Ugh, thanks for the warning. Time for me to download and de-drm all my old kindle books and never again buy anymore.
this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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Try this python script: https://github.com/Jedi425/BulkKindleUSBDownloader
Source: https://social.wildeboer.net/@jwildeboer/114002221924654676
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I sure am glad I got a Kobo for myself for Xmas and ripped all my books to it. Guess I'll be recycling my Kindle for good.
I just got a Kobo color (don't recommend the color feature; no book is ever going to use it except the red-letter Bible and House of Leaves) and gifted the old Kindle to a friend. I e-reader is an awesome gift actually because for a lot of people it's something they would never evenly in years take a chance on, but that they would love it if they tried.
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If your model accepts a custom OS, some of them make decent e-ink displays for weather, family photos, etc. Things look good in the black and white ones especially.
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Its possible to buy DRM free ebooks from itch.io and it is where I get everything that I can.
Adding on to this that Barnes and Noble sells DRMed ePUB files that are relatively easy to strip DRM from using Calibre.
So if you can't find a book anywhere else, at least they don't use a proprietary format and still allow you to download your books using their PC software.
I was a semi-early adopter in the ebook space and I have refused to get onboard with the kindle ecosystem from the start. There's no reason for their proprietary format other than complete control over things they pretend to sell you. Amazon is also the Walmart of books and uses their position to browbeat publishers and authors into taking smaller cuts of sales.
One of my friends got a book published and I waited and waited for it to be available anywhere else. Eventually just bought what was probably a print on demand copy from Amazon because that's the only place his publisher sold books. I never buy physical books anymore but I'd rather do that than buy a kindle book.
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resist.
Stop buying whatever it is that Amazon/Meta/Google/Etc sell. They will not stand for you. They will not respect you.
At some points, it may seem like they changed and that they are now good. They are not. They will never be. Resist them.
The only surprising thing about this is that the functionality existed in the first place.
early models didn't have wifi, only usb or cellular from one provider or another--and those models' 3g connectivity was killed off years ago.
this will obsolete all the non-wifi kindles still in use.
You can still use calibre to sideload onto them. Where you get the books is another issue.
So it just obsoletes them for the model users that buy ebooks from Amazon and put them on their Amazon device without conversion in between. Even though this user group should be Amazon's favourites.
lol, lmao even.
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You know I am starting to think going to the library is a better idea than buying their products. You can literally just walk in.
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Knew this would happen
I'm glad I started converting all my amazon books long ago. When I finally got a Kobo last month, there were no issues since the work was done.
If only there were some way to get books to read in a format where a billionaire's trillion dollar company can't gatekeep them.
Some sort of physical product, perhaps one made out of trees?
If only there was a library for geniuses where I can read in a format that billionaires aren't able to gatekeep what I read on my e-ink device.
Some sort of website, perhaps one on the internet?
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I recommend actually listening to some authors.
The "gatekeeping" back in the days before ebooks was infinitely worse than it is now. These days? Basically anyone who can fill out a webform can publish a kindle book. And other stores aren't much harder. And those ebooks can be sold indefinitely.
Contrast that with needing to find a publisher who is willing to allocate some of their limited production time to you. And then hope that Borders et al are willing to put you on the shelf. And then realize that you are never getting another penny for that book because the first MMPB run ran out and you aren't getting a second because you didn't sell enough to justify it.
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I'm quite glad that I never bought fully into Kindle/Nook/Kobo and instead went with an eInk Android tablet.
Kobo connected to calibre web is the ultimate freedom/privacy ereader
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Kobo and Nook ebooks are still ePUB and easy enough to free from their DRM.
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I rarely use my Paperwhite Signature since I like my Boox Nova 2 more. The Kindle is mostly just for the serial now to strip DRM via Calibre.
My wife recently joked that it’s my “Kindle Paperweight.” With this announcement it’s no longer a joke. I doubt I’ll buy anymore books from Amazon.
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I read somwhere how to solve this
1 - factory reset
2 - deactivate wifi for life
3 - upload books with calibre
This will wipe out any content you have, as i understand
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I’m guessing audible will follow soon after.
This is why I almost never get any Digital Book. The only digital books I have are books that were free either originally or through a giveaway, or that were severely discounted and I already owned physically. That's also why I don't buy movies or TV series digitally. You're just renting these things, and you're only renting them when you have an internet connection.
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I’m waiting for them to get rid of the send-to-kindle email thing to receive books from calibre. I’m surprised it has survived for this long. I’ve wanted to try out a kobo but can’t justify it cause my 10+ year old kindle still works perfectly fine for reading. But once they remove that feature or drop support for my device, it’s kobo time.
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I noticed this feature wasn’t available for my Colorsoft and asked support about it. They assured me it would be added later. This is exactly what I expected to happen.
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Well fuck... Guess i'll need too look at what is available for ebook downloads i my arr stack to get books for my kobo.
The kobo store is mostly useless, and there are limited options available for buying ebooks here, so amazon has been the best option for likely finding what i was looking for.
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That's terrible...
Just fyi there is some good publishers like baen that still support and don't plan on removing ebook format downloads.