Thread: Icarus quietly goes out of business
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Old 12-11-2018, 05:32 PM   #21
DNSB
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rcentros View Post
I don't see that much difference in Amazon's modified mobi format (KFX, AZW3) and Kobo's modified ePub format (KePub). Both are based on an open format, both have modified the open formats for their own devices and neither will work on other devices until the the DRM protection is removed.
Hmmm... a few minor issues with your post. While you might want to argue the AZW3 or KFX are modifications of the proprietary mobi format, looking at the structure of those two formats says you're not going to win that argument. AZW3 is closer to a modified epub than mobi/AZW while KFX is in it's own playground being that it appears to be closer to the output of a compiler than an epub, AZW3 or AZW/mobi document.

Could you point me in the direction where I might find the standards document for Amazon's version of mobi format -- it had diverged quite enthusiastically from the Open eBook standard even before Mobipocket was purchased by Amazon. As the MobileRead wiki entry for Open eBook says about their sample file, "many of the MobiPocket specific package items are missing from the file". Other such items as the the Open eBook standard allowing for and preferring CSS while Mobipocket did not support CSS -- in-line styles only need apply.

By comparison, the Kobo modification of epub is about as compliant as you can get with the Epub3 standards document. One other point is that for compatibility reasons, the javascript, which is permissible under the Epub3 standard, found in early kepubs was removed making a kepub more readable with an Epub2 renderer.

As for DRM? Remove the DRM from a kepub and you can view it on another epub viewer with few if any visible results. Finding a non-Amazon app or device that would view a AZW3 or KFX file without conversion to a different format is a bit more difficult. And please note that DRM on KFX ebooks has been updated breaking the current tools.

For humour, you might want to check TechRadar's best free ebook readers for 2018. The number 1 benefit to using a Kindle app: compatible with all ebook formats. The number 3 choice for an ebook reader: Calibre. See The best free ebook reader 2018.
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