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Not buying another Kindle

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Re: Not buying another Kindle

#181

Post by mattmanser »

ndiddy wrote: post #127
zepppotemkin wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Among other things, if you become logged out of the device or it's reset you will no longer be able to login with an amazon account ( which is required ) to use the device

You can use the Kindle without an Amazon account if you're fine with loading all your books over USB. It will give you a nag pop-up telling you to log in each time you go to the main menu, but the pop-up doesn't show up while you're in a book so it's not a big deal.

What is your point? That's still a major loss of functionality.

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#182

Post by aidenn0 »

LeCompteSftware wrote: post #78
jmyeet wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read that? You’re picking out one cost: printing. Scroll down to where the cost breakdown of a paperback is. More than $5 once you include distribution and retailing. Or, as some might say, more than 50% of $10.

Ok, then the other thing you're missing is that distributors also get a chunk of the ebook. You said ebooks have "no middlemen" but that's blatantly false, Amazon is the emperor of ebook middlemen. I suppose publishers could try selling ebooks directly but then they lose the Kindle platform + Amazon's reach, so Amazon charges for that service. They are a middleman.

The publishers conspired with Apple to force Amazon to increase its margins.

https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/e-book-conspiracy-apples...

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#183

Post by AnonymousPlanet »

nickvec wrote: post #150

Besides portability, what other benefits are there to using e-books? I vastly prefer having a physical copy of a book, mainly because I’d rather not look at a screen while reading (unless necessary.) Plus, I love lending out books to friends, and I feel like it’s a much bigger pain to do so virtually (unless they’re tech savvy!)

Looking up words on the fly by just holding your finger on them.

If the book is not written in your native language or you like to read books with unusual vocabulary (e.g. historical books), it's an absolute delight. So far, a concise dictionary like Oxford has worked the best for me, while Wiktionary or similar always came short.

The other is heft and handiness. If you read anything that is larger than a small notebook, an e-book is much more practical. You also don't have to hold it open all the time.

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#184

Post by squeaky-clean »

laweijfmvo wrote: post #2

> Amazon recently confirmed that starting May 20, these older models will lose all access to the Kindle Store. While you can technically keep reading books already on the device, the real kicker is the factory reset limitation built into the software. If you ever need to reset your device or try to register it to a new account after the deadline, it becomes a literal paperweight. is this true though? You can't browse…

Basically any cloud connection to Amazon will be closed on these devices. The only way to add books will be USB.

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#185

Post by culi »

johngossman wrote: post #8

I can understand why one would want to move from Kindle to another device, but this article starts by complaining that support is being dropped for devices from before 2013. I can even understand being upset by this, but I have absolutely no faith that whatever other device I switch to will still be supported in 10+ years. Could be. But I sure wouldn't count on it.

Not the same thing. Those old devices are essentially being bricked. You will no longer be able to sign into them.

Amazon is offering a 20% discount to owners of those devices to switch to any other modern kindle.

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#186

Post by pmarreck »

Yep, go ePub. Have been doing that for years now, after converting my entire Amazon purchase library to ePub thanks to an old loophole.

Apple figured the correct model out years ago with iTunes Music.

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#187

Post by bragr »

Do NOT buy a Kobo device for Libby integration. It is a LIE. I found out the hard way.

Kobo only integrates with OverDrive, the predecessor to Libby. You can only use one library card at a time with OverDrive, and don't have access to the audioboks or periodicals on Libby. Meanwhile Kobo will aggressively push you to sign up for their monthly subscription to get access to that kind of content.

If you want Libby on e-paper, sans Kindle, your best bet is to look at the E Paper android tablets (I use Boox) and just install the Libby app. The experience isn't perfect but its the least worst option.

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#188

Post by doctorpangloss »

someone4958923 wrote: post #125

I went through this migration last year. A few things that helped: Calibre is the escape hatch. Converts everything to EPUB. Even if you don't use it day-to-day, it's the best tool for getting your library out of Amazon's format. Public domain catalogs are huge now. Standard Ebooks, Internet Archive, Gutenberg - tens of thousands of well-formatted free EPUBs. Most people don't realize how much is out there. For actua…

[flagged]

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#189

Post by culi »

klik99 wrote: post #178

I have several Kindles for me and my kids, I have never bought a book on the Amazon store, instead I side load everything. Amazon basically subsidized a cheap and tough e-reader assuming it would drive everyone to the store, which I actively do not engage with. If it gets bricked in 10 years, I still think it would be worth it.

Just to be clear, "bricked" here means:

1. if you factory reset a device after May 20, you will not be able to sign in or use the device at all.

2. if you have one already you can use it with your downloaded books but you cannot use the official store at all.

You might not have a problem with #2, but #1 is a dealbreaker imo

Re: Not buying another Kindle

#190

Post by cbdevidal »

MengerSponge wrote: post #174
someone4958923 wrote: post #125

I went through this migration last year. A few things that helped: Calibre is the escape hatch. Converts everything to EPUB. Even if you don't use it day-to-day, it's the best tool for getting your library out of Amazon's format. Public domain catalogs are huge now. Standard Ebooks, Internet Archive, Gutenberg - tens of thousands of well-formatted free EPUBs. Most people don't realize how much is out there. For actua…

If you're even the slightest bit tech savvy you can find a DRM stripping utility for Calibre. Apprentice Alf is long retired, but a fork of that DeDRM still is maintained

Newer Kindle books published in the last few years require more than the Calibre plugin. Amazon is tightening the loop.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Calibre/comments/1q1uza4/successful...

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