Amazon and DRM changes

[A Lurker]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That depends where you live.

Again, even in those jurisdictions where ripping DRM and/or making a single copy is technically illegal, literally no person has ever been prosecuted or sued for making a single copy for their own personal use. Literally no one. Even if it is technically illegal, it's not enforced (like jaywalking). They only go after people who are facilitating mass distribution.

A lot of people in this thread are pointing out various distinctions. The distinction between ripping DRM versus making a copy. The distinction between criminal culpability and civil liability. The distinction between Jurisdiction A versus Jurisdiction B. Etc.

All of those distinctions are real, but for the purposes of my point they are irrelevant. It doesn't matter if the law is specific to DRM or only applies to copying media. It's doesn't matter if law is based on contractual agreements or the criminal code. It doesn't matter if the law is slightly different in Country A than Country B.

The bottom line is this:

Regardless of whether we're talking about ripping DRM or copying the file... regardless of whether you've violating a contractual obligation or a criminal offense... regardless of whether you're in the US or Europe... the truth is that NO ONE has ever gotten into the slightest bit of trouble for ripping DRM and/or making a single copy for their own personal use. The only people who are sued or prosecuted are those who produce and distribute mass copies of media.

As a kid in the '80s, every single person I knew would copy vinyl albums or CDs onto cassette tapes for personal use. Was that illegal? Possibly. Nevertheless, I can guaranty you that exactly zero people were arrested or sued. However, if someone made a bunch of copies and started selling them, they risked getting into trouble.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

The link to Kobo is now "Walmart ebooks" (at least for me in the US.)

They also link to Indigo, which links to Kobo for the ebook edition.

Shari

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by A Lurker

Yes, Napster facilitated mass distribution. That's why it got in trouble.

Napster was an interesting issue back then. Because of Napster and the rather poor copies and incomplete CDs being shared, sales of CD went up (I think) 5-10%. The RIAA by suing Napster caused a drop in sales.

[ampws]

Hi,
Regarding JHowell's post would a Kindle Paperwhite EY21 5th Generation suffice for a Kindle paperwhite v1 5th gen?

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by ampws

Hi,
Regarding JHowell's post would a Kindle Paperwhite EY21 5th Generation suffice for a Kindle paperwhite v1 5th gen?

What exactly do you mean by "EY21"? Please refer to this page to check your serial number of you Kindle to see if it matches Paperwhite (not 2, 3, 4, 5). If it is wifi only, it the serial number would start with B024, for example.

Edit: Ah, yes, the Kindle Paperwhite EY21 5th Generation is another name for the first Paperwhite (the last one that never got the KFX update). Was unaware the EY21 was an alias for it, never seen it before.

[Unseen Entities]

Originally Posted by ampws

Hi,
Regarding JHowell's post would a Kindle Paperwhite EY21 5th Generation suffice for a Kindle paperwhite v1 5th gen?

Not really, but kinda.

1. AFAIK registering any Kindle will allow you to access the Download and Transfer option for your purchased titles, even those published after Jan 3 2023. (for now)

2. If you want take titles from the kindle instead, you will probably want a 3rd or 4th gen device because image heavy books use azw6 files. The plugin for merging azw6 files doesnt currently support those and theyre lower quality B/W images anyway. More details from jhowell and Duckie in this post. Kindle Keyboard (3rd gen) and Touch(4th gen) are confirmed to not split files. I would assume a (non-touch) 4th gen would work too but havent seen anyone confirm it.

@ownedbycats if you could put a note below the jhowell quote in the first post about his subsequents tests for azw6 file image splitting that would probably help clarify.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Unseen Entities

1. AFAIK registering any Kindle will allow you to access the Download and Transfer option for your purchased titles, even those published after Jan 3 2023. (for now)

Almost any Kindle. Doesn't the download and transfer for the Scribe use a KFX instead of the KF8? And if that is the case, everything newer than the PW1 can potentially get a forced download and transfer KFX file, even for purchased items, in the future.

[Barbara1955]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

The link to Kobo is now "Walmart ebooks" (at least for me in the US.)

Mine came Straight from Kobo in Canada! After 3 Junkers from Walmart ... Walmart decided I had to send it to Kobo HQ they sent me a brand new one back!!! I Don't get Walmart ads!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Mine came Straight from Kobo in Canada! After 3 Junkers from Walmart ... Walmart decided I had to send it to Kobo HQ they sent me a brand new one back!!! I Don't get Walmart ads!

I had a good experience.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Unseen Entities

Not really, but kinda.

1. AFAIK registering any Kindle will allow you to access the Download and Transfer option for your purchased titles, even those published after Jan 3 2023. (for now)

2. If you want take titles from the kindle instead, you will probably want a 3rd or 4th gen device because image heavy books use azw6 files. The plugin for merging azw6 files doesnt currently support those and theyre lower quality B/W images anyway. More details from jhowell and Duckie in this post. Kindle Keyboard (3rd gen) and Touch(4th gen) are confirmed to not split files. I would assume a (non-touch) 4th gen would work too but havent seen anyone confirm it.

@ownedbycats if you could put a note below the jhowell quote in the first post about his subsequents tests for azw6 file image splitting that would probably help clarify.

If at all possible, don't buy image heavy eBooks from Amazon. Buy them as ePub and convert. Amazon plays games with eBooks with hi-res images.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Mine came Straight from Kobo in Canada! After 3 Junkers from Walmart ... Walmart decided I had to send it to Kobo HQ they sent me a brand new one back!!! I Don't get Walmart ads!

I was talking about the links from Goodreads changing from "Kobo" to "Walmart ebooks". Same link, just different label.

I've gotten Kobos from Kobo, Indigo, and Walmart over the years. All have been good. Never had any ads.

[Lys]

I don't know if it was the same before, but I just checked on my Amazon account and the books I got with Prime Reading have no download and transfer through USB option either. All other books I bought in the past still have the option.

As far as I can see, Prime Reading books (if published before Jan 3rd) can still be downloaded through Kindle4PC 1.17

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Lys

I don't know if it was the same before, but I just checked on my Amazon account and the books I got with Prime Reading have no download and transfer through USB option either. All other books I bought in the past still have the option.

As far as I can see, Prime Reading books (if published before Jan 3rd) can still be downloaded through Kindle4PC 1.17

That is correct.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Almost any Kindle. Doesn't the download and transfer for the Scribe use a KFX instead of the KF8?

No. Scribes receive personal documents delivered over-the-air by Amazon in KFX format. That format is necessary for the sticky notes feature to work.

I have seen no reports of Download & Transfer providing anything in KFX format. In fact I believe that switching over more things to be KFX-only is likely part of Amazon's long term plan to do away with Download & Transfer completely.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by jhowell

No. Scribes receive personal documents delivered over-the-air by Amazon in KFX format. That format is necessary for the sticky notes feature to work.

I have seen no reports of Download & Transfer providing anything in KFX format. In fact I believe that switching over more things to be KFX-only is likely part of Amazon's long term plan to do away with Download & Transfer completely.

I see, misunderstanding on my part. Right now I am not interested in a Scribe as long as it doesn't allow marking up PDFs with both features active at the same time: highlighting/searching text and scribbling on top. Print replica has text inside, not only images. The print replica renderer in the Scribe (or earlier Kindles) simply doesn't remember the text after drawing it - you can zoom in to the max and still have crisp text.

For reflowable text I don't see why scribbling on top is not available. There is a super simple solution: allow me to change the setting for margin, text size, font, bold, justification and such, but lock me in once I start drawing on top. If I change it later, the drawings are invisible unless I open the "sticky drawing" icon which will render the section as locked in before, or automatically if I revert back to the locked in setting (can be a new theme specific for this book).