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Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

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Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#241

Post by [deleted] »

Namari wrote: post #164
gambiting wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you buy a kindle that is specifically advertised as having ads(and therefore being sold for less money), then yes, you will get ads. If you don't want them, buy the ad free version. And the deletion from your library happened...once? Over millions of titles available?

Can't believe there is such a thing of having an Ereader with ads. Ok it's cheaper but come on, that really shows us how low they think of us. I can understand for a free product but for something you pay ... like seriously!

[deleted]

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#242

Post by criddell »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #103
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.

The ridiculous pricing of ebooks on Amazon in the last few years has forced me to alternate sources. I'm not interested in paying through the nose for something that's far cheaper to distribute than a printed book. In today's market Kindle doesn't offer any value proposition.

When I'm buying something, I'm not thinking much about their margins. For me, it's mostly about value.

An ebook is searchable, gives me instant access to a dictionary, doesn't take up space in my house, I can read in the dark, it's more comfortable to hold, and I can set the font to a size that works for my aging eyes. That $10 ebook of The Dog Stars is a much better value for me than a $4 paperback copy.

Paper books have their place too. For example, I want physical cookbooks that I can leave open on a stand as I work in the kitchen.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#243

Post by corobo »

Namari wrote: post #188
gambiting wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Do you think companies giving you 10% in exchange for signing up for their newsletter shouldn't be able to do so too? It's the same thing - you get a discount for signing up to their ads campaign.

Well they already got profits on their bookstore, why would they need to make a version where you got ads on top of that. I guess if we follow your logic they could build phones, consoles and TVs with ads too. I can understand free books with ads but not the hardware/software that reads it.

So that you decide if you want to buy the one with ads (eww, gross!) or the one without ads (woohoo, I beat the system for a tenner!). Meanwhile Amazon are happy you bought one of them rather than deciding to buy one or not.

The ads are the front cover of some other book on the lock screen instead of the one you're reading. I dislike a lot of Amazon's methods but this one scenario is honestly a contender for least invasive advert still in use 2022.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#244

Post by criddell »

bambax wrote: post #210
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.

Amazon gave me a Kindle Oasis (the prize for being a finalist in last year's 'Amazon Storytelling' contest). I would never have bought it myself since it costs €249 (!) but I have to say it's a fantastic device. It's super-legible, has enormous memory, is water resistant, and has buttons for page-turning. Other than Kindle books that arrive directly after buying, I send books to it via email through Calibre, which re…

I think we're nearing the end of Amazon not really caring about DRM. AFAIK, the DRM used by latest version of KFX files hasn't been thoroughly broken and it's a cat and mouse game now. There are some less than ideal workarounds (like downloading an older format), but you lose some of the typography improvements that Amazon only supports in KFX.

Now that Amazon seems to be interested in strong DRM, I expect a legislative solution to book DRM is our only long term hope.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#245

Post by criddell »

ryanmercer wrote: post #220
bambax wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon gave me a Kindle Oasis (the prize for being a finalist in last year's 'Amazon Storytelling' contest). I would never have bought it myself since it costs €249 (!) but I have to say it's a fantastic device. It's super-legible, has enormous memory, is water resistant, and has buttons for page-turning. Other than Kindle books that arrive directly after buying, I send books to it via email through Calibre, which re…

>I would never have bought it myself since it costs €249 (!) I bought my Oasis 2 around for closet to 299 EUR (309.97 USD) when I was making 30k USD a year, was 100% worth it to me while I still had a fully functional kindle keyboard and kindle paperwhite 3. If you're a casual reader, that might seem expensive, but if you are chewing through 1-3 books a week like I do (heck I read 3 books last time I flew from Indian…

I bought an Oasis on Prime Day and it's mostly a nice upgrade from my old Paperwhite. The only negative is the battery life. I have to charge it twice as often as I had to with my years old Paperwhite.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#246

Post by briHass »

another-circus wrote: post #128
scarygliders wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't know why you're being downvoted. This born in '69 53 year old right here is programming backends and frontends for websites, and PySide5/6 Qt5/6 applications. I'm still sharp as a pin. Like you say, there has to be some point at which those younger than I stop thinking someone in their 50's isn't as hopeless with technology as they assume. Of course not everyone in my Gen X'er group will be like me, then again,…

Back when Netflix first started, and they were sending out DVDs instead of doing streaming, my stepdad, who is now in his mid-80s wanted to get his money worth. So, he started ripping the movies immediately and returning them the same day, ordering more as quickly as he could. When I went to visit he'd always have added more to his bookcases of DVDs. He recently setup a NAS and Plex and copied them all over. They, my…

I remember Netflix quickly putting a stop to that by delaying sending out new discs when you got above some weekly threshold. I would drop off my Netflix returns at a huge, regional post office sorting facility, and I knew the discs got back to Netflix in less than 24 hours, yet they would claim they did not receive them for days. Instead of admitting to throttling, they played a shady game.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#247

Post by oittaa »

twerh34fasdfa wrote: post #21

On a side-note: I'm surprised devices like Kindle survive where superior ones like those from Sony perish simply because of the software walled garden. Not a good outlook for humanity.

> Sony

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

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#248

Post by [deleted] »

DharmaPolice wrote: post #116
michaelmrose wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I highly doubt that people are thinking of 50 year olds when they're talking about grandmas. But in answer to your question, I suspect the cliche will slowly die out when most of the 60/70/80 year olds we meet are tech savvy.

[deleted]

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#249

Post by wink »

goosedragons wrote: post #222
wink wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The kindle's value prop is that it has existed for a while and I'm pretty sure my 8y old model would still work if I hadn't left it on a plane. So I bought a used one from a friend and that's been working for many years. I see no reason to upgrade e-readers all the time. I'm not telling you or anyone to buy a Kindle, but from a VERY quick look my Kindle cost half of what a Kobo costs (tolino seems to be available aro…

Are you German? Tolino eReaders are basically just rebadged Kobos at this point with a different software stack for a few European countries. I can get a Kobo Nia for $130 CAD (about €100), a base model Kindle is $120 CAD. They are very close in price and on the high end the Kobo is cheaper and offers more.

Interesting, I did not know that, thanks.

I didn't make up the numbers above, I just quickly looked at geizhals.de for a comparison - maybe Kobo-branded Kobos are exceptionally expensive here then.

I don't have a tolino myself, but gave support to a family member in the recent past, that's why I've held one and used the software. That one was sold by a physical book store chain.

But overall that doesn't change my main point - or maybe Kindles have gone up in price, I'm pretty sure I paid closer to 70€ than 100€, which is still 1/3. Could be that it was a sale, and they don't even have that base model anymore, but as I said I was 100% happy with it.

Re: Retirement of Amazon MOBI eBook file format

#250

Post by adam12 »

goosedragons wrote: post #211
maratc wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Kindle is inexpensive, has great support, has a huge library (open to non-US people with non-US credit cards), and you could just email a MOBI to it (which is great if the Kindle owner is your parent). It's only disadvantage was that it did not support ePub and so one had to go through Calibre. Now that Kindle is supporting ePUB and no Calibre-tion is needed, I don't even see what the Kobo value prop is.

Kobo's are like a stone's throw in price from Kindles. Depending on features/market they can be cheaper and they don't even sell lockscreen ads. The only cheaper Kindle is the awful 800x600 screen one which should have been put to bed years ago. They also have a huge library open to non-US people with non-US credit cards. Kobos are considerably better at formatting text with far more options and are even easier to tw…

Can I ever get a Kobo for $45?
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