Amazon and DRM changes - Page 46

Sirtel · 01-21-2023, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

In the early 2,000's Ricardo Pinto had a unique fantasy trilogy called The Stone Dance of the Chameleon.

I read the first book in paperback back then. I remember very little of it, but as I recall, it left me pretty indifferent. The characters were boring and the pace was glacial (which is not always a bad thing, as there can be other interesting things going on in the book and I've liked many exceedingly slow books, but in Pinto's case it was pretty mind-numbing, IMO). I wonder if the new releases are any better... but I'm not really tempted to try again.

ottischwenk · 01-21-2023, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patitapetit

J.K. ROWLING Harry Potter serie is in KU. If J.K. Rowling is a Mrs Nobody I dont know what is for u, Mr. or Mrs. Sucess Author

Are there any other authors of any importance?
Or is J.K.R. a shiny one-off?

trishau · 01-21-2023, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Are there any other authors of any importance?
Or is J.K.R. a shiny one-off?

Not sure about important but I found accidentally (by downloading a freebie) a whole series on KU that I am currently reading - and loving!
Check them out here
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/c...er-cartwright/

ottischwenk · 01-21-2023, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trishau

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/c...er-cartwright/

I started reading the first volume in German translation and finished it very quickly.
Rarely have I read something in such clumsy language - I didn't even get to the content.

Sirtel · 01-21-2023, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

I started reading the first volume in German translation and finished it very quickly.
Rarely have I read something in such clumsy language - I didn't even get to the content.

How do you know it wasn't the fault of translation?

ottischwenk · 01-21-2023, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

How do you know it wasn't the fault of translation?

But I don't really care - it's KU and that doesn't speak for the quality

lkmiller · 01-21-2023, 05:18 AM

There are also big publishers who put some books in ku for a bit. They aren't required to be exclusive.

tootroublesome · 01-21-2023, 05:33 AM

It says on the first post of this thread that kindle fire isn't recommended for download and transfer, but I have a kindle fire and I'm able to use that option for purchased books so far. the files are able to be de'drmed in calibre after too...

Quoth · 01-21-2023, 05:42 AM

It was only erroneously called a Kindle for a while. It's an Amazon customised Android tablet running a custom version of the Kindle app.

DuckieTigger · 01-21-2023, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tootroublesome

It says on the first post of this thread that kindle fire isn't recommended for download and transfer, but I have a kindle fire and I'm able to use that option for purchased books so far. the files are able to be de'drmed in calibre after too...

Because it may not work much longer, possibly even for purchased books. If you already have it, great, use it to remove DRM from purchases until it doesn't work anymore. If you don't and want to remove DRM going forward, it is not a good choice with removing DRM in mind only.

Patitapetit · 01-21-2023, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tootroublesome

It says on the first post of this thread that kindle fire isn't recommended for download and transfer, but I have a kindle fire and I'm able to use that option for purchased books so far. the files are able to be de'drmed in calibre after too...

Have you bought an ebook published after 3 January 2023?

Could your dedrmed It?

Thank you

jhowell · 01-21-2023, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tootroublesome

It says on the first post of this thread that kindle fire isn't recommended for download and transfer, but I have a kindle fire and I'm able to use that option for purchased books so far. the files are able to be de'drmed in calibre after too...

Whatever books you have tried so far must have been DRM-free to start with. DRM removal does not work for books obtained using Download & Transfer from a Fire tablet. It uses different DRM than a regular Kindle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patitapetit

Have you bought an ebook published after 3 January 2023?

That is a different issue having to do with Kindle for PC/Mac, not Kindles or Fire tablets.

Karen Myers · 01-21-2023, 12:03 PM

Sorry to be dense, but I want to make sure I understand the ecosystem change (for a process I've been using for many years). I have a beloved Kobo ecosystem which I intend to maintain, but apparently my buying habits are about to change drastically.

I was forced to upgrade my Kindle download software (was the 2017 release) to download any ebook with the new change, and now instead of an AZW file I receive a folder/Zip of related files, which includes an AZW placeholder, and presumably only the Kindle reader can reconstruct the full file. (KFX-ZIP format). This is independent of Kindle Unlimited per se -- it applies to all Kindle e-books. Calibre can no longer be used to read the content, and is limited to metadata/bibliographic tracking for personal collections.

For Calibre users, DeDRM can't (yet? ever?) deal with this, so the ebook cannot be converted to another format for use on my Kobo ereader. Therefore it requires a Kindle device to read.

In the past, I would copy the original AZW out of the My Kindle Content directory into a separate directory and import the AZW from there for Calibre conversion. Therefore the AZW file and its conversions were backupable. But since Amazon controls the content of the Kindle Content directory, it can (and does) delete files. I assume that the "voucher" file contained in the ZIP directory is used to ensure purchase (not a problem) but also to enforce limits on the count of Kindle Unlimited borrows (which is an irritant). That essentially makes backups ineffective. (Amazon can reach in and change the voucher).

Is this a correct summary of the whole affair?

(Thanks for your patience...)

John F · 01-21-2023, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Are there any other authors of any importance?
Or is J.K.R. a shiny one-off?

Yes (depending on what you consider "importance").

ZodWallop · 01-21-2023, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Are there any other authors of any importance?
Or is J.K.R. a shiny one-off?

Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels are in KU.

01-21-2023, 05:33 AM	#683
tootroublesome Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2023 Device: PC	It says on the first post of this thread that kindle fire isn't recommended for download and transfer, but I have a kindle fire and I'm able to use that option for purchased books so far. the files are able to be de'drmed in calibre after too... Last edited by tootroublesome; 01-21-2023 at 05:36 AM.

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01-21-2023, 05:18 AM	#682
lkmiller Laura Posts: 1,542 Karma: 23597272 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kobo Sage, Kobo Elipsa, Nook Glowlight 4 Plus, Kindle Oasis 2	There are also big publishers who put some books in ku for a bit. They aren't required to be exclusive.

01-21-2023, 05:42 AM	#684
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,237 Karma: 105299897 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	It was only erroneously called a Kindle for a while. It's an Amazon customised Android tablet running a custom version of the Kindle app.

01-21-2023, 12:03 PM	#688
Karen Myers Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Sorry to be dense, but I want to make sure I understand the ecosystem change (for a process I've been using for many years). I have a beloved Kobo ecosystem which I intend to maintain, but apparently my buying habits are about to change drastically. I was forced to upgrade my Kindle download software (was the 2017 release) to download any ebook with the new change, and now instead of an AZW file I receive a folder/Zip of related files, which includes an AZW placeholder, and presumably only the Kindle reader can reconstruct the full file. (KFX-ZIP format). This is independent of Kindle Unlimited per se -- it applies to all Kindle e-books. Calibre can no longer be used to read the content, and is limited to metadata/bibliographic tracking for personal collections. For Calibre users, DeDRM can't (yet? ever?) deal with this, so the ebook cannot be converted to another format for use on my Kobo ereader. Therefore it requires a Kindle device to read. In the past, I would copy the original AZW out of the My Kindle Content directory into a separate directory and import the AZW from there for Calibre conversion. Therefore the AZW file and its conversions were backupable. But since Amazon controls the content of the Kindle Content directory, it can (and does) delete files. I assume that the "voucher" file contained in the ZIP directory is used to ensure purchase (not a problem) but also to enforce limits on the count of Kindle Unlimited borrows (which is an irritant). That essentially makes backups ineffective. (Amazon can reach in and change the voucher). Is this a correct summary of the whole affair? (Thanks for your patience...)