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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

#61

Post by portaouflop »

pmarreck wrote: post #42
daveoc64 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Apple understood this when the first iPod came out. Offer a better service, not shinier handcuffs. It's a shame they haven't tried to pressure the publishers into dropping DRM for books. The DRM used by Apple's bookstore is entirely limited to Apple's own apps on its own devices. You can't even read the books in a web browser.

Which is why I try to decrypt everything I purchase, or obtain a decrypted version after purchase. (The only grey-area exception is if I own the physical copy of the book, I consider it ethical to download the ebook, but this is of course debatable to a degree) I'm not trying to screw over authors and publishers, I just want to use my purchased content how I please. They could easily do what Apple did and leave thing…

Buying hard copies of a book and the pirating the DRM-free digital version is completely acceptable imo - as long as you buy the hard copy in a bookshop and not online ilk like Amazon. Most local bookshops also will offer shipping if you’re too lazy to walk there a couple of times/year.

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

#62

Post by addicted »

I’m not sure why anyone buys Kindles when there are so many better options available.

I bought a Kobo Clara years ago, and it supports regular MOBI and ePub files.

My book purchases are no longer liked with the reader and I’ve never had a problem in all these years. And this wasn’t even the best or best value for money device I could have bought.

Today there are so many other better alternatives in all price points and form factors.

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

#63

Post by chipotle_coyote »

wiether wrote: post #34

I hear the complaints about Kindle but... How are we supposed to do? In three "taps" I buy a book and 10s later I start reading it. Legally. The device just works. The alternatives? Libraries here (France) have a very limited offer of ebooks. Even for ebooks in English. I owned a Kobo circa 2013 and it was awful. I tried friend's devices more recently, and it's not the UX I expect from a "book". A simple comparison;…

I can't speak to the experience in France, but my experience with Kobo in the US has been that it's just as good as a Kindle in most respects, and better in some others, such as integration with Overdrive and Pocket. (My understanding is that Kindles have gotten better at Overdrive since I left that ecosystem.)

I mean, I can buy a book on a Kobo and read it legally in just as few taps, and I can also borrow a book on Kobo and read it legally.

Also, Kobo plays more nicely with Calibre, including a much nicer DRM-stripping management plugin, which seems relevant to the overall topic of this thread -- all the Kindle DRM removal plugin how-tos out there stopped working reliably for me years ago.

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

#64

Post by goosedragons »

Uvix wrote: post #59
goosedragons wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is the UX you want from an eReader? I find Kindles and Kobos are pretty similar. So I'm curious what exactly was better about Amazon. I personally find Amazon has worse text options, font sizing, line spacing etc. I have purchased eBooks that were just bad OCRs, some publishers just don't care. Kobo will also price match with Amazon, you get credit back and an extra 10% too.

I'm intrigued that you think Kindle has worse text options than Kobo; in my experience it's the other way around. My Kobo doesn't have the ability to justify just body text while leaving headings alone; my Kindles have handled that just fine for over a decade. What options does Kobo have for text that you think Kindle is missing? I use my Kobo for comics and buy those through them (specifically got one with a large s…

Line, paragraph spacing, fonts and font sizing and margins. Amazon has like 6 options of each. One of which I consider almost tolerable (but not quite) and the rest are useless. Kobo has a LOT more play with these settings and much easier to get something I like.

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

#65

Post by chipotle_coyote »

Uvix wrote: post #59
goosedragons wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is the UX you want from an eReader? I find Kindles and Kobos are pretty similar. So I'm curious what exactly was better about Amazon. I personally find Amazon has worse text options, font sizing, line spacing etc. I have purchased eBooks that were just bad OCRs, some publishers just don't care. Kobo will also price match with Amazon, you get credit back and an extra 10% too.

I'm intrigued that you think Kindle has worse text options than Kobo; in my experience it's the other way around. My Kobo doesn't have the ability to justify just body text while leaving headings alone; my Kindles have handled that just fine for over a decade. What options does Kobo have for text that you think Kindle is missing? I use my Kobo for comics and buy those through them (specifically got one with a large s…

With my Kobo Libra 2, if I set justification to "off", it follows the justification that's in the ebook -- which usually tend to do exactly what you're asking, e.g., justify body text while leaving headers alone.

When I switched over to Kobo a few years ago, it seemed much easier to manage custom fonts, too, although I think Kindle has improved in that regard. I don't think there's a tremendous amount of difference between the two in practice anymore, though. (In terms of text handling, that is.)

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

#66

Post by starfezzy »

bo1024 wrote: post #56
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.…

This is far worse for me than the other possible interpretation - that you could download books but not transfer them. I buy Amazon e-books to read them on other e-readers, but now it looks like I can't.

[dead]

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

#67

Post by fractallyte »

I spent yesterday morning downloading ALL my (~2400) Kindle books using the command line utility from https://github.com/yihong0618/Kindle_download_helper

In case anyone else needs to do something similar: Log in to your Amazon account > Manage Your Content and Devices

Copy the cookie and save it to a file ('cookie.txt'): https://github.com/yihong0618/Kindle_download_helper?tab=rea...

Execute the Python utility (this example accesses amazon.co.uk):

  python kindle.py --cookie-file cookie.txt --uk -o DOWNLOADS --device_sn [Your Kindle serial no.] --mode all
You can also download a JSON list containing details of all your Kindle books:

  python kindle.py --cookie-file cookie.txt --uk --list --device_sn [Your Kindle serial no.]
There are other methods outlined in the README, but this worked best for me.

I also extracted a list of cover URLs from the JSON file using a basic Python script (with output redirected to a file 'covers.txt'):

  import json
  with open('book-list.json') as f:
    json_data = json.load(f)

  for i in range(len(json_data)):
    print(json_data[i]['productImage'])
And then I used wget to download them all too:

  wget --wait=3 --random-wait --input-file=covers.txt
Of course, the books are still DRM'd, but it's trivial to DeDRM them later. The crucial thing was to get the files before it's too late!

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

#68

Post by [deleted] »

addicted wrote: post #62

I’m not sure why anyone buys Kindles when there are so many better options available. I bought a Kobo Clara years ago, and it supports regular MOBI and ePub files. My book purchases are no longer liked with the reader and I’ve never had a problem in all these years. And this wasn’t even the best or best value for money device I could have bought. Today there are so many other better alternatives in all price points a…

[deleted]

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

#70

Post by syntaxing »

I don’t really get the Kindle hype. Kobo is a vastly better experience and the unlimited plans are more affordable. Kobo is $8 a month, $10 for books and audiobooks. Kindle is $12 flat. Kobo has g drive and Dropbox integration. Also the e-readers use the same screens (minus the “colorsoft” which is still a e-ink product).
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