No More Free Amazon Cloud? - Page 8

shalym · 03-28-2015, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardcastle

I'm with HarryT on this one. These emails and plans definitely indicate something could change with the way Amazon stores cloud books very soon. There's no reason to be pessimistic, but there's plenty of evidence to support HarryT's theories.

I'm not horribly pleased about the possible move, but I'm going to start making sure anything I have in the cloud is backed up elsewhere.

Of course--never rely on an external cloud from ANY provider as your only source for a document. I use my Kindle cloud as an easy way to have my non-Amazon books, work documents, and web pages available to any of my Kindles. I would never count on it as the only place to store things.

Shari

conan50 · 03-28-2015, 11:36 AM

What is confusing is that not long ago Amazon moved personal docs and files sent to Kindle into our cloud drive, now they have changed that. Amazon created needless confusion here. If they are just sticking our personal docs and files someplace on their servers like they did pre-moving them to cloud, no problem. But why not just make that clear? Amazon has created needless confusion about the issue. And people are rightly concerned when it comes to where their docs are at and how they can reach them. I would say it is not a problem except we have seen this move before with their 'free' music storage. They need to make this particular Kindle doc issue clear instead of changing the rules in the middle of the game.

Glorfindel · 03-28-2015, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

As always, though, there's no guarantee that a service which is free at the moment will continue to be free. "copy.com" is a business, not a charity, and at some point they're going to want money from you.

Same goes for dropbox.

DiapDealer · 03-28-2015, 12:08 PM

The only confusion I see (and it is confusing) is whether or not "Personal Document Archival to your Kindle Library" is synonymous with "Cloud Drive Storage."

Currently, the "Docs" view in my "Kindle Library" (from the MYK page) show the exact same books as when I view the contents of my "Cloud Drive." Who knows if that will continue to be so.

For those who don't have Prime (and have not opted to start the three-month free trial of a Cloud Drive subscription), I'm guessing that the continued existence of an "Enable/Disable Personal Document Archiving" setting on your MYK page will give a clear answer to the question of whether or not "everything will continue as before."

Keep in mind that Personal Document Archiving existed before "Cloud Drive" ever became a thing. So it wouldn't surprise me if Personal Document Archiving continued to exist (without a charge) in a post-Free Cloud Drive world. We'll see.

shalym · 03-28-2015, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

The only confusion I see (and it is confusing) is whether or not "Personal Document Archival to your Kindle Library" is synonymous with "Cloud Drive Storage."

Currently, the "Docs" view in my "Kindle Library" (from the MYK page) show the exact same books as when I view the contents of my "Cloud Drive." Who knows if that will continue to be so.

For those who don't have Prime (and have not opted to start the three-month free trial of a Cloud Drive subscription), I'm guessing that the continued existence of an "Enable/Disable Personal Document Archiving" setting on your MYK page will give a clear answer to the question of whether or not "everything will continue as before."

Keep in mind that Personal Document Archiving existed before "Cloud Drive" ever became a thing. So it wouldn't surprise me if Personal Document Archiving continued to exist (without a charge) in a post-Free Cloud Drive world. We'll see.

Well, on the new account I created I don't have Prime, and I have not opted to start the three month trial. The option is still there. I also contacted Amazon again for clarification and received the exact same answer from a different CSR. Personal document archiving is not changing for the Kindle cloud. I suggest people just contact Amazon themselves. Maybe if enough people do so, Amazon will issue an actual, definitive statement...maybe even a follow-up email to clarify the issue.

Shari

DiapDealer · 03-28-2015, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shalym

Well, on the new account I created I don't have Prime, and I have not opted to start the three month trial. The option is still there. I also contacted Amazon again for clarification and received the exact same answer from a different CSR. Personal document archiving is not changing for the Kindle cloud. I suggest people just contact Amazon themselves. Maybe if enough people do so, Amazon will issue an actual, definitive statement...maybe even a follow-up email to clarify the issue.

Shari

That satisfies me. Why would they leave the "enable/disable personal document archiving" setting (which I believe defaults to "enabled") otherwise?

HarryT · 03-28-2015, 01:01 PM

I think the reason for the confusion, Shari, is that as DD says, pdoc archiving used to be a completely standalone service. Then about a year ago it was merged into Cloud Drive. Hence the confusion: does Amazon's email to you which said "it's not going to change" mean that it's going to remain part of Cloud Drive (in which case we can reasonably expect it to become a chargeable service), or does it actually mean "it is going to change and once again be a separate service"?

That's where the uncertainty arises.

induna · 03-28-2015, 01:10 PM

I have repeated the same test as Shari. I am not a Prime user, have two Kindles and one Kindle Fire. Before the change I had 10GB total of Amazon cloud storage, 5GB for Personal Documents courtesy of the Kindles I own, and 5GBs of photo, etc. storage courtesy of the Fire. I received the email saying that my free cloud account has been discontinued and that I will not be able to upload any new content until I accept one of the free trial options. I have NOT accepted either of the trials. I used Send-to-Kindle to send a document to my fire and had the 'Save in Cloud' button checked. I was able to see the document in Manage My Kindle (or whatever it's called now), and was able to download it onto one of my e-ink Kindles. It appears that absolutely nothing has changed with respect to Kindle Personal Documents.

shalym · 03-28-2015, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by induna

I have repeated the same test as Shari. I am not a Prime user, have two Kindles and one Kindle Fire. Before the change I had 10GB total of Amazon cloud storage, 5GB for Personal Documents courtesy of the Kindles I own, and 5GBs of photo, etc. storage courtesy of the Fire. I received the email saying that my free cloud account has been discontinued and that I will not be able to upload any new content until I accept one of the free trial options. I have NOT accepted either of the trials. I used Send-to-Kindle to send a document to my fire and had the 'Save in Cloud' button checked. I was able to see the document in Manage My Kindle (or whatever it's called now), and was able to download it onto one of my e-ink Kindles. It appears that absolutely nothing has changed with respect to Kindle Personal Documents.

Thank you for verifying, induna. I was beginning to wonder if I was living in the twilight zone

Shari

HarryT · 03-28-2015, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by induna

I have repeated the same test as Shari. I am not a Prime user, have two Kindles and one Kindle Fire. Before the change I had 10GB total of Amazon cloud storage, 5GB for Personal Documents courtesy of the Kindles I own, and 5GBs of photo, etc. storage courtesy of the Fire. I received the email saying that my free cloud account has been discontinued and that I will not be able to upload any new content until I accept one of the free trial options. I have NOT accepted either of the trials. I used Send-to-Kindle to send a document to my fire and had the 'Save in Cloud' button checked. I was able to see the document in Manage My Kindle (or whatever it's called now), and was able to download it onto one of my e-ink Kindles. It appears that absolutely nothing has changed with respect to Kindle Personal Documents.

But that's precisely the point: it appears as though it HAS changed. Your and Shari's experiments strongly suggest that personal document archiving has been separated from Cloud Drive again, and that's definitely a change!

Do you still see your personal docs in the Cloud Drive?

DiapDealer · 03-28-2015, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Do you still see your personal docs in the Cloud Drive?

They'd have to sign up for the 3-month free trial in order to see -- in which case you'd then expect them to be there.

Poodlemom1 · 03-28-2015, 01:22 PM

If you go to this link in the help section https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...deId=201731340 it states that Kindle personal docs will no longer count against your Cloud Drive storage limits.

induna · 03-28-2015, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

But that's precisely the point: it appears as though it HAS changed. Your and Shari's experiments strongly suggest that personal document archiving has been separated from Cloud Drive again, and that's definitely a change!

Do you still see your personal docs in the Cloud Drive?

Yes, under 'My_Send_to_Kindle_Docs'.

My point, Harry, was that nothing has changed from the end user's point of view with respect to personal docs. They can still be uploaded to the cloud and synched across devices whether or not one has opted for one of the new plans. I don't really care what Amazon calls it as long as it continues to work for free.

HarryT · 03-28-2015, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

They'd have to sign up for the 3-month free trial in order to see -- in which case you'd then expect them to be there.

No, you still have "read only" access to Cloud Drive without signing up for the trial. Or so I understand: please correct me if I'm wrong

.

DiapDealer · 03-28-2015, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, you still have "read only" access to Cloud Drive without signing up for the trial. Or so I understand: please correct me if I'm wrong

.

No, I think you're right. I just really wanted that catch-22 to be there.

03-28-2015, 01:01 PM	#112
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,556 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I think the reason for the confusion, Shari, is that as DD says, pdoc archiving used to be a completely standalone service. Then about a year ago it was merged into Cloud Drive. Hence the confusion: does Amazon's email to you which said "it's not going to change" mean that it's going to remain part of Cloud Drive (in which case we can reasonably expect it to become a chargeable service), or does it actually mean "it is going to change and once again be a separate service"? That's where the uncertainty arises. Last edited by HarryT; 03-28-2015 at 01:06 PM.

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03-28-2015, 11:36 AM	#107
conan50 Fanatic Posts: 597 Karma: 14054112 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: kindle	What is confusing is that not long ago Amazon moved personal docs and files sent to Kindle into our cloud drive, now they have changed that. Amazon created needless confusion here. If they are just sticking our personal docs and files someplace on their servers like they did pre-moving them to cloud, no problem. But why not just make that clear? Amazon has created needless confusion about the issue. And people are rightly concerned when it comes to where their docs are at and how they can reach them. I would say it is not a problem except we have seen this move before with their 'free' music storage. They need to make this particular Kindle doc issue clear instead of changing the rules in the middle of the game.

03-28-2015, 12:08 PM	#109
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,614 Karma: 204624552 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	The only confusion I see (and it is confusing) is whether or not "Personal Document Archival to your Kindle Library" is synonymous with "Cloud Drive Storage." Currently, the "Docs" view in my "Kindle Library" (from the MYK page) show the exact same books as when I view the contents of my "Cloud Drive." Who knows if that will continue to be so. For those who don't have Prime (and have not opted to start the three-month free trial of a Cloud Drive subscription), I'm guessing that the continued existence of an "Enable/Disable Personal Document Archiving" setting on your MYK page will give a clear answer to the question of whether or not "everything will continue as before." Keep in mind that Personal Document Archiving existed before "Cloud Drive" ever became a thing. So it wouldn't surprise me if Personal Document Archiving continued to exist (without a charge) in a post-Free Cloud Drive world. We'll see.

03-28-2015, 01:10 PM	#113
induna Addict Posts: 230 Karma: 1500000 Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Vito de Coto Brus, Costa Rica Device: Sony PRS-500, 505, 600, 350, T1 Amazon Kindle PW1, PW2, Voyage	I have repeated the same test as Shari. I am not a Prime user, have two Kindles and one Kindle Fire. Before the change I had 10GB total of Amazon cloud storage, 5GB for Personal Documents courtesy of the Kindles I own, and 5GBs of photo, etc. storage courtesy of the Fire. I received the email saying that my free cloud account has been discontinued and that I will not be able to upload any new content until I accept one of the free trial options. I have NOT accepted either of the trials. I used Send-to-Kindle to send a document to my fire and had the 'Save in Cloud' button checked. I was able to see the document in Manage My Kindle (or whatever it's called now), and was able to download it onto one of my e-ink Kindles. It appears that absolutely nothing has changed with respect to Kindle Personal Documents.

03-28-2015, 01:22 PM	#117
Poodlemom1 Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 1028568 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: OK Device: Voyage, Oasis, Glow HD, Fire HD6, iPad Air 2, Mini 2	If you go to this link in the help section https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...deId=201731340 it states that Kindle personal docs will no longer count against your Cloud Drive storage limits.