Has Kindle DRM changed?

HowardBrazee · 10-22-2012, 08:17 AM

My procedure when I buy a book from Amazon is to first buy it - and it will go to my iPad's Kindle app. Then I go to my Amazon's book page and download it again - this time to the Kindle app on my Mac. Then I find where that book is by looking at the date in my Kindle library. I open Calibre and add that book. This worked in August allowing me to convert it to .epub.

This time I got a message window saying:

Error: No key found. Please report this failure for help.... /Users/HBrazee/Desktop/The Foundling (4478)/The Foundling - Georgette Heyer.azw. I edit the metadata to change the name from "Heyer, Georgette" to "Georgette Heyer" and to get the cover back. Then I try to convert, but am told that the book is locked by DRM. Then I delete the book from Calibre.

I can read the book on my Kindle app on my iPad or on my Mac (but I would never read it on my Mac).

PeterT · 10-22-2012, 10:44 AM

Best for you to head over to Apprentice's Alf's home and ask there... You DO have the current version of his tools????

soulfuldog · 10-22-2012, 05:31 PM

Yep first thing to check is that you have the latest version of the tools and the latest version of Calibre installed.

HowardBrazee · 10-23-2012, 09:15 AM

It's easy to see that I have the latest version of Calibre. But that's all that is easy for me. The book is an .AZW book. The Calibre for OSX plug in window shows a bunch of Conversion Input plugins, including AZW4 Input (1.0.0) by John Schember, which doesn't look like the right thing - but is closer than any other plugins in that section.

Telling Calibre to update plugins finds an empty window.

I downloaded tools_v5.3.1 from Apprentice Alf's link and saw some files are different from those in the directory where I stored them in the past, and copied the new ones over. But I knew that would be insufficient - there has to be some way to implement them. I tried running a couple of programs, but need to look up how to tell Mountain Lion to run the program not supported by Apple (I kept trying hitting control, command, option, etc while clicking it). But those aren't my goal - my goal is to get the plugin working again. The KindleBooks folder has a bunch of files in it's lib which I copied over to a similar folder in my Calibre files.

I didn't expect copying files would be sufficient, but I am not finding out what I'm supposed to do to make sure my plugins are updated and working.

DiapDealer · 10-23-2012, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowardBrazee

I didn't expect copying files would be sufficient, but I am not finding out what I'm supposed to do to make sure my plugins are updated and working.

You find that out by reading the READMEs provided and reading the FAQ and/or asking questions (in the comments section) on the blog where you downloaded the tools from.

The plugins are not any official (sanctioned) part of calibre and are unsupported here. Mobile Read's policies do not allow any specific instructions/discussions about using/installing those plugins (or for DRM removal in general).

cybmole · 10-24-2012, 12:54 AM

i am not aware of any change at amazon.

as part of a debugging project for latest K4PC, referenced in Kindle forum, I have been "buying" a free bestseller from kindle store almost every day, & have yet to find one that did not convert.

my workflow is buy - send to kindle for PC, add to calibre, convert to epub - no problems

HowardBrazee · 10-24-2012, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

Best for you to head over to Apprentice's Alf's home and ask there... You DO have the current version of his tools????

It seems dumb - but I haven't been able to find where to write my message to a forum there.

DiapDealer · 10-24-2012, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowardBrazee

It seems dumb - but I haven't been able to find where to write my message to a forum there.

The very first blog post has an active comments section. Add a comment.

Mike L · 10-24-2012, 12:49 PM

I don't know if this will help, but I found that, after installing the latest plugins, when I drop an AZW into Calibre, it no longer converts it automatically to Mobi as it did before. I have to explicitly do the conversion. Howard, you might try doing that, on the off-chance that you are having the same problem as I did.

Mike

DiapDealer · 10-24-2012, 01:21 PM

This conversation really needs to take place on Alf's website, but I'll try:

@Mike L. The plugin doesn't do any conversion. It never did (with the exception of Topaz). It just changes the file's extension. What you are experiencing is the result of Amazon's KF8 format becoming more and more prolific. A KF8 ebook (DRMed or UnDRMed) is not going to be readable by any device/app that doesn't support KF8 (.AZW3).

If you don't "end up" with a .mobi, that's because it was never a mobi to begin with (regardless of the file's Amazon extension). It was a KF8 (or possibly topaz) ebook and will have to be converted to the older mobi format to be readable on devices/apps that don't support KF8.

In short: everything is behaving as expected. It's just that many people aren't quite hip to the changes that the shift toward KF8 has introduced to a lot of people's existing workflows.

Mike L · 10-25-2012, 11:53 AM

Thanks for the clarification, DiapDealer. Actually, I think I already knew all that. I was just having difficulty expressing it.

Mike

DiapDealer · 10-25-2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

I was just having difficulty expressing it.

As do we all.

10-22-2012, 08:17 AM	#1
HowardBrazee Zealot Posts: 141 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Lafayette, CO Device: iPad	Has Kindle DRM changed? My procedure when I buy a book from Amazon is to first buy it - and it will go to my iPad's Kindle app. Then I go to my Amazon's book page and download it again - this time to the Kindle app on my Mac. Then I find where that book is by looking at the date in my Kindle library. I open Calibre and add that book. This worked in August allowing me to convert it to .epub. This time I got a message window saying: Error: No key found. Please report this failure for help.... /Users/HBrazee/Desktop/The Foundling (4478)/The Foundling - Georgette Heyer.azw. I edit the metadata to change the name from "Heyer, Georgette" to "Georgette Heyer" and to get the cover back. Then I try to convert, but am told that the book is locked by DRM. Then I delete the book from Calibre. I can read the book on my Kindle app on my iPad or on my Mac (but I would never read it on my Mac).

10-24-2012, 01:21 PM	#10
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,358 Karma: 203720150 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	This conversation really needs to take place on Alf's website, but I'll try: @Mike L. The plugin doesn't do any conversion. It never did (with the exception of Topaz). It just changes the file's extension. What you are experiencing is the result of Amazon's KF8 format becoming more and more prolific. A KF8 ebook (DRMed or UnDRMed) is not going to be readable by any device/app that doesn't support KF8 (.AZW3). If you don't "end up" with a .mobi, that's because it was never a mobi to begin with (regardless of the file's Amazon extension). It was a KF8 (or possibly topaz) ebook and will have to be converted to the older mobi format to be readable on devices/apps that don't support KF8. In short: everything is behaving as expected. It's just that many people aren't quite hip to the changes that the shift toward KF8 has introduced to a lot of people's existing workflows. Last edited by DiapDealer; 10-24-2012 at 01:25 PM.

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10-22-2012, 10:44 AM	#2
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,306 Karma: 78876004 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Best for you to head over to Apprentice's Alf's home and ask there... You DO have the current version of his tools????

10-22-2012, 05:31 PM	#3
soulfuldog I ♥ Calibre Posts: 2,073 Karma: 5678911 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Sony PRS-350, Hudl2	Yep first thing to check is that you have the latest version of the tools and the latest version of Calibre installed.

10-23-2012, 09:15 AM	#4
HowardBrazee Zealot Posts: 141 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Lafayette, CO Device: iPad	It's easy to see that I have the latest version of Calibre. But that's all that is easy for me. The book is an .AZW book. The Calibre for OSX plug in window shows a bunch of Conversion Input plugins, including AZW4 Input (1.0.0) by John Schember, which doesn't look like the right thing - but is closer than any other plugins in that section. Telling Calibre to update plugins finds an empty window. I downloaded tools_v5.3.1 from Apprentice Alf's link and saw some files are different from those in the directory where I stored them in the past, and copied the new ones over. But I knew that would be insufficient - there has to be some way to implement them. I tried running a couple of programs, but need to look up how to tell Mountain Lion to run the program not supported by Apple (I kept trying hitting control, command, option, etc while clicking it). But those aren't my goal - my goal is to get the plugin working again. The KindleBooks folder has a bunch of files in it's lib which I copied over to a similar folder in my Calibre files. I didn't expect copying files would be sufficient, but I am not finding out what I'm supposed to do to make sure my plugins are updated and working.

10-24-2012, 12:54 AM	#6
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	i am not aware of any change at amazon. as part of a debugging project for latest K4PC, referenced in Kindle forum, I have been "buying" a free bestseller from kindle store almost every day, & have yet to find one that did not convert. my workflow is buy - send to kindle for PC, add to calibre, convert to epub - no problems

10-24-2012, 12:49 PM	#9
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	I don't know if this will help, but I found that, after installing the latest plugins, when I drop an AZW into Calibre, it no longer converts it automatically to Mobi as it did before. I have to explicitly do the conversion. Howard, you might try doing that, on the off-chance that you are having the same problem as I did. Mike

10-25-2012, 11:53 AM	#11
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Thanks for the clarification, DiapDealer. Actually, I think I already knew all that. I was just having difficulty expressing it. Mike

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