Kindle books are never yours

wrenn1 · 06-24-2010, 08:53 PM

I just found out that books bought for the kindle from Amazon are just leased and you can't transfer them to a new reader.

Who would pay for a book that they were not going to own?

jimr · 06-24-2010, 09:00 PM

So, if Kobo were to suddenly disappear off the web, and all we had ever used to load a book onto our devices was the Kobo software, where would one find our 'owned' copy of a book in order to transfer it onto another device?

Stinger · 06-24-2010, 09:06 PM

The easiest way is to use the 'Download ePub' link to download the actual epub file and store that in a safe place.

The Kobo application uses a SQLite database to store books, so there are no individual epub files. This local database is @ '... \AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition' for me, might be slightly different for the Borders software.

wrenn1 · 06-24-2010, 09:07 PM

They are also in the email with the purchase receipt.

jimr · 06-24-2010, 09:26 PM

The 'download epub' function (either from the website or the receipt) only downloads the .acsm file though, doesn't it? Isn't that just a shell or licence until it actually accesses the content on the website again? If that's the case one has to download it, and open up the file in another program such as ADE or Calibre, etc. in order to posess an actual EPUB file. So, if one never uses either of those programs and uses only the Kobo software provided, because the file is stored in the SQL database and cannot be read as an EPUB, aren't they really only 'renting' the book? Or am I missing something?

AnemicOak · 06-24-2010, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrenn1

I just found out that books bought for the kindle from Amazon are just leased and you can't transfer them to a new reader.

Who would pay for a book that they were not going to own?

Of course you can transfer them to a new reader. It does need to be a reader that supports Kindle format, but if you have books now on a K1, K2 or DX you will also be able to read them on the Kindle 3 whenever it comes out (and also the various apps of course).

roguefan99 · 06-24-2010, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stinger

The easiest way is to use the 'Download ePub' link to download the actual epub file and store that in a safe place.

Interesting thing on the borders Australia website is not all the books have this ability. Personally I wouldn't buy if I didn't get a backup (after going through 2 ipods, numerous phones, 3 laptops.....) that I could put away for safe keeping.

I did get a book that did not have the "download epub" but I didn't pay for it as it was "Through the Looking Glass" which is public domain. I did find it strange that the free ebooks did not have the download to epub option.

wrenn1 · 06-24-2010, 10:48 PM

I think the 100 free books came from Gutenburg so easy enought to pick up again.

SameerH · 06-24-2010, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roguefan99

Interesting thing on the borders Australia website is not all the books have this ability. Personally I wouldn't buy if I didn't get a backup (after going through 2 ipods, numerous phones, 3 laptops.....) that I could put away for safe keeping.

I did get a book that did not have the "download epub" but I didn't pay for it as it was "Through the Looking Glass" which is public domain. I did find it strange that the free ebooks did not have the download to epub option.

We're hard at work doing a ton of content processing to get every book available in ePub.

Don't quote me, but I think we are prioritizing paid books (guy's gotta eat

), but we'll get there!

Seabound · 06-24-2010, 11:21 PM

But can't you read Amazon-bought books on a desktop computer with their software? Gee I hope so. I don't own a Kindle so I don't know.

AnemicOak · 06-24-2010, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seabound

But can't you read Amazon-bought books on a desktop computer with their software? Gee I hope so. I don't own a Kindle so I don't know.

Yes, on Windows or Mac PC's. Also on iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, iPad and soon Android phones/tablets.

roguefan99 · 06-25-2010, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SameerH

We're hard at work doing a ton of content processing to get every book available in ePub.

Don't quote me, but I think we are prioritizing paid books (guy's gotta eat

), but we'll get there!

Yea I understand that, it was just a wierd thing that I noticed. I'm guessing its done as an epub (looks like a perfect epub) and its from Gutenberg (has it in the file).

I'd actually prefer you to choose paid books over free ones due to the fact that it allows for competition (I'll buy from the cheapest with the above criteria). Problem is people keep releasing books making your jobs more difficult

Anyway, I'm personally hanging out for the firmware update

Mememememe · 06-25-2010, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SameerH

We're hard at work doing a ton of content processing to get every book available in ePub.

Don't quote me, but I think we are prioritizing paid books (guy's gotta eat

), but we'll get there!

That's understandable, but what I'm not clear about is why the free books that you already have in ePub for Kobo aren't available for free on the Kobo site.

Specifically, I've found that the 100 preloads aren't available for download. I'm someone who had to delete the 100 preloads because the sqlite file was corrupted and rendering my purchases unreadable, and I would like to be able to reaquire some of those books through Kobo. I can get them all from Project Gutenberg, of course, but it would be so much more convenient if I could just take them from the Kobo site.

DKazzed · 06-25-2010, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimr

The 'download epub' function (either from the website or the receipt) only downloads the .acsm file though, doesn't it? Isn't that just a shell or licence until it actually accesses the content on the website again? If that's the case one has to download it, and open up the file in another program such as ADE or Calibre, etc. in order to posess an actual EPUB file. So, if one never uses either of those programs and uses only the Kobo software provided, because the file is stored in the SQL database and cannot be read as an EPUB, aren't they really only 'renting' the book? Or am I missing something?

Download the ACSM file and open it with Adobe Digital Editions. It'll be stored safe in your computer and with Adobe Digital Editions you can transfer it to your Sony eReader or any other eReader that supports DRM'ed eBooks.

kremesch · 06-25-2010, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrenn1

I just found out that books bought for the kindle from Amazon are just leased and you can't transfer them to a new reader.

Who would pay for a book that they were not going to own?

All digital content is considered 'leased'.

Books from Amazon can be transferred between compatible devices (Kindles only at this time). They just can't be transferred from one activated device to another. Once purchased, choose the 'Download to PC' option (not 'kindle for PC'), and you have your backup that you can move around. They are also backed up on Amazon's server, and they can be re-downloaded to a new device as well. Be carefull though, I read somewhere that some books only allow a certain number of downloads.

06-24-2010, 08:53 PM	#1
wrenn1 Addict Posts: 259 Karma: 48576 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	Kindle books are never yours I just found out that books bought for the kindle from Amazon are just leased and you can't transfer them to a new reader. Who would pay for a book that they were not going to own?

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06-24-2010, 09:00 PM	#2
jimr Member Posts: 92 Karma: 32 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Kitchener, Ontario Device: Original Kobo	So, if Kobo were to suddenly disappear off the web, and all we had ever used to load a book onto our devices was the Kobo software, where would one find our 'owned' copy of a book in order to transfer it onto another device?

06-24-2010, 09:06 PM	#3
Stinger Asha'man Posts: 335 Karma: 844 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo	The easiest way is to use the 'Download ePub' link to download the actual epub file and store that in a safe place. The Kobo application uses a SQLite database to store books, so there are no individual epub files. This local database is @ '... \AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition' for me, might be slightly different for the Borders software.

06-24-2010, 09:07 PM	#4
wrenn1 Addict Posts: 259 Karma: 48576 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	They are also in the email with the purchase receipt.

06-24-2010, 09:26 PM	#5
jimr Member Posts: 92 Karma: 32 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Kitchener, Ontario Device: Original Kobo	The 'download epub' function (either from the website or the receipt) only downloads the .acsm file though, doesn't it? Isn't that just a shell or licence until it actually accesses the content on the website again? If that's the case one has to download it, and open up the file in another program such as ADE or Calibre, etc. in order to posess an actual EPUB file. So, if one never uses either of those programs and uses only the Kobo software provided, because the file is stored in the SQL database and cannot be read as an EPUB, aren't they really only 'renting' the book? Or am I missing something?

06-24-2010, 10:48 PM	#8
wrenn1 Addict Posts: 259 Karma: 48576 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	I think the 100 free books came from Gutenburg so easy enought to pick up again.

06-24-2010, 11:21 PM	#10
Seabound Steerage Class Posts: 711 Karma: 505995 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pacific Northwest, USA Device: Won't fit here anymore, see sig for a list of liseuses.	But can't you read Amazon-bought books on a desktop computer with their software? Gee I hope so. I don't own a Kindle so I don't know.