lemmy.sdf.org 5 months ago
fossilesque@mander.xyz 5 months ago
CriticalMiss@lemmy.world 5 months ago
They’re also facing problems ripping books from Amazon, sadly.
fossilesque@mander.xyz 5 months ago
Yes, but they will probably have older titles 9 out of 10 times.
Zephorah@discuss.online 5 months ago
I think it was 10? years ago when I grudgingly tried a kindle because it was so ridiculously cheap and the people around me loved theirs.
The Kindle was an Ad bomb. After engaging internet only, no TV, no ads, since, 2003? (Whenever xfiles, Buffy, DS9, and Firefly were done.) The kindle hit like a sledgehammer with the native ads system. I returned the failed tablet to Amazon.
I don’t know how people live with that level of ad consumption and I grew up with TV commercials. Libby on iPad mini. It’s fine.
fading_person@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
There are so many alternative ereaders that are better than the kindle, that I don’t get why people buy it.
I once borrowed one from a friend and it didn’t even let me organize media in directories from a pc. The directory structure got all messed up and it was a pain to follow my study sequence. Any cheap Chinese ereader would allow that.
FishFace@lemmy.world 5 months ago
When I got a kindle (10 years ago) I did it on the basis that it was possible to strip the DRM of the books and load them on another device. I’m not going to be tied to some shitty platform for ever more. I must say though that when I have bought books on other places, the process of stripping the DRM and getting the book onto the device has been an absolute ballache - presumably the same for any device when you’re not using the native store.
I won’t be going back to physical books though. I bought a hardback for the first time in ages and my wrists don’t like it. Nor does my partner when I’m reading while they’re trying to sleep.
mesamunefire@piefed.social 5 months ago
Kobo is cool Now just fyi. Works well with calibre.
The biggest issue I have is ebooks are almost all excusevly sold on amazon. I would give authors my money and not sail the high seas if it ment no DRM.
moseschrute@lemmy.world 5 months ago
If you have a kindle you can hack it and load PDFs onto it. The koreader is better anyway.
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Don’t buy Amazon products. Fairly simple concept.
BoloMKXXVIII@piefed.social 5 months ago
Why are people “buying” DRM infested books? They don’t own anything. “Their” books can be taken away at the whim of the seller. Their rights can change with a change to the EULA. There are other legal ways to use e-readers (not Kindles) that let you keep and back up what you buy.
nuggie_ss@lemmings.world 5 months ago
It’s the herding and conditioning. The sheeple have not woken up.
So many things make so much more sense when we realize this.