Yarrrrrr
Amazon is making it impossible to remove the DRM from Kindle Books
Submitted 2 months ago by dantheclamman@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
FishFace@lemmy.world 2 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.
GreenShimada@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Same, I used to have some Caliber extension that stripped DRM. Last used it 2-3 years ago and worked for Adobe DRM at least.
cloudy1999@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
We’ll soon be back to monks transcribing at this rate.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
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.
fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 months ago
CriticalMiss@lemmy.world 2 months ago
They’re also facing problems ripping books from Amazon, sadly.
fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 months ago
Yes, but they will probably have older titles 9 out of 10 times.
mariusafa@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
DRM on Kindle it’s a known fact. That’s why Richard Stallman calls it Swindle
Zephorah@discuss.online 2 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.
anon5621@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
I bought personally second hand kindle and jailbreaked and using koreader no other way, my device enitely always offline
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
The not-ridiculously-cheap Kindles do not have any ads. Yes it’s scummy and gross to sell something with built in ads, but I expect most people who “loved theirs” did not have the cheap ad-supported one, they had the more expensive models. The ad-supported cheap versions are not representative of the general quality or experience of a more common and typical Kindle.
That said, it is still a locked down piece of shit. There are much, much better options. Kobo is great hardware that is as straightforward to “hack” as copying a file into a directory, as it’s running a stripped down Linux basically. Kobo with KoReader is all I need.
ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Boox is even easier than kobo, all you need to do is…nothing at all. It just accepts all formats with no lockdown out of the box.
DFX4509B_2@lemmy.org 2 months ago
This is why it sucks that physical print media is on the decline, because one could just scan their own PDFs instead if physical print media was still commonplace.
krashmo@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Are you suggesting that most people would rather scan 400+ pages of a physical book than deal with ebook DRM? Because that sounds like the worst, most tedious option to me. I’m confident most would never consider scanning a viable option.
mesamunefire@piefed.social 2 months ago
There’s specialized hardware out there since the 80s(?) That does this sort of thing for you. All it takes is one person and now the book is “out”. I worked with one for historical texts. Worked really well. It was so cool to see it in action.
A lot of younger people are into physical media. Its cool to see.
otacon239@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yeah, not to mention the actual advantages that come with the format, such as search, highlighting, multiple bookmarks, nets, etc. Yes, you can do most of these with a physical, but not without marking up your original copy or having extra materials on hand. Just way more convenient overall.
mushroommunk@lemmy.today 2 months ago
That’s even assuming the book you want is available and wasn’t a super limited printing that you couldn’t even begin to afford in the first place.
jodanlime@midwest.social 2 months ago
Have you ever scanned a book? It’s an arduous process and I don’t think most people would go through all the hassle. The files will also never look as clean as an ebook that was made from scratch. There are plenty of other readers and book stores that aren’t at this level of greed, and most libraries have some way to borrow ebooks these days.
napkin2020@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
As much as I hate proprietary shit, Kindle is just the best ebook reader out there. It lasts forever, in terms of both battery life and the device itself, smooth, top notch UI… etc
When I first bought my new Kindle PW, I immediately turned on Airplane mode and never turned it off. I use Calibre & DRM free ebooks and I had 0 issues.
Kauhuhu@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Having used both, i prefer the kobos. They just eat up everything you throw at them.
gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Just chiming in as another kobo guy. I like it’s UI better personally but most importantantly it displays books, holds books, battery lasts forever, and is an eink display - like it’s an ereader, I’m not in the percentage of people who can meaningfully discern between the two.
Kobo being theoretically repairable and not supporting a trillion dollar inshittification machine was good enough for me to swap.
Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Kobo with calibre-web sync. Hands down the best ereader I’ve ever owned.
Localhorst86@feddit.org 2 months ago
I bought a kindle when amazon sold them for a special price of 25 Euro. It’s a cool device for reading books, but I found their UI horrendously cluttered and filled with “suggestions” instead of focusing on the content I already have. I have since jailbroken the device and am using koreader on the device to read my ebooks transfered as epubs via calibre.
That has the advantage that when I buy DRM-free books in epub format, I am not relying on amazon to properly convert the file to a kindle proprietary format.
jnod4@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Of course it’s the best there is, they have billions made on the backs of millions workers, they can and will invest so much money in a product until it eclipses everything else so they have a monopoly on a niche. After all the competitors are starved because no company that only makes ereaders will have a profit so thick to create a competing product, they can introduce things like proper DRM or whatever their heart desires.
Related, Article about how ama. used their unfairly gained wealth to copy successful products, rigged search results, to promote their own brands
Redfugee@lemmy.world 2 months ago
My kindle only knows about library books.
Treczoks@lemmy.world 2 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?
beejjorgensen@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
I have a Kobo and it does OK. Nothing special.
dantheclamman@lemmy.world 2 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!
pipe01@programming.dev 2 months ago
I like my kobo
clif@lemmy.world 2 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 2 months ago
Seconding a Kobo. They have Overdrive (library) integration in the US and their eink and full color options are both great.
Creativity@lemmy.zip 2 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.
wischi@programming.dev 2 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.
Paradox@lemdro.id 2 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
Rooty@lemmy.world 2 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 2 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 2 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.
ronweasleysl@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
I have a pocketbook instead of a Kindle cause of this lol
wingsfortheirsmiles@feddit.uk 2 months ago
Was going to say, this has solidified my next ereader choice being Kobo
Hudell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Just got two kobos this month, for me and my wife. I had had one back in 2012 and wasn’t reading much in recent years, but she had owned a handful of kindles before (never any other eReader) and lost all her book collection after her credit card was cloned and amazon deleted all accounts that had ever used it “for safety”.
Her kobo arrived earlier and for a whole week she would come tell me all the amazing stuff she could do on it that she never thought possible. Incredible technological advancements like sending a file directly to it.
I was like “it’s OK honey, you’re out of that abusive relationship now”
Tattorack@lemmy.world 2 months ago
This is why I bought some Chinese android ereader than an amazon Kindle.
brsrklf@jlai.lu 2 months ago
My kindle is from 2011, got it for free from someone getting rid of it. It’s old and dumb as shit and Amazon fortunately doesn’t care about it anymore.
Since I got it, it never had an Amazon DRM-ed e-book loaded on it. I intend to keep it that way.
sailorzoop@lemmy.librebun.com 2 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)boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 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.
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
You sure can.
I’ve used calibre in the past.
edgesmash@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I second the Kobo. Bought one when my old kindle died, no regrets.
Siegfried@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I only read books uploaded through calibre
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 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 2 months ago
Pocketbook readers are pretty nice
Jeremyward@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I have a super note, which is an eink tablet, reader, it’s quite nice and drm free but a bit pricey.
willington@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Bad corporate behaviour is a political problem.
Here we are talking about technological solutions for political problems. Why?
some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Such is the nature of the hacker spirit
Treczoks@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Amazon is making it impossible for me to consider a Kindle.
biofaust@lemmy.world 2 months ago
So happy I just exported my collection last week and have closed forever my Amazon account the same day.
I must say, escaping Amazon is the significant action I took in my life that was completely inconsequent on my daily living.
amateurcrastinator@lemmy.world 2 months ago
How can you export it? I would love to get rid of Amazon for books
biofaust@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I used Calibre with the DeDRM plugin. But I had a very old reader, using the AZW3 format, for anything newer than that, you will also need the KFX input plugin.
But maybe now it’s already too late for all this.
tomjuggler@lemmy.world 2 months ago
So I had an e-reader once but left it in the drawer because I found reading on my phone (dark mode) was so much more convenient.
I use librera which has tts and I alternate between reading with my eyes and listening to the robot voice narration (eg while driving). Those language packs have come a long way!
Surp@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I feel like nothing is impossible.
melfie@lemy.lol 2 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.
lustrum@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Buy a pocketbook and don’t log into any accounts. Fuck em. I keep mine airgapped.
Boxscape@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I need to root my Kindle…
tomkatt@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Might be too late. Winterbreak hasn’t worked since 5.18.1 and the latest firmware is 5.18.5. If you’ve been updating your firmware normally, jailbreak has been unviable since around April or May.
Lanske@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Moved away from amazon and kindle a while back
Engywuck@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Just imagine giving money voluntarily to Amazon.
desmosthenes@lemmy.world 2 months ago
calibre ftw always and forever
moseschrute@lemmy.world 2 months ago
If you have a kindle you can hack it and load PDFs onto it. The koreader is better anyway.
ToxicWaste@lemmy.cafe 2 months ago
again displaying, that DRM only hurts legitimate users. a pirate has never had the problem of backing up, moving or sharing his library…