Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant
And it breaks the current de-drm method for Kindle ebooks. Sigh...
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Sorry my comment was a bit cryptic. I thought it was obvious from context, but obviously not.
OK, first off, this change only affects people with a Kindle. People only using Kindle for Windows or Kindle for iPod/iPhone are unaffected (at least, until those readers get updated too)
With pre-2.5 firmware, books for a physical Kindle were encoded using a PID specific to that Kindle. This PID could be derived from the Kindle's serial number.
With 2.5 firmware, that PID no longer is the PID used to encode books downloaded for that Kindle - whether downloaded directly to the Kindle, or downloaded to a computer for transfer via USB.
It is not yet known whether the method for deriving the PID from the Kindle serial number has changed, or whether there's some further book-specific manipulation of the PID, or some other change or combination of changes.
Books downloaded before your specific Kindle got the 2.5 update are unaffected. Books downloaded after your specific Kindle got the 2.5 are affected, no matter when bought. Books that have already been downloaded and DRM stripped are obviously not affected.
It might be that some clever person will work out what's changed and the DRM removal software might be updated. Or it might not.
It's certainly going to cut down on my ebook purchases. I'm not buying any DRMed books where I can't removed the DRM. It is still possible with Kindle books by downloading to Kindle for Windows, but it's more hassle.
I hope this fuller explanation answers people's questions about the DRM change with the Kindle 2.5(.2) firmware, without stepping over the lines for de-drm info at Mobileread.