Thread: Amazon and DRM changes
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Old 05-10-2025, 02:03 PM   #2804
jhowell
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Posts: 7,123
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Device: Kindles
Quote:
Originally Posted by xyzzy_foo View Post
Meanwhile, DVDFab suddenly announced their upcoming BookFab Kindle Converter. It seems this new product is a direct response to the recent Kindle DRM changes that have effectively neutered DeDRM, creating a new business opportunity for them.
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However, my biggest concern is how they'll manage to convert pre-compiled KFX files into original-quality EPUBs. Even using calibre's KFX Input plugin and the "From KFX" toolbar action, the resulting EPUBs don't even come close to the highly faithful quality you get when extracting EPUBs from KF8 (AZW3) files with KindleUnpack. It's possible they've figured out a way to continuously access the KF8 (AZW3) files stored on Amazon's CDN, but until the app is released on the 12th, it's all just speculation.
I read through the BookFab Kindle Converter description again and I have a theory about how works.

It states that you need to install and register Kindle for PC prior to using the product but gives no further details. The description of using the product does not mention actually running Kindle for PC beyond that point.

I suspect that the program may extract the user's Kindle for PC credentials and use them to mimic Kindle for PC's interactions with Amazon's servers. That would be much like the way the ACSM Input plugin for calibre pretends to be Adobe Digital Editions when interacting with Adobe in order to download books.

Kindle for PC has long had a fallback from KFX to MOBI or KF8 format in cases where the underlying operating system does not render KFX properly. This is the "Renderer Test" that was previously an external program and provided a way to bypass KFX in older versions of Kindle for PC. Amazon got wise to that and built that test into newer versions of the app.

BookFab could be telling Amazon's server that it is Kindle for PC wanting to download a book but is unable to support KFX. That would force delivery of the book in an older format without the latest KFX DRM that appears to be as yet unbroken.

If I am correct about this then it would be easy for Amazon to cut this off, either by recognizing that BookFab does not accurately mimic Kindle for PC or by just dropping delivery of older formats regardless of the system's capabilities.

I am curious to see whether or not I am correct about this.
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