Amazon and DRM changes

[ownedbycats]

Note that I've seen a few books on Kobo store that had the DRM-free notice in the description but if you scroll down further to the book details it's using (the admittedly easier-to-remove) Adobe DRM. I'm guessing these are publisher mistakes.

[gforgiraffe39935]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Note that I've seen a few books on Kobo store that had the DRM-free notice in the description but if you scroll down further to the book details it's using (the admittedly easier-to-remove) Adobe DRM. I'm guessing these are publisher mistakes.

Without purchasing them, I can't say if it mightn't just be a description error. All of the DRM-free publisher books I've purchased from Kobo or NOOK have been just that--DRM free.

If they weren't, you can be sure I'd be writing to the publisher and Kobo.

I am sure I am on some list for the amount of times I've contacted some publishers about mistakes in their eBook files...

[Scoob]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Note that I've seen a few books on Kobo store that had the DRM-free notice in the description but if you scroll down further to the book details it's using (the admittedly easier-to-remove) Adobe DRM. I'm guessing these are publisher mistakes.

B&N also has DRM free books by request of publisher or author for sale on their website. Admittedly they were published by Baen who doesn't sell books with DRM anyway. But they downloaded fine and worked on my K3.

With removal of D&T for new Kindles I'm not too trusting of Amazon not removing that from all Kindles at some point. So it's good to know Kobo DRM is easy to remove.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Alfirin

The files are accessible and there might be a possibility.

But imported in Calibre you got a KFX-ZIP just as you could have with the last kindle app version (clearly DRMed).

It will require some work I guess.

Thanks. While we can't decrypt those (at the moment any more than books from the current apps), I was just wondering if they were going the B&N route and making it difficult to get your hands on actual book files in more ways.

[Lief]

I read the news about the new kindles that prevent D&T and I'm so glad I decided to switch to Kobo for future purchase (and that I already got a drm-free backup for everything that I got on amazon before)... also I noticed that manga and comics published on the kobo store use better resolution images too (so it's a double win, more easy to remove drm and better quality too) and, triple win, for english manga they are cheaper too.
Unfortunately there are some ebooks available only on the kindle store (fortunately in Italy they are very few of them and none of those that interest me), but I really recommend everyone that can to just switch to any alternative stores (I decided to go with kobo because in Italy kindle and kobo got manga in italian, there are some manga also on the google and apple store but I don't think their drm is any better). Converting from epub to kindle format (with calibre, kindle previewer 3 or directly send to kindle website) works and sending to kindle via website, means that even if you got a kindle ereader you will have a copy on the cloud to download from documents and the 200mb limit is more than enough for the vast majority of ebooks (and even for many manga and comics ... you can still split the epub in two if it is more than 200mb).

Seriously, it's clear that Amazon is trying to eliminate the possibility of accessing files (and where it can't do anything else, it applies the most infamous DRM possible even to ebooks published DRM-free).
Not buying ebooks from their store is the best way to protect yourself.
The old kindle pc version still download a version of kfx that can remove drm for now and older kindle device still got D&T option without kfx, but that will clearly change, it's been years since amazon started this... I don't think I trust them anymore.

[peaceridge]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Some more Reddit posts:

https://old.reddit.com/r/kindle/comm...r_sideloading/
https://old.reddit.com/r/kindle/comm..._and_transfer/

From the latter one:





The former post somewhat convinces me that Amazon is doing these to further lock users into the Kindle ecosystem.

That might be acceptable to me if the reading software on the Kindles or on my Mac was decent - but, that's for a different forum. Anyway, I've totally stopped buying ebooks from Amazon due to not being able to read them on a non-Kindle app. I keep a check on these posts just in case...

[Frogm4n]

Originally Posted by Lief

Seriously, it's clear that Amazon is trying to eliminate the possibility of accessing files

They have not blocked the ability to add your own files to a Kindle. The D&T issue is only about letting users download files from the Kindle store through a web browser. It has nothing at all to do with copying over USB in general.

[John F]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

That might be acceptable to me if the reading software on the Kindles or on my Mac was decent - but, that's for a different forum. Anyway, I've totally stopped buying ebooks from Amazon due to not being able to read them on a non-Kindle app. I keep a check on these posts just in case...

You can currently read Amazon purchases on non-Kindle apps, depending on how much effort you are willing to put into it.

[hyegeek]

Originally Posted by John F

You can currently read Amazon purchases on non-Kindle apps, depending on how much effort you are willing to put into it.

That is certainly not true of all purchases.

There are some books that won't even let you read them on an older kindle.

[John F]

Originally Posted by hyegeek

That is certainly not true of all purchases.

There are some books that won't even let you read them on an older kindle.

Sorry for stating an absolute.

For myself, I'm guessing that 99.9% of my purchases would. I'm mainly a fiction reader.

YMMV.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Lief

Unfortunately there are some ebooks available only on the kindle store

Yup, KDP Select and its exclusivity clause. I'm hoping some country will pick up the ball and file an antitrust suit about it.

[Lief]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Yup, KDP Select and its exclusivity clause. I'm hoping some country will pick up the ball and file an antitrust suit about it.

Yes, I'm glad most publisher do not use it here.

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

They have not blocked the ability to add your own files to a Kindle. The D&T issue is only about letting users download files from the Kindle store through a web browser. It has nothing at all to do with copying over USB in general.

That's not what I said. I mean, I was clearly referring to the possibility of getting the file to remove the drm (even from ebooks published drm-free on amazon where amazon add the drm).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

The "DRM-free" books on Kindle aren't actually DRM-free.

That's only in KFX. They are DRM-free with KF8 and Mobi.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Put another way: if a book has generic KFX encryption/DRM, you can use it on any Kindle device, yours or someone else's, without restriction. So practically speaking, it is "DRM-free" within the Amazon eco-system. But if you want to edit it or convert it to another format (so you can take out of the Amazon eco-system), then it is most definitely not DRM-free.

It's not DRM-free in any true sense of what DRM-free is.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Scoob

B&N also has DRM free books by request of publisher or author for sale on their website. Admittedly they were published by Baen who doesn't sell books with DRM anyway. But they downloaded fine and worked on my K3.

With removal of D&T for new Kindles I'm not too trusting of Amazon not removing that from all Kindles at some point. So it's good to know Kobo DRM is easy to remove.

It's any ePub that uses Adobe DRM that can have the DRM removed. It's not just from Kobo.