Next week, Amazon is stripping away your ability to download your ebooks.
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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.
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Which generation of kindles requires Amazon software for USB transfer? I've always put mine in airplane mode and just used Calibre. I don't want to buy a newer one that doesn't work without special software.
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Even after years and years of this being discussed, it shocks me how many people keep dropping money into services which force them to own nothing.
Convenience is a helluva drug.
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I'm not sure where exactly they made the switch. Basically, I got my girlfriend one a year and a half ago and it did not need the software. I explained to her to turn off the wifi and just download books and drag and drop.
But then around Christmastime last year my girlfriend's cousin wanted an ebook ready so we bought her a Kindle and I gave the same advice. But she couldn't figure out how to drag and drop, so she brought it over. I was fussing around thinking something was wrong with my USB cable but then I realized it required that special software.
So the switch happened at some point in the last ~18 months or so my memory's a bit hazy
Amazon just couldn't let it be. There's a certain set of people that just aren't going to opt into all the bullshit. These people just want a plain and simple ebook ready to host their ebooks. They think if they force the special software they'll be able to do things like sign into your Kindle and change your settings by force.
But what happens? Instead of gaining those people like me or you into their ecosystem, they're just gonna lose future hardware customers. I would have been perfectly fine buying Kindles for the rest of my life if they had just kept that feature.
I'm sure it's going to be reversed engineered at some point but it's absurd. I don't understand the short-sighted greed.
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how is that even possible? Congrats anyway
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Calibre (Kindle) and Libation (Audible) are essential backup tools.
Y'know, in case their servers are down...
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That doesn't change the argument.
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Lol, my girlfriend just had all of her sideloaded books removed from her kindle today. She just opened her kindle and they were gone
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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.
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library genesis. anna's archive.
chances are, its there.
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Legality has never been morality. Slavery was legal, still technically is.
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Yep, I did it earlier today. Took about half an hour to set up, download and convert 75 books and comics
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Book burning
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GetLibation.com to download and convert your Audible library
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Thank you. Audible was my lifesaver when I was working on the road but I'm definitely on the prepare part.
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Here's my purely capitalistic problem with Amazon:
A decade+ ago, I realized that major brands were using the site as their outlet store. I'd buy a pack of socks, and they'd be hideously deformed. I'd buy a few pants for work, one pair would be too small, one too large, and one would fit just right. I'm not fucking Goldilocks.
The final straw for me was when my coffee maker broke. I ordered a new one via same day shipping, which at the time had a minimum order of something like $50. The coffee maker did not cost quite enough, so I added something random to the order so that my same day shipping would be free. Ultimately, the coffee maker arrived late (i.e. not the same day) and the decanter was broken.
When I contacted Amazon about the issue, the agent said they could reship, but they wouldn't send it same day so for that specific item it was going to take 3 - 5 days to arrive. They also tried to hassle me with a straight up return, telling me I had to take it to a UPS store, which at the time was 30+ minutes away.
Ultimately, I pulled a Karen and told them to cancel my Amazon Prime, which they did. Only problem is, I was 2 or 3 months into the year long subscription and assumed I'd get a pro-rated refund. I did not. When I got back in touch with customer service, they told me that Amazon adds up the value of the "free" shipping I received, the rental value of the movies and shows I watched on Prime, and the value of all the other services included with Prime and if that total exceeds the remaining value of the Prime subscription, then no refund.
They basically stole almost a year of Prime from me with no recourse.
Scum company. I got a lot of hate for saying this back in those days. But at least now, a decade+ later, people are finally starting to wake up. Not everyone, obviously. But at least I don't get hateful responses and DMs quite as much as I used to.
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Fuck Amazon. Delete your account.
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Like I believe generally everyone needs . waffle eating books should imaginatively teach evil
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I’m glad I started my Amazon boycott earlier. I could’ve lost a lot more e-books.
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It's been a while since I've heard about libgen and aa - and actually i'm not sure how they operate with direct downloads of copyrighted material? I find my ebooks through more conventional p2p means, but i've always just assumed that was necessary to avoid sudden takedowns
