Amazon and DRM changes

[greywun]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Buy a cheap Kindle that supports KF8. That would solve your problem for now.

Got an example? I wouldn't actually use it to read, but want to able to D/L amazon books as before (on windows)

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've attached the image of what she sees in her Content and Devices for KU books now.

I tried borrowing the same book on Kindle Unlimited and Download & Transfer is available for me.

I wonder whether this is something being rolled out by account or by country or something else. Can you share what country she is located in or if there is anything that might be unusual about her account?

Amazon is very big on A/B testing changes so some people see what is coming before others. She may just be one of the (un)lucky ones.

Added: It does make sense for KU to be the next thing on the list for removing downloads. KU authors are paid by pages read tracked by Kindle apps and devices. If someone sideloads a book to a Kindle that is never online then the author will receive no credit for the read. Amazon can claim that they are protecting the interests of authors while slowly filling in the holes in their walled garden.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Amazon can claim that they are protecting the interests of authors while slowly filling in the holes in their walled garden.

While at the same time pushing authors into the KDP Select exclusivity deal

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I tried borrowing the same book on Kindle Unlimited and Download & Transfer is available for me.

I wonder whether this is something being rolled out by account or by country or something else. Can you share what country she is located in or if there is anything that might be unusual about her account?

Amazon is very big on A/B testing changes so some people see what is coming before others. She may just be one of the (un)lucky ones.

We're located in western Canada. Since she seems to make a habit of download and transferring via USB for her KU borrows, I'm wondering if this is what triggered it for her.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I tried borrowing the same book on Kindle Unlimited and Download & Transfer is available for me.

I wonder whether this is something being rolled out by account or by country or something else. Can you share what country she is located in or if there is anything that might be unusual about her account?

Amazon is very big on A/B testing changes so some people see what is coming before others. She may just be one of the (un)lucky ones.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4188720 seem to have a similar thing happen, with some users reporting they could no longer download but others say they could.

Interestingly, a few people there also expressed the opinion that it was a probably a bad/ominous precursor of other changes

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by jgwallace3

Got an example? I wouldn't actually use it to read, but want to able to D/L amazon books as before (on windows)

Voyage, any Oasis, any PW, any Basic since 2014

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by DNSB

We're located in western Canada. Since she seems to make a habit of download and transferring via USB for her KU borrows, I'm wondering if this is what triggered it for her.

I suppose that is possible, but if this was done using Amazon's Weblab A/B testing system then it is probably just a random selection of accounts that are impacted for now with the rest coming over time.

I wonder if this download restriction is associated with that specific book or by the act of borrowing the book on KU. If that book had been purchased instead of being borrowed would it have the Download & Transfer option available or not?

If this restriction ever comes to me I will probably try buying an inexpensive (or free) book that is part of KU in order to see if that unlocks Download & Transfer for it.

[rantanplan]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I had one acquaintance send me a message stating that she is no longer able to download and transfer Kindle Unlimited books. While this doesn't bother me (see my previous comments on DRM and borrowed books), it may be of interest to others.

Is she aware that authors aren't getting paid if she doesn't read KU books on a Kindle?

[ZodWallop]

Just checking: Even though K4PC 1.17 still works for books before January 3, comics/graphic novels will not download, regardless of when they were published. Is that right?

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

Is she aware that authors aren't getting paid if she doesn't read KU books on a Kindle?

You piqued my curiosity (not so difficult in my case).

I'm looking at the KDP Select Royalties in Kindle Unlimited information page.

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/to...01541130#kenpc

There is something called KENPC v3.0. The details of this algorithm are not available but the general concept is clear.

We developed the Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC) to determine a Kindle eBook's page count in a way that works across genres, devices, and display settings. KENPC is calculated using standard formatting settings (for example; font, line height, line spacing). We use KENPC to measure the number of pages customers read in your Kindle eBook. This starts at the Start Reading Location (SRL) and goes to the end of your Kindle eBook. Amazon typically sets the SRL at chapter 1. This is so readers can start reading the core content of your Kindle eBook as soon as they open it. Non-text elements within Kindle eBooks including images, charts and graphs will count toward KENPC.

and

We released KENPC v3.0 to improve the way we measure how many pages that Kindle Unlimited (KU) customers read. We're constantly working to improve our programs and increase fairness of how we allocate the KDP Select Global Fund. These changes continue to improve the program and reward authors whose Kindle eBooks are being borrowed and read the most by customers.

(emphasis added)

Since they allow downloads, my initial assumption is that team responsible for the algorithm factor it in somehow, even if they cannot measure it directly.

For example, they could contribute an average of the page counts per borrow for the same book for the reading they can measure. Simple to derive, and better than nothing.

There are many, many YouTube videos about KDP Select, how it works, is it worth it, how to interpret reports etc. Maybe there are some more details there, but it would take a long time to find them there. Best way would be to find someone enrolled in KDP Select and pose a question to them.

My assumption could be wrong of course, I just have no evidence either way.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

Is she aware that authors aren't getting paid if she doesn't read KU books on a Kindle?

She is aware of that. The problem is that her Kindle (an older Paperwhite 2?) no longer connects to WiFi (hers, mine or Starbucks), so she was using Download and transfer as a substitute. As a retiree living on a fixed income, she does not want to purchase another Kindle device out of her very limited discretionary budget. She does read on her computer about 1/3 of the time but the rest is spent on her Kindle.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

Is she aware that authors aren't getting paid if she doesn't read KU books on a Kindle?

Do authors get paid if you read a KU book on the cruddy online viewer? If so, one could open the book there and go through it.

[rantanplan]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Do authors get paid if you read a KU book on the cruddy online viewer? If so, one could open the book there and go through it.

That might be a good workaround. Amazon just needs to be able to track that all pages were viewed.

[rantanplan]

If you're curious, here's how Amazon paid royalties for Kindle Unlimited:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201541130

[VirgoGirl]

I hate Amazon right now. I'm in Ontario, and yep, got the update message on my Kindle for PC - which I haven't.

Putting aside the desire to strip DRM off things I thought I owned because I BOUGHT THEM, if I install the Amazon reading app on my tablet, can I download the ebook through the updated Kindle for PC program and drag and drop onto my tablet in a subfolder so I can read books away from my computer?

Every time I connect to the wifi, my tablet starts wanting to download SO MANY app updates and clogs up my "OTHER" folder to the point now where I don't connect anymore unless I HAVE to.

I know this won't solve the DRM issue, but I'll have it on my computer in case the DRM thing will ever be solved and I can actually read the book (but not change the .CSS, which I always do).