Dealing with Kindle ebooks in calibre

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by odamizu

I agree with this and have no problem with you reporting a "bug" in Kindle for PC. My concern is with your using Download & Transfer as evidence of the "bug" in Kindle for PC, which could just cause Amazon to add the "bug" to Download & Transfer.



First, Download & Transfer works for all eink Kindles, even new ones. So this affects everyone who owns an eink Kindle, not just old Kindles.

I get that you think this is not important, and you think it's no big deal to buy ebooks elsewhere. Fine, that's your choice. But other people like Download & Transfer and would like to keep it the way it is. Telling them they can just buy books elsewhere because you don't care about Download & Transfer is like blowing up everyone's boats because you don't care about yours.

Also, I'm sure Amazon hasn't forgotten that Download & Transfer provides DRM-free ebooks when the author/publisher specifies, and so far they seem content to leave it that way. But if there's suddenly a big fuss about Download & Transfer, I can see them putting some energy into making changes, which is contrary to the purpose of this thread.

What I can see happening is Amazon change D&T via USB such that if you have a Kindle that handles KFX, you get a DRMed KFX from D&T. You would need a Kindle that handles KF8 and not KFX to get KF8.

@Lief LEAVE "DOWNLOAD & TRANSFER VIA USB" ALONE. DON'T GO TRYING TO GET AMAZON TO MAKE A CHANGE THAT NOBODY ELSE WANTS!

[ownedbycats]

The purpose of a system is what it does. Everything we've seen shows Amazon restricting methods that allow the user to take books out of the Kindle ecosystem.

Bringing attention to Download & Transfer will possible result in them adding restrictions.

[Lief]

Originally Posted by odamizu

I agree with this and have no problem with you reporting a "bug" in Kindle for PC. My concern is with your using Download & Transfer as evidence of the "bug" in Kindle for PC, which could just cause Amazon to add the "bug" to Download & Transfer.

Ok but I already did that... I cannot change the past.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

@Lief LEAVE "DOWNLOAD & TRANSFER VIA USB" ALONE. DON'T GO TRYING TO GET AMAZON TO MAKE A CHANGE THAT NOBODY ELSE WANTS!

As I wrote I have already reported the problem before writing it here, but unlike what you write I reported the problem as a bug of Kindle PC app for ebooks that should be DRM-free (I don't really care/use the download&transfer via usb method... I used to get backup with the Kindle PC app since I cannot download manga for my kindle 4 anyway). I just asked to do the same to those that care about it. The D&T via usb was just the example that I used because this is the first example I could think of of how to prove that the ebook was actually drm-free and therefore there is a bug with the Kindle PC app, I never said to use the same example.
In any case it is completely useless to write to me over and over again "leave the d&t via usb alone"... I am not Amazon, I have already reported the Kindle PC app bug.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Lief

As I wrote I have already reported the problem before writing it here, but unlike what you write I reported the problem as a bug of Kindle PC app for ebooks that should be DRM-free (I don't really care/use the download&transfer via usb method... I used to get backup with the Kindle PC app since I cannot download manga for my kindle 4 anyway). I just asked to do the same to those that care about it. The D&T via usb was just the example that I used because this is the first example I could think of of how to prove that the ebook was actually drm-free and therefore there is a bug with the Kindle PC app, I never said to use the same example.

In any case it is completely useless to write to me over and over again "leave the d&t via usb alone"... I am not Amazon, I have already reported the Kindle PC app bug.

You could call Amazon and tell them that what you reported was a mistake and see if that helps cancel it. Besides, you are so very wrong. What you say is a bug is not a bug. It's a deliberate action taken by Amazon.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

The purpose of a system is what it does. Everything we've seen shows Amazon restricting methods that allow the user to take books out of the Kindle ecosystem.

Bringing attention to Download & Transfer will possible result in them adding restrictions.

Of course they don't want people to take books out of the Kindle ecosystem. That's why they created the Kindle ecosystem in the first place.

At first they were more lax about this and instead focused on invention, better customer experience, the carrot instead of the whip. Then, after they were firmly the market leader (and possibly also the management had changed), they started to focus on preventing folks from leaving, not on enticing them to stay.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You could call Amazon and tell them that what you reported was a mistake and see if that helps cancel it.

That would almost certainly be of no use whatsoever.

[Lief]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You could call Amazon and tell them that what you reported was a mistake and see if that helps cancel it. Besides, you are so very wrong. What you say is a bug is not a bug. It's a deliberate action taken by Amazon.

That's just stupid. I will not do that.

[lkmiller]

Amazon already removed Download & Transfer for Kindle Unlimited books. (Which I think is fine since it can prevent the author from getting paid because Amazon can't see what you read.) But Amazon would prefer that you sync your Kindle over wifi. How many of their customers actually need the option to download & transfer?

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is why if you know an eBook is supposed to be without DRM, buy the ePub version and get an eBook with no DRM. You can easily convert it to be able to be read on a Kindle if you want.

And I do buy most of my books elsewhere because I prefer epub anyway. Just saying if Tor and Saga and all the KDP authors who want their books DRM-free complained about Amazon putting DRM on, it would stand more of a chance of getting Amazon to listen. But I don't see it happening.

[jhowell]

I hope that Amazon continues to allow download and transfer but I doubt that they are going to change or remove it because of bug reports related to other software.

I do wonder why Amazon continues to support it. It is an anachronism now that WiFi is more common than personal computers. Its main uses seem to be allowing extraction of books from the Kindle ecosystem and allowing users to keep their Kindles permanently offline, both things that Amazon would rather not have happen.

D&T does not support KFX format. One reason for that is KFX was designed with the assumption that Amazon’s server would be in communication with the target device in order to allow the KFX format to be tailored to the exact firmware version running on that device. I believe that in making that design decision Amazon’s engineers planned for the eventual elimination of D&T.

[Lief]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I do wonder why Amazon continues to support it.

Because older kindle cannot download ebooks with wifi anymore from amazon server, like my kindle 4 for example.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Lief

That's just stupid. I will not do that.

But what you did do was not smart at all. You didn't think of what you were doing and how it could possibly impact others when it's not a bug or a flaw but a deliberate decision by Amazon.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

And I do buy most of my books elsewhere because I prefer epub anyway. Just saying if Tor and Saga and all the KDP authors who want their books DRM-free complained about Amazon putting DRM on, it would stand more of a chance of getting Amazon to listen. But I don't see it happening.

Add in Simon & Schuster because they removed DRM from Star Trek eBooks.