Starting next Wednesday, February 26th, Amazon isn’t going to let users download the ebooks they’ve purchased, forcing users to keep everything within the corporation’s proprietary ecosystem.…
  • Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world
    English
    15·
    4 months ago

    I think with applications, like Calibre its relatively painless to save the whole library, if someone is ready to jump ship. Now its the perfect time.

    I personally use a Kobo without the online features, which is fantastic, but there are many great Kindle alternatives without the corporate spyware bullshit.

  • pr06lefs@lemmy.mlEnglish
    122·
    4 months ago

    Unaffected since I’ve never participated in the Kindle ecosystem. I’ve been gifted a few Kindles but never was on board with that walled garden. Fuck Amazon.

    • kava@lemmy.worldEnglish
      111·
      4 months ago

      Up until fairly recently, you could just drag and drop files onto the Kindle with a usb. I’ve had my first generation Kindle for almost 15 years now and it still works. Just download an .epub file, convert it to .mobi with Calibre, and drag and drop it over to the Kindle.

      I have a newer one too, that I got a couple of years ago as a gift.

      The trick is just disable the wifi and never let it communicate with Amazon servers. They will mess with your settings and push secret updates that remove features. For example, it could “sync” your books with your Amazon account if you naively log into your Amazon account and that literally results in you not being able to remove items from your Kindle without logging into your Amazon account on your computer and going through a million menus. It won’t let you do it from the Kindle, even if you’re offline.

      But if you just never let it connect it to the internet at all, you’re fine.

      Although the new Kindles now require a special Amazon software to copy files over (because of “convenience”) and it won’t communicate with the usual protocol so you can’t drag and drop like you could for the last 15 years.

      So yeah, don’t buy a Kindle. at least not a new one.

  • flop_leash_973@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    4 months ago

    Sounds to me like Amazon is reducing the value proposition of their product. For me, additional roadblocks to being able to enjoy something they way I want when I have paid for it reduces the value of the product itself.

    For example, if a DRM free book in an standards compatible format costs $20, then the DRM version I can still download for offline viewing is worth $10. The DRM version I can’t download is now worth more like $1-$5 depending on how badly I would want to read it while still supporting the author.

    And yes, ebooks from the major sellers aren’t worth much to me and I rarely rent (because you’re not really buying) them.

    • Optional@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      4 months ago

      Where do others buy epubs? (Besides the library) In many cases my obscure authors only use Amazon.

  • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    3·
    4 months ago

    I pulled down the eight Kindle books I actually bought, about half of the books in my Kindle library are public domain, stuff like old Sherlock Holmes novels, some FAA handbooks, etc.

    Next I guess is Audible. Over the years Audible has offered a lot of free trials with a complimentary audiobook several times, and I’ve amassed a bit of a collection. Including the edition of The Martian narrated by R.C. Bray you can’t get anymore. Those I’d like in mp3 format if I can get it.

  • Kyrgizion@lemmy.worldEnglish
    42·
    4 months ago

    Good thing then that I never, ever in my entire life have given Amazon a single cent, nor will I.