Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format • Hacker News Board

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#91

Post by wtallis » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:03 AM UTC

innocenat wrote: post #77

powersnail wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That just sounds even more curious to me. How can a company make an app that doesn't read a format it invented? AZW3 has been around for years. There's got to be enough time for them to implement it.

I heard that it's because Amazon don't want to use WebKit for HTML rendering. AZW3 is mostly EPUB in different package. Don't quote me on this though.

Why would Amazon have to use WebKit for HTML rendering? Does Apple have rules about that which apply to more than just web browsers? (IIRC there's also some restriction against JIT, but that would only matter for JS-heavy stuff, which the web is but ebooks definitely aren't.)

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#92

Post by codetrotter » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:06 AM UTC

wyldfire wrote: post #32

cable2600 wrote: post #13

Amazon chose MOBL because it was compatible with the PRC format the old Palm Pilots used. The Palm Pilot was the original eBook reader.

I actually read a bunch of novels on the palm. It seems bonkers to imagine straining my eyes that way these days. But I found it pretty enjoyable at the time.

> It seems bonkers to imagine straining my eyes that way these days. But I found it pretty enjoyable at the time.

Haha yeah! Similar story here. When I was in high school I had a Sony Ericsson W810i.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_W810

I read multiple full books, hundreds of pages long, on this tiny screen.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#93

Post by Rufhfhs3747rhe7 » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:08 AM UTC

~8" foldable phones have eliminated the need for a separate eReader in my opinion. OLED screens are comfortable enough to read on and open source apps on Android can open any format and integrate with any dictionary. And most importantly, it's already always with me.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#94

Post by omnimus » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:15 AM UTC

Thorentis wrote: post #25

I very consciously did not buy a Kindle when choosing an Ereader about a year ago. The Kobo H2O is incredible and has served me very well. The format support is wonderful, and the stock OS does more than I need (though there is a whole community of custom OSes that also look cool). Combined with Calibre, I don't even see what the Kindle value prop is.

I can recommend PocketBook i recently got some cheaper Touch HD model. It simply does the job. It runs linux, it has several book sync options natively and you can instal KOreader on it easy.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#95

Post by michaelmrose » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:16 AM UTC

nucleardog wrote: post #80

jfim wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Combined with Calibre, I don't even see what the Kindle value prop is. Easy purchasing of ebooks from Amazon, combined with their large selection of ebooks.

Yeah like, I don't wanna point out the typical HN problem but... Imagine explaining this to someone's grandma. "Click this Amazon shortcut, type your book name up here, click on it down below, press 'buy now'. If it doesn't show up right away, wait 5 minutes and check again." Versus... something to do with trying to download mobi files (from where?), starting calibre, starting an import process, locating said files (…

99% of this difficulty goes away if Grandma uses her phone or tablets browser to download unlimited free books from zlibrary and reads them on the same device.

Honestly the grandma example is starting to feel dated. When I was born in 1980 a 50 year old grandma was born in 1930 and probably didn't own a TV until they were raising their own family.

The same 50 year old today was born in 1972 and would have been 5 when the Apple II hit the scene. At what point do we realize that eventually old folks will be those that only grew up with iphones and stop assuming that anyone with grey hear needs to be assumed to be technically incompetent.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#96

Post by omnimus » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:17 AM UTC

Thorentis wrote: post #25

I very consciously did not buy a Kindle when choosing an Ereader about a year ago. The Kobo H2O is incredible and has served me very well. The format support is wonderful, and the stock OS does more than I need (though there is a whole community of custom OSes that also look cool). Combined with Calibre, I don't even see what the Kindle value prop is.

I can recommend PocketBook.I recently got some cheaper Touch HD model. It simply does the job. It runs linux. It has several book sync options (including dropbox) out of the box. And you can instal KOreader on it easy which i recommend.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#97

Post by nottorp » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:19 AM UTC

paxys wrote: post #3

I'm very confused about what file format(s) Kindle actually supports. * They are dropping support for MOBI from their Send to Kindle website and apps. * They are adding support for ePub in their Send to Kindle website and apps, but apparently they will be converted to Kindle format (MOBI? AZW?) under the hood. * Several sites mention AZW3 as the official Kindle format. Is that the same as MOBI? * It is unclear whethe…

For local storage just use Calibre and stop worrying about formats IMO.

Drag whatever into Calibre, press send to device, end of story.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#98

Post by adgjlsfhk1 » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:20 AM UTC

fastball wrote: post #68

adgjlsfhk1 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lack of 5 ghz wifi and micro usb are slightly annoying, but overall, I love it.

What in the world do you need 5GHz wifi for on an e-reader?

As I said, it's slightly annoying, not a deal-breaker. It required me to change my wifi setup to be dual band (I'm in an apartment so lots of congestion on 2.4 ghz, and I don't need the extra range).

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#99

Post by NeverFade » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:21 AM UTC

pseingatl wrote: post #38

iou wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the response was a bad thing, but if it just means we’re finally accepting epub as a common default that’s pretty great, right?

I hope not. Publishers know that it's impossible to typeset an ePub exactly as you want it displayed since display is under the control of the reader, or the reading device. At least until pdf is no longer synonymous with letter paper/A4, ePub is a flawed format. And for the umpteenth time, the pdf format is size agnostic.

How is that different from the old default, which was MOBI?

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#100

Post by nottorp » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 7:21 AM UTC

wyldfire wrote: post #32

cable2600 wrote: post #13

Amazon chose MOBL because it was compatible with the PRC format the old Palm Pilots used. The Palm Pilot was the original eBook reader.

I actually read a bunch of novels on the palm. It seems bonkers to imagine straining my eyes that way these days. But I found it pretty enjoyable at the time.

Worked fine if you enlarged the font. You ended up with 1/4 or lesss of a page on screen at one time, but who cared. Weeks worth of reading in your pocket!