kobo forma, ereader newbie

[OldFudd]

i just posted an intro in the appropriate forum with some of my background.

just ordered a kobo forma for my wife, and as she does not want to be concerned with accounts, downloading, etc, i will be handling those things with my pc (hardwire ethernet connection) and using a cable to transfer the ebooks to the forma. new to ereaders/ebooks, have been familiarizing myself with formats, calibre, adobe ade, alf/dedrm, etc (alot to learn !)

when the unit arrives, prior to doing anything else, i will hook it up to my pc and take a peak at what is on it. i have downloaded the kobo pc software because kobo says you must have the software and account so that you can initialize the forma.

i am very much against loading garbage software on my pc unless there is a mighty good reason to do it, so i have not yet loaded the kobo software on my pc, nor have i created an account with them.

1. does kobo forma come loaded with what is needed to handle and read ebooks ? as an aside, i see that its possible to load other reader software such as koreader
2. i also see firmware update links are found on this this site (example Kobo Firmware 4.18.13737)
3. is what i am proposing (no kobo software on my pc, no kobo initialization of the forma) workable, is it workable and just a plain dumb idea ?
4. is there any guidance you folks can give me moving forward ?

i read through a posting that dealt with some of these issues, but i am wondering what the current situation is with kobo devices

any info/advice/criticism will be appreciated

thank you in advance !

[davidfor]

Kobo devices will all do a setup which includes signing into an account and downloading the latest available firmware. That can be done over WiFi or using the Kobo desktop application. After that, you can turn WiFi, delete the app and sideload books. And you don't have to talk to Kobo again. When doing the setup, you can use a fake email address. Kobo do not validate it beyond that it has to look like a real email address.

There is a method to bypass the setup by inserting a record in the internal database. That has broken with different firmware versions. I believe it works with the current firmware, but, I have never tried it. And, personally, as you can use a fake email address and never connected to Kobo again, I've never seen the point. Of course, I also buy books from Kobo and occasionally use the library, so having an actual working account makes sense to me.

[ZodWallop]

No one can accuse you of nit doing your homework. But you might be putting the cart before the horse.

Actually get the device in hand and use it for a bit. See what is good and bad on it before tweaking too much. Definitely before installing Koreader.

Kobo's own firmware is very good. Unless you have a need to have the files on the Forma arranged just so or unless you are planning on reading lots of PDFs (in which case I'd just recommend a tablet), you can likely happily get by without Koreader.

Originally Posted by OldFudd

3. is what i am proposing (no kobo software on my pc, no kobo initialization of the forma) workable, is it workable and just a plain dumb idea?

I don't understand the desire to not register the device. You aren't the only poster with this desire, so I'm not criticizing. I just don't get it. I have an account with Kobo and if I ever decide to buy a book from them, I'll be glad of it.

At any rate, I don't have any Kobo software installed on my PC and didn't have an issue activating my Clara. I leave WiFi off on my reader, so I doubt they're snooping on my reading habits, though I leave it off to save battery and to only update when I'm ready..

[stumped]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

..



I don't understand the desire to not register the device. You aren't the only poster with this desire, so I'm not criticizing. I just don't get it. ...

i dont get it either. i always register purchases for warranty purposes.

curious: is registering tied at all to activating warranty i.e. if its never registered but stops working, can you still make a warranty claim ?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by stumped

i dont get it either. i always register purchases for warranty purposes.

curious: is registering tied at all to activating warranty i.e. if its never registered but stops working, can you still make a warranty claim ?

That will depend on the country. It definitely isn't necessary in Australia. It would probably be illegal to make registration a condition of the warranty.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by stumped

i dont get it either. i always register purchases for warranty purposes.

with your registration comes a few unpleasant gifts like privacy invasion and data tracking. your data gets sold. not sure how bad Kobo is, and I don't intend to find out, but Amazon scrapes every bit of data they can. you have no privacy.

I don't do anything wrong, but if someone wants my data, especially if I paid for a product, they need to pay me for it, and I still wouldn't give it to them.

[OldFudd]

thank you all for responding to my posting so promptly AND with such good advice and information - *exactly* what i was hoping for.

given what you folks have said, i am going to alter my initial course of action significantly and move forward with a bit more confidence

again, my deepest and most sincere gratitude. perhaps when i get a genuine grasp of what i am doing, i will be able to help someone else

[petercreasey]

I have Kobo Aura One and Forma. I have never loaded the Kobo software app onto my PCs.

You can use Calibre and Adobe Digital Editions to load your ebooks (which is what I always do). Or you can side load them.

I avoid the Kobo software app.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by pghaworth

with your registration comes a few unpleasant gifts like privacy invasion and data tracking. your data gets sold. not sure how bad Kobo is, and I don't intend to find out, but Amazon scrapes every bit of data they can. you have no privacy.

Yes, yes. I understand what you are saying.

But I buy no books from Kobo, sideload everything and leave the WiFi off. Aside from knowing that I bought a 6" Aura and later a Clara, I just don't see what info Kobo gleans from my registration.

I buy my books from Amazon, so they know everything I buy. But in the end, if you're going to read ebooks legally, you have to buy them from somewhere. So someone is going to have a record of your purchases.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pghaworth

with your registration comes a few unpleasant gifts like privacy invasion and data tracking. your data gets sold. not sure how bad Kobo is, and I don't intend to find out, but Amazon scrapes every bit of data they can. you have no privacy.

I don't do anything wrong, but if someone wants my data, especially if I paid for a product, they need to pay me for it, and I still wouldn't give it to them.

If your that paranoid, register and just keep WiFi off. Problem solved.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yes, yes. I understand what you are saying.

But I buy no books from Kobo, sideload everything and leave the WiFi off. Aside from knowing that I bought a 6" Aura and later a Clara, I just don't see what info Kobo gleans from my registration.

I buy my books from Amazon, so they know everything I buy. But in the end, if you're going to read ebooks legally, you have to buy them from somewhere. So someone is going to have a record of your purchases.

Very well said.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yes, yes. I understand what you are saying.

But I buy no books from Kobo, sideload everything and leave the WiFi off. Aside from knowing that I bought a 6" Aura and later a Clara, I just don't see what info Kobo gleans from my registration.

I buy my books from Amazon, so they know everything I buy. But in the end, if you're going to read ebooks legally, you have to buy them from somewhere. So someone is going to have a record of your purchases.

absolutely. and since Amazon already has my data, I prefer to minimize it elsewhere. it's swimming against the tide, but we can't just do nothing or pretty soon there will be zero privacy anywhere.

[Sirtel]

Eh. Computers and Internet = No Privacy. If you don't make your life as convoluted as possible and use TOR browser / VPN for everything online, only pay with cash, don't use a bank account, health insurance etc. etc, total privacy in today's world is an illusion anyway. While I don't go about strutting all my stuff every chance I get, I see no reason to sweat over my data and privacy every time I'm online. You have to live, after all. And I don't want to live in the woods without internet, bank cards and all the other modern amenities. That's about the only way you can have absolute privacy these days.

So what if Amazon and Kobo and Google and Microsoft and the government and CIA and FSB spy on me? Yawn. They spy on billions. I'm no more interesting than any other of my fellow humans. Let them die of boredom spying on my boring life.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

And I don't want to live in the woods without internet, bank cards and all the other modern amenities. That's about the only way you can have absolute privacy these days.

You can still be a victim of identity theft even then.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

So what if Amazon and Kobo and Google and Microsoft and the government and CIA and FSB spy on me? Yawn. They spy on billions. I'm no more interesting than any other of my fellow humans. Let them die of boredom spying on my boring life.

for me, it's not giving in. yes, you're right, but should I just lay down and give up, completely give in? no. it's not me and never will be. I know how bad it is, and it shouldn't be, but we live in big brother world now. so I do what little I can. it's enough for me, to give me some kind of peace.