Replacing Kindle for PC in Linux

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by haertig

However, my personal anecdotal experience is that I have never had one single DVD go bad on me. Not commercially purchased software, not commercially purchased videos, and not any DVD that I have burned myself to any kind of blank media - from ultra cheap to high end.

When I was young and foolish I lost a bunch of (irreplaceable) backups that way. I took multiple backups... but they were all on the same brand of DVD-R, stored in the same place, and they all went just as bad as each other.

Which is how I learned that...

Originally Posted by haertig

Backups are your friend. Multiple ones. On different storage media. Stored at different locations. With at least one of those isolated from power and computer connections (totally unplugged) to protect against power surges, lightning strikes, etc.

YES. They also must be automated, done in the background without your needing to do anything, with monitoring which screams its head off when anything goes even slightly wrong. (I have also automated a test restore of a bunch of stuff every month to make semi-sure *that* works, but honestly I've come to rely on good backups, so I "test" them more often than that by doing actual necessary restores!)

(The process of swapping out offsite backups doesn't need to be automated because, well, it's much rarer because you have to collect the offsite disk and physically unplug things and probably decrypt them so who cares if you have to run a couple of commands to say "hey, other offsite now" anyway?)

(Personally, I swear by bup and a bunch of scripting to back up homedirs almost constantly, almost everything daily, and everything including huge disk images dumped onto remote backups weekly, but honestly almost anything is better than the default of nothing that most people do.)

[HJ99]

Only burned dvds I have had go bad were some that got left exposed long term to sunlight. They even took on brownish streaks. Unplayable. But yea I have some old software burned to cdr in filing cabinet that must be least 15 year old, still works fine. Though honestly at this point dont have much use for it. Things age out.

Like say if I am buying a reference book, I will buy a paper book. But for read it once fiction, doesnt really matter. Old enough I know I will never read it again. Its just nice to have the option to electronically save a copy not dependent on having a Kindle account or whatever and without worrying what format A.A. plugin works with or what version Kindle for PC I have installed.

By way I have a 1T usb hard drive thats few years old. Its now gotten very hit or miss if any system can mount and use stuff on it. I think hard drive is fine, it just needs to be reformatted. I just havent wanted to mess trying to move files off it (its full) that I want to save.

So like say there is no really good way to save data long term. And the online storage beside eating lot data uploading and downloading is also dependent on the the company remaining in business and same amount space available. You are basically just renting space on somebody else's hard drive.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by HJ99

So like say there is no really good way to save data long term.

There is: keep transferring it to new storage media periodically. Tiresome and expensive, but works (at least as long as you also write some sort of redundancy metadata like par2 alongside it so bitflips aren't an issue).

[Quoth]

Online Internet storage issues:
Privacy
Security
Company continuing to exist or provide it free or provide it at all. Amazon & MP3s?
Needs Gbps Fibre
Internet not always available
Internet not everywhere

Magneto-Optic storage was good, but capacity stopped growing and products dead.

Backups need verified, at least one needs to be stored off site (not as Cloud version) and may need checked/refreshed. Don't overwrite a backup unless it's a copy!

DVDs, SSD and USB or SD Card memories are all less robust than tape.
Not all spinning disc HDD are suitable. Avoid too high density, helium or shingled drives.

Do not leave backup media connected.

RAID or Clusters are methods to reduce downtime or increase availability, they are not backups.

To avoid time delayed ransomeware do two things:
1) Have a test PC that's not on LAN or Internet that you check backup on, that it's not already encrypted.
2) Make sequential backups on different media that is put in storage.

[NullNix]

This is offtopic, but a topic dear to any true computer geek's heart, so:

Originally Posted by Quoth

Not all spinning disc HDD are suitable. Avoid too high density, helium or shingled drives.

I semi-agree about helium (iff there was a danger of it leaking out, which I was worried about but which seems to just not happen at any timescale you'd care about: I don't really care if my backups are unreadable in 200 years). High density, well, the higher density a drive is the *harder* it is to demagnetize. So I'd ignore that (and use par2 for redundancy anyway). I certainly wouldn't avoid shingled drives if using a backup program that mostly does great big linear writes (as most do). Shingled drives seem absolutely ideal for this use case.

But more generally I'd avoid brand new drive models (which usually means avoiding the latest ultra-high-capacity stuff anyway), and also would avoid complex filesystems: only use filesystems (and features of those filesystems) that have been around for ages, since they are less likely to fall prey to fs-eating bugs. (I only just moved from ext2 to ext4 on my backups so I could start using metadata CRCs, perhaps a decade after that was introduced). This, again, is easier if your backup program emits great big files using linear writes rather than being something that literally mirrors the disk and thus produces massive numbers of tiny files and needs every filesystem feature the source disk uses (that's particularly tricky with Windows backups).

Originally Posted by Quoth

Do not leave backup media connected.

I'd say the opposite: definitely *do* leave backup media connected, because only if you do that can you automate backups (and I run backups *hourly* so I really care about not having to get up every hour to plug in disks!). However, have at least one backup drive which you periodically swap out for a powered-off drive you keep offsite. Then if something (ransomware, lightning) wipes all attached disks you still have that to fall back on. Hopefully this is rare enough that going offsite to pick it up isn't going to be too much trouble: you might well have to do that anyway to replace a lightning-roasted computer...

Originally Posted by Quoth

To avoid time delayed ransomeware do two things:
1) Have a test PC that's not on LAN or Internet that you check backup on, that it's not already encrypted.

Hm that's a good point. Never tried that, but then if I *do* have time-delayed ransomware I think I'd notice it when it detonated for the first time and would intentionally restore (off the offsite disk) from an older backup (my backups are versioned) after flipping the disk to read-only (it's a persistent ATA attribute) on another machine. It's most unlikely ransomware would know to reverse *that*.

[Quoth]

Leave it connected and it's vulnerable to wearing out, lightning, malware and system failures. I did recover a HDD once where PSU failed and bits physically blew of most chips. I had a same model with too many errors and working PCB, but that won't work with all drives.
An off-line HDD can easily last 50 years. But the issue is that the interface can become unavailable. SATA-IDE adaptors seem to work, SCSI cards still exist, though cable adaptors may be required. But I've had HDD that look like IDE and are not. Also good luck trying to read IBM XT HDD (MFM dual ribbons). So from time to time you need newer media with newer interfaces while you can still read the old media.

But more generally I'd avoid brand new drive models (which usually means avoiding the latest ultra-high-capacity stuff anyway),

That's what I meant by high density.

You can't keep helium in or out. The 200 years is probably a lie. Old CRTs even get poisoned by helium because with vacuum inside and 1 atmosphere outside it alone of all gasses seeps through the glass. You can't seal in helium unless it's at a very low pressure, but then the heads can't fly. They use Bernoulli effect. It's akin to Concorde at hedge height. Hence the cleanest places are not chip processing (but awesomely clean) but HDD assembly.

Never tried that, but then if I *do* have time-delayed ransomware I think I'd notice it when it detonated for the first time and would intentionally restore (off the offsite disk) from an older backup

Well, how time delayed is the Ransomware? The clever stuff encrypts the backup and decrypts it when you restore on the same machine, till it goes off.
You can't have a true disaster recovery plan without at least one spare PC offsite anyway. Unlike AV such a setup will 100% detect ransomware running that's not "detonated".

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Leave it connected and it's vulnerable to wearing out, lightning, malware and system failures. I did recover a HDD once where PSU failed and bits physically blew of most chips. I had a same model with too many errors and working PCB, but that won't work with all drives.
An off-line HDD can easily last 50 years. But the issue is that the interface can become unavailable. SATA-IDE adaptors seem to work, SCSI cards still exist, though cable adaptors may be required. But I've had HDD that look like IDE and are not. Also good luck trying to read IBM XT HDD (MFM dual ribbons). So from time to time you need newer media with newer interfaces while you can still read the old media.

Yep, though for now USB is looking pretty good, and these days is more than fast enough (heck, even USB2 is often fast enough if the backup program compresses and deduplicates well enough). We just have to hope they don't change the connector yet again.

Of course you have *some* backup devices that are disconnected at any given time, but that doesn't mean you have to have them all disconnected at any point. My current backup scheme involves one always-connected drive which gets all backups (3-hourly homedirs, daily everything-but-big-stuff, weekly everything) and one which only gets the weekly backups, which is periodically swapped out for an offsite drive. If the machine is hit by lightning or ransomware wipes all attached block devices I lose the machine and two of the backup drives, but the offsite drive preserves everything since the last swap: so I lose some data, but only a month or so. That's bad, but not awful. I lose a month or two of data out of decades of it.

Originally Posted by Quoth

You can't keep helium in or out. The 200 years is probably a lie. Old CRTs even get poisoned by helium because with vacuum inside and 1 atmosphere outside it alone of all gasses seeps through the glass.

Wow! There's almost no helium in the atmosphere, so I'm surprised that's ever an issue except in areas where helium is in use for other reasons.

Originally Posted by Quoth

Well, how time delayed is the Ransomware? The clever stuff encrypts the backup and decrypts it when you restore on the same machine, till it goes off.

In the general case you're right, but in mine, it's quite unlikely! Unless it got onto my machines ten years ago (and somehow survived undetected all that time), the old backups preserve uninfected state: bup is damn good at deduplication and I haven't yet had to throw any old backups away. I suppose it's *barely* possible it's smart enough to rewrite all the backups and infect them too (it would take days, minimum, since this is based on git so changing old content involves changing a *lot* of other stuff in the Merkle tree to compensate, but the drive is always connected so it's *possible*).

But if this hypothetical ransomware can do that it must have been updated to cope with changes in bup over time as well, in which case it was almost certainly written by one of three people (and since those are also the people who write bup I'm in real trouble! I mean they don't even need ransomware, their code runs as root on my machine every three hours in any case.)

Originally Posted by Quoth

You can't have a true disaster recovery plan without at least one spare PC offsite anyway.

Why would it need to be offsite? Are you postulating some sort of viral ransomware which infects everything on the local net now?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by NullNix

Why would it need to be offsite? Are you postulating some sort of viral ransomware which infects everything on the local net now?

Risks are (roughly in order):

• Yourself (accidents). That's why RAID or Clustering isn't a backup ("Arrgh")
• Someone else.
• Lightning (I had a server partially damaged by surge on phone line, it had a modem, but xDSL is a risk). Building need not be hit. Anywhere within 10m to 100m along the entire length of mains cable or phone cable.
• PSU fails and destroys HDD pcbs and Mobo etc. Seen that twice!
• Fire
• Flood
• Malware
• Theft

Some places add earthquake, subsidence, war, government, Police seize all because someone alleges you do child porn (takes months to get it back according to news reports I've read of those cleared).

If you are sensible, don't click on stupid email links & attachments, don't get pawned by a fake free mouse present (works but uses USB HID to install a backdoor), have script blocking on all 3rd party scripts by default in Browser then malware is the lowest risk.

Training is more effective than AV software.

I used to sell IT systems and design security & disaster plans. Using computers since 1980 and never had malware.

Fixed loads of customer self-inflicted damage, HW failures etc.

The HSE Ireland ransomware attack (Irish Hospitals etc) started with one person clicking on an email attachment. They were paying a stupid big company for IT support/advice (see Capita disasters in UK). The infected PC infected almost the entire HSE. No partitioning of LANs, inadequate net share log on security (old LAN Manager security). Twenty Year plus out of date IT procedures. I was doing better IT in 1996.

Companies are only as smart as the smartest person making decisions (who if smart but not expert takes expert advice).

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by HJ99

So all I have to do is play games with Amazon and try to keep Kindle for PC from updating past v1.26?.

I think it is v1.17. You just uncheck the 'Automatically update' option. It's as easy as:


If you aren't interested in DRM-free back-ups, none of this matters of course.

But it is pretty easy. I've been using it since 2016(?) and it's not like I have to babysit it ever day.

[HJ99]

I can tell you that 1.17 will no longer register when run in WINE. Cause that was what I was using for years. I had it set to not update, it did it anyway and of course later versions wouldnt run in the version WINE I was using for 1.17. Back then had nothing to do with defeating DRM, it was that Kindle4PC newer than 1.17 simply wouldnt run in WINE. Oh I think there was some complicated trick to get 1.19 working not sure the point of doing that since it wasnt much different than 1.17.

No idea if 1.17 still can work in windows, cause frankly I am not booting windows just to read/save a book. I run windows one time a year cause frankly its a PITA trying to get tax software running in WINE for a one time use. I did that one year and took me 3 days. Booting an unactivated win10 or win11 once a year not big deal. Better than wasting 3 days.

As I posted, I figured out way to use later version WINE and a current version Kindle and use automatic screenshotter to backup if I want DRM-free backup. It works for me, your mileage may vary. Not locked into old versions required by A.A. plugins. I really am not interested in battling Amazon trying to continue using old version when they obviously are going to extraordinary lengths to prevent it. Eventually they simply wont offer books in the old formats no matter what tricks are used. Leave that battle for others wanting to tilt at windmills. I think DRM is pretty dumb as it will do nothing to prevent actual piracy. But the world is what it is.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by HJ99

I can tell you that 1.17 will no longer register when run in WINE... No idea if 1.17 still can work in windows...

It does. That is what I use.

Eventually they simply wont offer books in the old formats no matter what tricks are used.

That is undoubtedly true. But hey, at least for the last six years I have buying from the best ebook store and reading them on the device of my choice has been great and I am glad that for now I can still do it.

I think DRM is pretty dumb as it will do nothing to prevent actual piracy. But the world is what it is.

I completely agree. I wish Amazon would just sell DRM-free ePubs to customers who want ebooks, but not Kindles. But that is not where we are.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HJ99

Eventually they simply wont offer books in the old formats no matter what tricks are used.

I can see Amazon dropping Mobi. I cannot see Amazon dropping KF8 as there are still enough devices in the wild being used that do not support KFX.

So unless Amazon want a riot on their hands, KF8 will not be dropped.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So unless Amazon want a riot on their hands, KF8 will not be dropped.

Couldn't they limit you to KFX if they determined that all the devices registered to your account support that format? I'm thinking Amazon applies DRM based on your Kindle's serial number, since that's what you enter into the DeDRM plugin. Amazon would certainly know if a device with a certain serial number supports KFX.

If they did this, there would probably be a rush to buy older used devices to register, but eventually those old devices would dry up and customers couldn't find anymore to purchase.

Amazon could also simply drop support for older non-KFX devices. They announce that you can no longer buy new eBooks for your old device (but your previously purchased eBooks would still work on it). Microsoft does stuff like this all the time. "Oh, you want to run a newer version of Windows? Well, first you have to upgrade your CPU to a 64 core 5 bazillionhertz model, and increase your memory to 512 terrabytes. Otherwise, you'll just have to continue running your older version of Windows. And by the way, we don't support that older version anymore, and we won't be supplying any more software updates for it. Good luck, and thanks for supporting Microsoft!"

People are accustomed to Microsoft doing things like this, so why would they get all bent out of shape if Amazon started doing it? Compared to the number of Windows users, the number of Kindle users is probably minuscule. Not enough for Amazon to worry about at all.

[HJ99]

There is always a cost to dropping any product/service. Its whether the company finds absorbing the cost to be worth it.

Oh and dont forget there is a Kindle4Android. I did look some around to see if that would run in an android emulator. Think found one person saying it would. Or if your phone is new enough, they seem to update far faster than they do for windows version, then can just run it on phone and use program called scrcpy to pump it up to readable size. Course I realize that probably doesnt help those only looking for way to de-DRM Kindle books.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by haertig

Amazon could also simply drop support for older non-KFX devices.

I can't see Amazon doing that given that they've not dropped Mobi for K1, K2, and DX/DXG.