Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

reddit.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 80 posts

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#51

Post by neilv »

TimorousBestie wrote: post #10
neilv wrote: post #5

I don't approve of a company shutting off network service for a device it sold, but... If this is a hint at much more formidable DRM coming out, could a silver lining for authors and publishers be more sales? Or is mass piracy going to just continue, full steam ahead? (Authors and publishers need any bit of good news they can get right now.)

> (Authors and publishers need any bit of good news they can get right now.) Amazon accumulating even more control over the ebook market is not good news for authors and publishers.

I agree that Amazon getting even more control over the ebook market would be bad for authors and publishers.

But how would (hypothetical) more formidable DRM constitute even more control over the ebook market?

(Do you mean more control by preventing more piracy? Or by preventing more good-faith circumvention? Or more control because ebooks might be published even more Amazon exclusive than they already are, because of superior anti-piracy protection?)

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#52

Post by tim333 »

lordleft wrote: post #36

I've used a kindle for years and have bought hundreds of ebooks through Amazon's platform. The convenience of being able to carry a library with me in a single device is undeniable. ~14 years of support seems reasonable, especially in the context of modern tech. And yet decisions like this always upset me. For all the limitations of physical books, I can hand my physical books to my literal children and grandchildren…

There's always being naughty and downloading pirated ebooks.

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#53

Post by phs318u »

avgDev wrote: post #34
alistairSH wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you buy your e-books? I've stuck with Kindle, but that's 80% inertia (Amazon has most books, the device works well enough) and 20% existing library is Kindle e-books.

One could buy a physical book, and then "find" digital version of it. Seems fair to me?

Seems fair to me too. I have done and continue to do this. I have no ethical qualms doing so. Should I?

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#54

Post by alistairSH »

phs318u wrote: post #53
avgDev wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One could buy a physical book, and then "find" digital version of it. Seems fair to me?

Seems fair to me too. I have done and continue to do this. I have no ethical qualms doing so. Should I?

I don’t. I just don’t want physical books. I don’t have the space to store them. And the kindle is far more portable.

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#55

Post by sdh9 »

SilverElfin wrote: post #31

Does anyone use a Kindle anymore? I feel like the writing was on the wall ten years ago. It’s a dead end product that no one cares about. And all the shady stuff like forced deletion of books was a sign. But also, I think people have really become tired of sitting in front of screens. Physical books are more popular among friends than Kindles or other digital books are, and that wasn’t the case ten years ago.

I bought and use a Kindle specifically because it has zero distractions. All you can do is read. You're not interrupted with a text, or another app's notification, or anything like that. There's no temptation to use another app, because there are no other apps. It's just you, and your book.

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#56

Post by johanyc »

alistairSH wrote: post #54
phs318u wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems fair to me too. I have done and continue to do this. I have no ethical qualms doing so. Should I?

I don’t. I just don’t want physical books. I don’t have the space to store them. And the kindle is far more portable.

You can throw the physical book away or recycle it as paper. Buying them is just to make payments for the pirated books.

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#57

Post by johanyc »

timdiggerm wrote: post #28
sbarre wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal: DRM actively discourages me from purchasing digital goods.

Yeah but HN commenters are not a representative sample of the ebook consumer base

Most consumers probably never heard of the word DRM

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#59

Post by bentley »

alistairSH wrote: post #15
Nicholas_C wrote: post #3

This kind of stuff is why I no longer use a kindle. I use a kobo which IMHO is not as good of a product but it's worth not supporting this behavior.

Where do you buy your e-books? I've stuck with Kindle, but that's 80% inertia (Amazon has most books, the device works well enough) and 20% existing library is Kindle e-books.

For public domain books, I use Standard Ebooks, Project Gutenberg, and Internet Archive, generally in that order.

For copyrighted books, anywhere as long as it provides DRM‐free EPUB or PDF.

• Humble Bundle introduces a nice sale every few days. Key marker for DRM‐free: “Use on Any Device”. Representative recent purchases: complete Peanuts (42 vols.) for $25, complete Wheel of Time (17 vols.) for $18, complete Malazan (17 vols.) for $18, complete Lone Wolf and Cub (28 vols.) for $18… I check Humble pretty regularly now.

• Kobo Store. Key marker for DRM‐free: “Download options: EPUB 3 (DRM-Free)”.

• Google Play. Key marker for DRM‐free: “Content protection: This content is DRM free.”

• Barnes and Noble. Key marker for DRM‐free: “At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.”

Amazon rolled out DRM‐free ebooks (for some books) earlier this year, but at this point they’ve permanently lost my business.

Also, sites to purchase DRM‐free audiobooks:

• Libro.fm

• Downpour

Re: Kindle to end store downloads and registering for 1st-5th gen kindles in May

#60

Post by archiewood »

ratg13 wrote: post #16
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #9

Man, Amazon is really going above-and-beyond to cripple the last bastion of Kindle devices that carry a DRM scheme we can crack.

I hate Amazon more because than most people, but let’s be realistic. These devices came out in 2007-2012 14-19 years is a respectable lifetime for a handheld electronic device.

My gameboy color still works
Post reply on HN