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Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

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Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#21

Post by loeg »

neilv wrote: post #11

For people already locked into Kindle, I don't know what to tell you. (Unless you DRM-crack, and get into the gray areas of the piracy culture that's creating much of the DRM problems.) But it would be healthy for everyone if people supported a DRM-free and non-surveillance ebook ecosystem. One solution I found is to buy ebooks as DRM-free EPUBs and PDFs, and read them in open source desktop tools and on my relativel…

You can always load 3rd-party DRM-free books and I don't see Amazon removing that. Their hardware and ecosystem aren't that much better than everyone else's.

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#22

Post by loeg »

poisonborz wrote: post #3

Bad, but anyone sideloading would skip Kindles anyway for a long time now for much better products.

I use a Kindle and pretty much exclusively sideload. The display and form factor are fantastic. Battery life is very good. Last time I was in the market (late 2021), nothing else was as good.

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#23

Post by wkat4242 »

neilv wrote: post #20
wkat4242 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (Unless you DRM-crack, and get into the gray areas of the piracy culture that's creating much of the DRM problems.) Meh. Even if there was no piracy there'd be DRM. It's not only used to limit privacy but also how you can legitimately use stuff you bought. Like how many devices you can access it on. Or how many times you can view video content. In fact I think the presence of piracy helps keep prices low. I'm sure…

The link lists a few places that have DRM-free ebooks, and some examples of good technical books I've bought that way.

Hmm yeah but I don't tend to read technical books on ereaders. Most of them require a bigger screen to be usable. I only read fiction on my kindle.

I haven't seen a good store that has the usual popular content without DRM. Well except on paper of course :)

But yeah I didn't know that existed for tech books. In fact the ones I bought online were from big publishers and quite expensive compared to fiction books. But perhaps that's just my niche.

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#24

Post by daveoc64 »

neilv wrote: post #11

For people already locked into Kindle, I don't know what to tell you. (Unless you DRM-crack, and get into the gray areas of the piracy culture that's creating much of the DRM problems.) But it would be healthy for everyone if people supported a DRM-free and non-surveillance ebook ecosystem. One solution I found is to buy ebooks as DRM-free EPUBs and PDFs, and read them in open source desktop tools and on my relativel…

> But it would be healthy for everyone if people supported a DRM-free and non-surveillance ebook ecosystem.

I dream of a day when that's possible, but all of the massive publishers with over 80% of book marketshare insist on DRM.

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#25

Post by marklar423 »

locusofself wrote: post #9
poisonborz wrote: post #3

Bad, but anyone sideloading would skip Kindles anyway for a long time now for much better products.

Also, what better products are there? Kobo? I have a kindle oasis and it's a great device. Not that I love giving money to Amazon, I avoid that when I can with library or at least heavily discounted/public domain or side-loaded books whenever possible.

Kobo is definitely superior to Kindle in my book. The hardware is great and it's completely open to sideloading and even modding (it runs Linux under the hood).

I can't speak to their digital bookstore but they integrate with Overdrive for library borrowing.

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#26

Post by permo-w »

spookybones wrote: post #12
42772827 wrote: post #6

There have been several threads about this on HN over the past few days and months. Just to avoid the confusion that seems to follow these, a few notes: (1) This is the "Download and Transfer" option where Amazon allowed users to select books they had purchased a license to and download them from the Amazon website. (2) The ability to transfer books from your computer to your Kindle using a USB cable is not affected.…

I was reading a Reddit thread on this, and not a single person there understood this. It isn’t good news, but it’s being severely misinterpreted.

>I was reading a Reddit thread on this, and not a single person there understood this

were you surprised by this revelation?

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#28

Post by permo-w »

loeg wrote: post #22
poisonborz wrote: post #3

Bad, but anyone sideloading would skip Kindles anyway for a long time now for much better products.

I use a Kindle and pretty much exclusively sideload. The display and form factor are fantastic. Battery life is very good. Last time I was in the market (late 2021), nothing else was as good.

you're right. it's an e-reader that you can email any epub file to and it'll read it. if you don't want to pirate, there's a functional store. what more do people need?

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#29

Post by permo-w »

marklar423 wrote: post #25
locusofself wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, what better products are there? Kobo? I have a kindle oasis and it's a great device. Not that I love giving money to Amazon, I avoid that when I can with library or at least heavily discounted/public domain or side-loaded books whenever possible.

Kobo is definitely superior to Kindle in my book. The hardware is great and it's completely open to sideloading and even modding (it runs Linux under the hood). I can't speak to their digital bookstore but they integrate with Overdrive for library borrowing.

besides books, which you can sideload very simply with kindle, what do you need to sideload to your e-reader

Re: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th

#30

Post by sitkack »

wkat4242 wrote: post #15
neilv wrote: post #11

For people already locked into Kindle, I don't know what to tell you. (Unless you DRM-crack, and get into the gray areas of the piracy culture that's creating much of the DRM problems.) But it would be healthy for everyone if people supported a DRM-free and non-surveillance ebook ecosystem. One solution I found is to buy ebooks as DRM-free EPUBs and PDFs, and read them in open source desktop tools and on my relativel…

> (Unless you DRM-crack, and get into the gray areas of the piracy culture that's creating much of the DRM problems.) Meh. Even if there was no piracy there'd be DRM. It's not only used to limit privacy but also how you can legitimately use stuff you bought. Like how many devices you can access it on. Or how many times you can view video content. In fact I think the presence of piracy helps keep prices low. I'm sure…

That is what DRM is for. Same as the region locking in DVDs. It is about segmenting markets, preventing competition and ensuring that the publishers can sell the same content over and over again.
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