Amazon and DRM changes

[issybird]

Moderator Notice
Let’s keep this to DRM issues and not stray into censorship, which is irrelevant to the topic. Thanks.

[Quoth]

You can publish for free, DRM Free on Smashwords/D2D and Google (DRM free is an option). Amazon supposedly offers option for DRM free, though KFX negates it. Avoid KU (it's a subscription service inc library) and buy books on Amazon without subscription and you can get DRM free if the book is DRM free. It's reasonable for any subscription or library system to always have DRM. It's not reasonable for any book bought without subscription to have DRM.

KU is not at all like the book clubs for paper publishing. With them you committed to buying books regularly so they were discounted. Not subscription in the sense of KU, spotify, Pay TV or streaming. KU is more an like an ebook equivalent of cable/satellite/streaming Pay TV. KU also short changes the authors.

Also having your own website and sharing ideas is cheap.

DRM is not related to censorship at all, though it is about controlling consumer use.

[VirgoGirl]

Getting back to Amazon and their decision to limit how you read new books:

Aside from the "oh it's more work" BS, what I DON'T understand is why they did this across the board. Yeah, okay limit how you get/read books through KU, but if you BUY a book for MONEY, regardless of being in KU or not, why prevent us from downloading what we bought, even if it was published post Jan 3rd? <-- rhetorical question, sort of

They're now cutting out people who bought books to read on other platforms, which, no matter how small, reduces their income. With the cost of living what it is, buying a kindle to read books or a new phone or tablet to use their app is not always feasible. I know a lot of people who use old epub readers because they still work and have the sideload ability the new readers removed.

This is, IMHO, really shortsighted of the company, and just makes a lot of people (myself included) hate them more and look for other places to buy.

[issybird]

Sigh. If you see a mod notice and edit your post to say so, there’s no free pass to say what you wanted just the same. Posts have been deleted.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

Getting back to Amazon and their decision to limit how you read new books:

Aside from the "oh it's more work" BS, what I DON'T understand is why they did this across the board. Yeah, okay limit how you get/read books through KU, but if you BUY a book for MONEY, regardless of being in KU or not, why prevent us from downloading what we bought, even if it was published post Jan 3rd? <-- rhetorical question, sort of

They're now cutting out people who bought books to read on other platforms, which, no matter how small, reduces their income. With the cost of living what it is, buying a kindle to read books or a new phone or tablet to use their app is not always feasible. I know a lot of people who use old epub readers because they still work and have the sideload ability the new readers removed.

This is, IMHO, really shortsighted of the company, and just makes a lot of people (myself included) hate them more and look for other places to buy.

Unfortunately, i think us MobileRead users are a small minority.

[jonathan2022]

I think it may be bigger than you think. Why go to all this trouble for a minority. I can't imagine it being cheap to pay to keep updating drm as well as using those resources.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

...why prevent us from downloading what we bought, even if it was published post Jan 3rd?

They're now cutting out people who bought books to read on other platforms, which, no matter how small, reduces their income. With the cost of living what it is, buying a kindle to read books or a new phone or tablet to use their app is not always feasible...

To be fair to Amazon, post the introduction of the Kindle, Amazon never intended you to read Amazon purchased ebooks on other platforms. It only works because clever people found a workaround and Amazon let it lie.

It still sucks. And I agree with you: what is the harm? But regardless...

With the cost of living what it is, buying a kindle to read books or a new phone or tablet to use their app is not always feasible. I know a lot of people who use old epub readers because they still work and have the sideload ability the new readers removed.

I know that argument is coming from a good place, but it is nonsense.

Reality being what it is, the ratio of people who have an old (non-Kindle) reader, but have no phone or tablet is somewhere around zero (or negative if you count people with phone and tablet, but no reader). And how would those people buy the ebooks in the first place?

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Reality being what it is, the ratio of people who have an old (non-Kindle) reader, but have no phone or tablet is somewhere around zero (or negative if you count people with phone and tablet, but no reader). And how would those people buy the ebooks in the first place?

The Senior Citizens Reading Group at my local library would take issue with being counted as a "zero group" Plenty of old ereaders (the devices, not the people ), "senior" phones and children/grandchildren willing to put books on the readers for them. Yeah, not Amazon's target audience.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I know that argument is coming from a good place, but it is nonsense.

I take exception to that word "nonsense" - not in an "Oh I'm offended way", but it a "not really" way.

In Canada, Kobos were cheap - often having ridiculous sales, which is how I got my Kobos - allowed you to read books from the elibraries (still do), and e-ink is SO much better for eye health than glowing screens. In the US, there was the B&N Nook - can't speak for that, not in the US - and I know many people in the UK who had Sony readers or Nooks (which I found weird).

I HAD a Ipad 2, I hated reading any books on it because it made my eyes hurt and the glass screen prevented easy outdoor reading due to sun glare. My phone doesn't support "current" apps, but it makes phone calls and sends texts, so updating to read a book seems expensive. There are more of us than you think who have what many would call "outdated tech", and while Amazon won't support us and yes, frankly doesn't HAVE to, calling it a nonsense argument is, well, nonsense.

[ownedbycats]

Considering how many "why am I having trouble sideloading books on Kindle?" posts I've seen (usually disappearing covers or emails getting blocked, but occasionally stuff like this) I'm surprised it's still so popular.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

The Senior Citizens Reading Group at my local library would take issue with being counted as a "zero group" Plenty of old ereaders (the devices, not the people ), "senior" phones and children/grandchildren willing to put books on the readers for them. Yeah, not Amazon's target audience.

Let's ask those old readers that have old readers how many do not have an iPad, iPhone, Samsung or whatever wrong word they use to describe a smartphone or tablet, nor access to a computer/Chromebook whatever.

In Canada, Kobos were cheap - often having ridiculous sales, which is how I got my Kobos - allowed you to read books from the elibraries (still do), and e-ink is SO much better for eye health than glowing screens. In the US, there was the B&N Nook - can't speak for that, not in the US - and I know many people in the UK who had Sony readers or Nooks (which I found weird).

In the US at one point, we had Kindles/Sonys/Nooks/Kobos all selling ereaders. It was a golden time.

We also had Apple/Sony/Lenovo/Samsung/LG/Acer/Asus/Dell/Motorola/Nokia/Amazon, etc. putting out multiple phones and tablets for every price range.

And those devices were sold in many stores, unlike ereaders that were available from a single store or online only.

I HAD a Ipad 2, I hated reading any books on it because it made my eyes hurt and the glass screen prevented easy outdoor reading due to sun glare. My phone doesn't support "current" apps, but it makes phone calls and sends texts, so updating to read a book seems expensive. There are more of us than you think who have what many would call "outdated tech", and while Amazon won't support us and yes, frankly doesn't HAVE to, calling it a nonsense argument is, well, nonsense.

See: Even you had one.

Look, I'm sure you are or know the one Canadian who can't buy a Kindle, but has a Kobo, yet cannot buy ebooks from Kobo, yet is able to buy Amazon ebooks, strip the DRM, import them into Calibre and then sideload them onto said Kobo. That is probably the same fabled grandmother who runs SlackwareLinux on her seventy year-old laptop.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Look, I'm sure you are or know the one Canadian who can't buy a Kindle, but has a Kobo, yet cannot buy ebooks from Kobo, yet is able to buy Amazon ebooks, strip the DRM, import them into Calibre and then sideload them onto said Kobo. That is probably the same fabled grandmother who runs SlackwareLinux on her seventy year-old laptop.

Someone who read an author who is exclusive to Amazon. Possibly with family members doing the actual sideloading for them.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Someone who read an author who is exclusive to Amazon. Possibly with family members doing the actual sideloading for them.

Man, there must be... dozens of people on the Earth suffering in such a way.

Hey, I think what Amazon is doing sucks as well. But making the argument that it is harming vulnerable people who have NO OTHER WAY to read Amazon books is just a silly argument.

I don't like it and I am certain I have Amazon exclusive authors whose work I enjoy and will lose access. But then it is the reader's job to lobby the authors to sell elsewhere or read on an app or read something else or lobby congress about Amazon's monopolistic behavior.

Any of those are a better argument than telling me that the cast of Cocoon is being cheated of the right to read.

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Man, there must be... dozens of people on the Earth suffering in such a way.

Hey, I think what Amazon is doing sucks as well. But making the argument that it is harming vulnerable people who have NO OTHER WAY to read Amazon books is just a silly argument.

I don't like it and I am certain I have Amazon exclusive authors whose work I enjoy and will lose access. But then it is the reader's job to lobby the authors to sell elsewhere or read on an app or read something else or lobby congress about Amazon's monopolistic behavior.

Any of those are a better argument than telling me that the cast of Cocoon is being cheated of the right to read.

This is why I hate the internet and have steered clear of forums until recently. I wasn't rude or offensive, but for some reason that's the road you've taken.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

This is why I hate the internet and have steered clear of forums until recently. I wasn't rude or offensive, but for some reason that's the road you've taken.

Honestly, no rudeness is intended.

If you are going to make a case, be ready to defend it.

You and I agree on the main point: What Amazon is doing is crummy. But trying to make something more out of it based on shaky premises is going to fall apart.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Honestly, no rudeness is intended.

If you are going to make a case, be ready to defend it.

You and I agree on the main point: What Amazon is doing is crummy. But trying to make something more out of it based on shaky premises is going to fall apart.

Here is one magic word: public library. There is plenty to read. For free. Everything else is entitlement.