When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too • Hacker News Board

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#21

Post by jammygit » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:46 AM UTC

tomjakubowski wrote: post #14

cbanek wrote: post #7

I seriously worry about this with Kindle books I get on Amazon. I hope Amazon never goes away, though I guess it could at any time.

Like another commenter has said, the DRM on Kindle e-books is pretty easy to break. https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com

Isn't it technically a crime though? That's the kicker: the legislative backing to the schemes. Its a matter of time until this GS are so locked down that circumvention becomes impractical, even if its several years in the future. The 'it doesn't work' argument is temporary unless there is enough pushback (as happened with music, thankfully)

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#22

Post by banana_giraffe » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:48 AM UTC

rmason wrote: post #10

I'm unfamiliar with Microsoft's eBook offerings and the format upon which they're offered. The old Microsoft would have had a proprietary format unique to themselves but that may not be the case. Why couldn't they convert them to a standard format and put them up on an S3 with a login that pointed people to their virtual folders?

One assumes they'd put them up on Azure's version of S3, but that aside, no doubt no one knows if they can legally offer these things without DRM because of the contracts involved, and no one wants to take the risk.

Or they know they can't and don't want to go through the effort of getting new contracts.

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#23

Post by crankylinuxuser » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:50 AM UTC

frosted-flakes wrote: post #19

asveikau wrote: post #8

I didn't start buying ebooks from Amazon/Kindle until I realized it was relatively easy to break its DRM. I've never used the files anywhere else but I keep a cracked copy of every purchase just in case. That old story about "1984" being removed gave me too much of a negative impression.

I do the same with Audible. As far as I can tell, there's no way to remove the DRM that is both easy and free, so against my better judgement, I paid $30 for a program to do it for me[0]. I now have every audiobook I've bought in mp3 format, split by chapter and tagged with the correct metadata. Now I can dump them on a USB drive and plug it into my car stereo for road trips (I don't mind listening to good books more…

Keep your $30. Or... Pay me $30 :)

ffmpeg -activation_bytes 1CEB00DA -i test.aax -vn -c:a copy output.mp4

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#24

Post by hombre_fatal » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:52 AM UTC

asveikau wrote: post #8

I didn't start buying ebooks from Amazon/Kindle until I realized it was relatively easy to break its DRM. I've never used the files anywhere else but I keep a cracked copy of every purchase just in case. That old story about "1984" being removed gave me too much of a negative impression.

So they still get your money and you deal with the inconvenience?

Try buying from https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebooks where possible (DRM-free).

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#25

Post by r3bl » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:52 AM UTC

asveikau wrote: post #8

I didn't start buying ebooks from Amazon/Kindle until I realized it was relatively easy to break its DRM. I've never used the files anywhere else but I keep a cracked copy of every purchase just in case. That old story about "1984" being removed gave me too much of a negative impression.

I also prefer Amazon over other ebook stores simply because I know I can break the DRM effortlessly and reliably.

I am well-aware that it's a bad thing to do from a legal perspective (and especially encouraging others to do the same), but legal =/= moral. I'm paying a full price for them and treating them as my property. That includes being able to read them on any screen I want with whichever reader I want, even if I do end up mostly reading on a (physical) Kindle.

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#26

Post by nil-sec » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:52 AM UTC

gnicholas wrote: post #16

nil-sec wrote: post #11

They refund them. Why is this an issue?

Annotations would presumably be lost as well (if the platform supported them).

Maybe. But these are all hypotheticals. The article presents it as I should be morally disgusted by this move. I don't really see it.

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#27

Post by crankylinuxuser » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:53 AM UTC

ikeboy wrote: post #15

cbanek wrote: post #7

I seriously worry about this with Kindle books I get on Amazon. I hope Amazon never goes away, though I guess it could at any time.

Install Calibre and DeDRM, download everything to Kindle for PC and add to calibre, which will break the DRM and ensure you have a copy regardless of what happens with Amazon. I've personally had an Amazon account blocked along with access to all my Kindle books, which sucks. Now I download every book as soon as I purchase it and add to calibre.

Then take the next logical step.

Quit paying them for the abusive media. Pirate. You have to break the law anyways even if you pay legit.

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#28

Post by sn41 » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:55 AM UTC

jammygit wrote: post #21

tomjakubowski wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like another commenter has said, the DRM on Kindle e-books is pretty easy to break. https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com

Isn't it technically a crime though? That's the kicker: the legislative backing to the schemes. Its a matter of time until this GS are so locked down that circumvention becomes impractical, even if its several years in the future. The 'it doesn't work' argument is temporary unless there is enough pushback (as happened with music, thankfully)

This lockdown is what organisations like EFF are trying to fight. Once I have paid for a product, I am its owner. I should be legally allowed to use it, disassemble it, or repair it in any manner I choose to.

My main concern is that my book collection in all probability will outlast Amazon as a company. When they go away, should my books be unreadable? Will I get a refund when Amazon goes bankrupt?

DRM violates the transactional nature of business by tying the product eternally to the seller to be usable at all.

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#29

Post by romwell » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:57 AM UTC

Well, that's one argument for piracy. Or at least avoiding anything that you can't have DRM-free.

(I still like my Steam library, but the games I really care about are bought on GOG/HIB when possible.)

Re: When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too

#30

Post by redwall_hp » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 5:00 AM UTC

jammygit wrote: post #21

tomjakubowski wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like another commenter has said, the DRM on Kindle e-books is pretty easy to break. https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com

Isn't it technically a crime though? That's the kicker: the legislative backing to the schemes. Its a matter of time until this GS are so locked down that circumvention becomes impractical, even if its several years in the future. The 'it doesn't work' argument is temporary unless there is enough pushback (as happened with music, thankfully)

DRM is technically a crime, too. It's infringing upon First Sale Doctrine. You, as someone buying media, actually have rights to what you purchase. The general public has just accepted the industry trampling on those rights and lobbying for laws that conflict with them.