Amazon and DRM changes

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by jhowell

In my opinion KFX is the best format to have on a Kindle since that enables the Enhanced Typesetting features of the reading software.

KFX is a format I'll never, ever use. For two reasons:

1. It can't be edited (the workaround would be to download AZW3 in the first place and convert to KFX after editing)
2. The FONT_RAMP doesn't work with it

These reasons make KFX absolutely unusable for me. YMMV.

[Quoth]

The enhanced typesetting features of KFX are not worth it. A gimmick.
Also don't you need Amazon tools / program to create KFX?

Very many cemmercial ebooks have poor to bad formatting.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jhowell

In my opinion KFX is the best format to have on a Kindle since that enables the Enhanced Typesetting features of the reading software. And KF8 (azw3) is the best format to take off of a Kindle since that format most closely matches what the publisher originally provided to Amazon.

There is one drawback to KFX. There is no way to reduce the line height like you can do with KF8. Using ChareInk/ChareInk6, the line height for KF8 is reduced due to the font. KFX ignores this and keeps the line height large.

And you can get hyphenation on KF8 using Calibre or Hyphenate This! (plugin) to add soft hyphens which do work very well on a Kindle.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

KFX is a format I'll never, ever use. For two reasons:

1. It can't be edited (the workaround would be to download AZW3 in the first place and convert to KFX after editing)
2. The FONT_RAMP doesn't work with it

These reasons make KFX absolutely unusable for me. YMMV.

See post above for another reason not to use KFX.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

In terms of formatting, KFX offers nothing that ePub had not offered for years before Amazon created KFX.

At first, I thought KFX was a solution for some initial poor programming in the Kindle. But the more I see the more obvious it becomes that KFX is a format created to lock Amazon sold ebooks into Kindles only.

[Quoth]

KFX seems to be designed for Whispernet (WifI or Mobile driect Kindle or app connection) so you can start reading before it has completed the download and to have adaptive DRM. The so called Advanced Typesetting features are in the renderer (not inherent in the KFX file) and could be done with AZW3 with an update. The KFX and azw3 have same source. So the Advanced Typesetting is gimmick to distract from the DRM?

Similarly Kobo's kepub seems like a proprietary gimmick. Why didn't they replace ADE for epub with that renderer so that epubs have tap to zoom images etc?

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by Quoth

KFX seems to be designed for Whispernet (WifI or Mobile driect Kindle or app connection) so you can start reading before it has completed the download and to have adaptive DRM.

Does this mean it is better suited to streaming?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Similarly Kobo's kepub seems like a proprietary gimmick. Why didn't they replace ADE for epub with that renderer so that epubs have tap to zoom images etc?

Yeah, I don't understand why kepub has to exist. But I do like its features and it seems more harmless than KFX.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yeah, I don't understand why kepub has to exist. But I do like its features and it seems more harmless than KFX.

I've never used it as it requires a calibre plugin to convert. Does it offer benefits over epub?

[Ma'am-I-Am]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

At first, I thought KFX was a solution for some initial poor programming in the Kindle. But the more I see the more obvious it becomes that KFX is a format created to lock Amazon sold ebooks into Kindles only.

Possibly related is the new format option offered by reader magnets such as Bookfunnel: kindle.epub

It's described as for Kindles and Send-to-Kindle.

They both show up on my PW2 when sent so I have no idea what the difference really is. It just seems like Amazon wants to put their stamp on a format once again. I suspect they'll find a way to make it proprietary pretty soon.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

I've never used it as it requires a calibre plugin to convert. Does it offer benefits over epub?

For me it does. I mainly like the 'one screen = one page' feature. This was handy for me when I was in the office and reading on a break.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

Possibly related is the new format option offered by reader magnets such as Bookfunnel: kindle.epub

Huh. kepubs show up as kobo.epub. Wouldn't it be weird if somehow Kindle wound up using a version of kepubs?

[ownedbycats]

I use the KoboTouchExtended driver rather than the default. I find kepubs a bit nicer to use on Kobo than plain ePubs; the one-page thing mentioned above and the chapter length graph.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

I've never used it as it requires a calibre plugin to convert. Does it offer benefits over epub?

Only on a Kobo. You can zoom images in kepubs, which you can't do with epubs on a Kobo. They're also a bit faster.

The other features of kepubs, like page numbering and statistics don't matter to me personally.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

KFX seems to be designed for Whispernet (WifI or Mobile driect Kindle or app connection) so you can start reading before it has completed the download and to have adaptive DRM. The so called Advanced Typesetting features are in the renderer (not inherent in the KFX file) and could be done with AZW3 with an update. The KFX and azw3 have same source. So the Advanced Typesetting is gimmick to distract from the DRM?

Similarly Kobo's kepub seems like a proprietary gimmick. Why didn't they replace ADE for epub with that renderer so that epubs have tap to zoom images etc?

Why not upgrade RMSDK and add in image zoom and then we can do away with Kobo having a 2nd program to read eBooks.