Who Really Owns Your E-Books? Switching from Kindle to Kobo

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cellaris

What I don't quite understand is where your concern leads.

Can't you already buy e-books from places other than Amazon and read them on whatever brand device you prefer, including Kindle? That's what I do. And that's regardless of what changes Amazon makes regarding DRM.

The only e-books (if they put obstacles in the way of DRM removal) that you wouldn't be able to read on other devices would be the ones that Amazon has exclusivity on. And you have two options: either you read them on their devices or you don't read them at all (because you won't be able to buy them elsewhere and you won't be able to remove the DRM). But this last option that you all repeat ("if I can't remove the DRM I won't buy books from Amazon again") doesn't provide any solution to the problem you are so worried about. What you are proposing is simply to give up reading certain e-books on an e-reader. Which is fine as a personal decision, as long as you are clear that it doesn't solve the problem.

There are books from Amazon that are on sale, free, or only at Amazon. I do buy from other stores mostly as I prefer to buy ePub.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cellaris

But this last option that you all repeat ("if I can't remove the DRM I won't buy books from Amazon again") doesn't provide any solution to the problem you are so worried about. What you are proposing is simply to give up reading certain e-books on an e-reader. Which is fine as a personal decision, as long as you are clear that it doesn't solve the problem.

The problem, for me, is not that I wouldn't be able to read those books; I could buy a Kindle and read them on it, if I wanted. The problem is not being able to do with my purchased ebooks what I want to do with them, i.e. adjust the formatting to my liking and make a personal backup. Buying a Kindle to read them on wouldn't solve that problem for me.

Clearly an unremovable DRM means different things to different people.

[cellaris]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There are books from Amazon that are on sale, free, or only at Amazon.

And what is your proposed solution to read these books (if you can't remove the DRM)? Buy a Kobo? Don't buy them?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cellaris

And what is your proposed solution to read these books (if you can't remove the DRM)? Buy a Kobo? Don't buy them?

I would simply not read them. There are plenty of other books I can read instead.

[cellaris]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I would simply not read them. There are plenty of other books I can read instead.

That's exactly what I said. You either read them on a Kindle device or you don't read them at all. There is no other solution no matter how many times you think about it.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cellaris

That's exactly what I said. You either read them on a Kindle device or you don't read them at all. There is no other solution no matter how many times you think about it.

Who has said there is another solution? Those of us who aren't going to buy DRMed books clearly will be reading other books instead. It isn't like all good books are only sold at Amazon. And even if Amazon were the only bookstore in the world, I have enough in my calibre library to last several hundred years, so I wouldn't ever be forced to put up with DRMed books.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cellaris

And what is your proposed solution to read these books (if you can't remove the DRM)? Buy a Kobo? Don't buy them?

I did buy a Kobo. I use that for reading. If I read any eBooks from Amazon, I remove the DRM, convert to ePub, and edit as I like. Then it goes on my Kobo and I can read it.

I'd not read any eBooks from Amazon where I could not remove the DRM. I do have a PW3 and a Kindle Touch. I bought the Kindle Touch 2n hand from Goodwill and the PW3 I inherited.

[cellaris]

That is why there is no need to worry about any changes Amazon might make to the DRM on its books. They can be bought elsewhere, they can be read on Kindle devices, or we will read something else. It's up to the user.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by cellaris

That is why there is no need to worry about any changes Amazon might make to the DRM on its books. They can be bought elsewhere, they can be read on Kindle devices, or we will read something else. It's up to the user.

I'd prefer to keep on buying books from Amazon, as I find in convenient. When it ceases to be so, because of (currently) unremovable DRM, I will stop buying from them.

I'm not worried about the possibility, but I like to understand what's going on at Amazon so that I can stop buying when the DRM can no longer be removed, not just find out when I'm unable to remove the DRM on a bought book.

There are reputable publishers that publish without DRM. I'd just buy more from them instead.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

There are reputable publishers that publish without DRM. I'd just buy more from them instead.

Cough, Baen, Cough.
Apache

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Apache

Cough, Baen, Cough.
Apache

Tor is also DRM free.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by cellaris

That is why there is no need to worry about any changes Amazon might make to the DRM on its books. They can be bought elsewhere, they can be read on Kindle devices, or we will read something else. It's up to the user.

Unfortunately, the popularity of Kindle Unlimited and KDP Select's exclusivity clause is slowly whittling away at the selections from other stores.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cellaris

That is why there is no need to worry about any changes Amazon might make to the DRM on its books. They can be bought elsewhere, they can be read on Kindle devices, or we will read something else. It's up to the user.

There is always a need to worry when DRM becomes unremovable. It would be a dangerous tendency and other stores/publishers might start considering doing the same. I'm sure many people wouldn't care, but some of us do. Yes, personally I have enough to read without ever buying another book, but that doesn't mean I don't care what's going on with DRM or ebooks in general. I'd still like to buy some new books in the future. And for me buying books with unremovable DRM is completely unacceptable, whether I can read them or not doesn't matter.

[Graham44]

I don't know whether I mis-read but are people saying you can not remove DRM from Kindle books anymore? Its just I purchased some more kindle books a couple of weeks ago and had no problems. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Graham44

I don't know whether I mis-read but are people saying you can not remove DRM from Kindle books anymore? Its just I purchased some more kindle books a couple of weeks ago and had no problems. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding

You still can at the moment. But Amazon is trying to prevent it and we're discussing what that would mean in the future.