Finally able to support authors

[leebase]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

People who have kept up over the years don't seem to be as affected by the occasional changes/glitches as you are. Noobs and those who only dip their toes in the water every couple of years are always going to be facing a (re)learning curve. Can't be helped. At least not without tipping off those who can make sure the tools won't work any more.

That's a good description. I don't liberate my books every day. But I do know what I'm talking about, and the mega thread is proof I'm not alone.

I've been participating here for 15 years. For 15 years it's never been clear and easy.

Every now and then I get a hankerin' to liberate some books. And, in 15 years, there have been numerous times that "what once worked, no longer does".

"Oh that one time Calibre broke things" isn't the only time "what once worked, stopped".

Witness the 3 (at least) maintainers that I can think of off the top of my head: Apprentice Alf, Apprentice Harper, and the new NoDRM guy.

And never in any of those incarnations was there a clear and easy to follow set of instructions. Just finding the "right" repository when you discover who to search for is hard enough.

No one wants to make it clear, because no one wants to be a target of the publishers. I get that, and I respect the position of the mods here.

So, seriously folks, stop it with the "gee, I never had a problem, it's so easy" nonsense. Look at the mega thread for all the proof one needs.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

I'm a little fuzzy on what people find difficult about Calibre and NoDRM.
Is it:

• Calibre itself is too complicated?
• NoDRM install?
• No DRM config?

Once you install Calibre, install the NoDRM plugin, and do some relatively simple configuration (NoDRM will automatically detect an installed Kindle for PC or Adobe Digital Editions, and it's easy to find the serial number of your Kindle if you want to enter that), adding an eBook downloaded from Amazon is as easy as adding an eBook without DRM.

I refer you to this post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...6&postcount=27

[leebase]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

There was literally one time that Calibre version mattered as far as DRM was concerned

It happened, and it wasn't the only time "what once worked, stopped working".

>> and that was a fairly long time ago when there were some major changes.

I've been here 15 years - so, yes, I have the background to say "time and again what once worked, didn't and each time it's a hassle figuring it out".

If it weren't there'd be no mega thread.

>> Now, as long as you are somewhere near current with Calibre

That's a caveat. It also matters what version of the Kindle app you are using. Hope it doesn't auto update to the new version even when you already learned that lesson and had set it to not auto update.

>> (you can be an entire major version behind), DRM is not an issue.

Except when it is.

You realize that the versions of DRM also keep changing/improving/regressing?

The author of the pluggin has changed, and thus the location of the plugins.

And no, google is NOT your friend, there is a LOT of noise in that signal.

>> Since Calibre and NoDRM are free, it costs you nothing to learn whetherthe particular book you care about is a problem.

It costs you time.

>> The current version of NoDRM works with all versions of the Kindle for PC application. So, the "last official working copy" is available from Amazon.

Ah, but "the current" version is NOT the version you want to use. You want to use the beta version which now the real version as if he promoted it to the real version, emails are sent out and might draw Amazon's attention meaning that they would do something to break it.

You know. Like has been going on these 15 years such that "what once worked, does not always work".

And how do I know about the beta thing? It's buried deep in the mega thread.

>>All file formats that can be imported into Calibre can have DRM removed. You might need to add plugins for the file formats.

For now? Maybe. But that's an ever shifting state of affairs.

>> Step by step (if this too much detail, mods, please nuke whatever is bad):[LIST=1][*]Install Calibre[*]Download NoDRM plugin (Google is your friend)

Google is definitely NOT your friend. There's a bazillion bad results. How would you even know to search for NoDRM?

>>[*]Install NoDRM plugin into Calibre (plugin install in Calibre is covered by Calibre online help)

Another different place to look for and piece together the instructions. Are you keeping count?

>>[*]Open NoDRM plugin configuration in Calibre[*]Follow the instructions included with the downloaded NoDRM to configure it correctly

Lord knows those are as clear as mud. Which of the files in the correct repository, once you sift through and find the correct ones, is the current instructions and not hold overs from the code perviously forked?

>>[*]Download book from Amazon in some way (Kindle for PC, Download and Transfer via USB, etc.)

Some way? If you use a Kindle app, it has to be an old version that you can't get from Amazon anymore. You have to google to find it and hope it's not been adulterated.

If you use the "Download and Transfer" option, it has to be from a Kindle device that is also old enough.

And don't forget to get the serial number of your Kindle device - you do know how to get that don't your? Yeah, well, most people don't so they have to go figure that out too.

And then you need to edit the plugin info (some way, I forget off the top of my head) to put in that serial number.

That was this last times "thing I had forgotten and had to rediscover and re-learn".

>>Import downloaded file into Calibre

Totally clear and easy. Right? Just a few "yadda yadda"'s in your list and a mega thread remaining as proof that it's not at all clear and simple.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

"Why is this so hard for you, you brainless moron?" Then we wonder why people are willing to pay $50 for a program that makes the process "easier"...

I concur with everything you said - and I AM a technically literate person. I am a software developer. And it's hard for me.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

A part of problem is that specific, step by step, help is not permitted here at MobileRead. So while "Go to the place where you got the tools for help" might sound brusque, it's only because people ask questions that the MobileRead guidelines clearly say you shouldn't ask here.

Correct. So, folks, enough with the "it's easy" - as it's not.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by leebase

If you use the "Download and Transfer" option, it has to be from a Kindle device that is also old enough.

Just a minor correction - it doesn't have to be an old Kindle. ANY eink Kindle is suitable for this, even the most recent.

[John F]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

People who have kept up over the years don't seem to be as affected by the occasional changes/glitches as you are. Noobs and those who only dip their toes in the water every couple of years are always going to be facing a (re)learning curve. Can't be helped. At least not without tipping off those who can make sure the tools won't work any more.

I would think that they know where to look and what to monitor if they care.

[slm]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Just a minor correction - it doesn't have to be an old Kindle. ANY eink Kindle is suitable for this, even the most recent.

This is a classic proof of the problem of going through threads: until the recent breadthrough in KFX decryption, you needed an older Kindle because the new Kindles used KFX natively. Now you can deDRM the KFX version on new Kindles, so the new Kindles work.

But this change got lost in the thread on dealing with the Amazon's changes to the ability to download ebooks to the computer--at least to some readers.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by slm

This is a classic proof of the problem of going through threads: until the recent breadthrough in KFX decryption, you needed an older Kindle because the new Kindles used KFX natively. Now you can deDRM the KFX version on new Kindles, so the new Kindles work.

Nope. Download & Transfer always gives you mobi or azw3, never KFX. You'll get KFX if you pull the files directly off a Kindle, but that's not Download & Transfer.

[DNSB]

And most of that mega-thread is from people who have not used calibre/DeDRM before.

Couple of nits you left out.

• Older versions of K4PC/K4Mac will not download books published after 2023-Jan-02 so not much use in searching out older versions.
  
• calibre updates a lot more often than DeDRM does.
  
• Google can be very helpful if you craft your search queries properly. Though in my testing in the last couple of days has suggested that even 'remove ebook drm" gives a link near the top of the search results to Epubor titled Free EPUB DRM Removal. Google-fu counts.
  
• Not all ebook formats and not all DRM schemes can be handled by DeDRM. How many times have we seen a post from someone who has downloaded ebooks using a application and wants to know how to remove the DRM?
  
• Offering help other people with their issues with DeDRM helps to keep that knowledge fresh in your mind.
  
• Compared to writing and compiling my old BIOS ROMs for CP/M, installing and using DeDRM is a lot easier. You want fun, try dealing with booting from a tape drive with a 2048 byte ROM while handling all the other needed tasks needed to fake a disk drive to allow running CP/M from a tape drive. When I switched to using PC clones, I also implemented using a tape drive as a random access device. Years later, LTO came along.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

The first hit for NoDRM on Google is the git repository.

If you search for "DeDRM", you might have issues, but my instructions never mention that term, because it won't get you what you need.

Most people would not search for NoDRM. They will search for DeDRM and have trouble finding it. They won't know about the name NoDRM. That's why it can be very difficult to find the NoDRM version. For the majority it is difficult.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

When I type in "remove DRM", the second result is a certain code-stealing commercial product. The first is a MakeUseOf article that links to the outdated DeDRM.

When I type with quotes, I get the same. When I type without quotes, I get similar. But in either case, I do not get a link to NoDRM Git on the first page form Google.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

[*]Compared to writing and compiling my old BIOS ROMs for CP/M, installing and using DeDRM is a lot easier. You want fun, try dealing with booting from a tape drive with a 2048 byte ROM while handling all the other needed tasks needed to fake a disk drive to allow running CP/M from a tape drive. When I switched to using PC clones, I also implemented using a tape drive as a random access device. Years later, LTO came along.[/list]

For a frightening scary moment I thought you meant paper tape.

I also implemented using a tape drive as a random access device.

That does work for read only or erase random access with paper tape.

There was paper tape on computers (and even to send messages from keyboard 20 years earlier) from the 1940s. Machine tools still were using paper tape after floppy drives came out.

Was it a 1/2" wide magnetic tape on a reel to reel machine. For cartridges, maybe Travan was worst. No, The stringy microdrive on the Sinclair QL was worst.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Why would a new person come to these forums first for drm removal instructions?

Because when I type remove drm with no quotes into Google, one of the top links I get is to a thread here titled How easy is it to remove DRM from an ebooks.com ePub?

The link to NoDRM is in that thread. It's in the second post as I posted it.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Just a minor correction - it doesn't have to be an old Kindle. ANY eink Kindle is suitable for this, even the most recent.

Though you only get mobi/azw/KF7, not azw3/KF8 with ancient registered Kindles.

OTOH once the Kindle is registered it never needs to actually work ever again.