Amazon has removed Download & Transfer option

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by Lavender

I bought my first eReader this week, and chose the kobo clara bw. Before I did I saw a myriad of YouTube videos discussing the switch from kindle to kobo. Most were less than a year old.

Having owned Kindles for years (over a decade I'm sure) I've just switched to Kobo, also the Clara BW, two weeks ago, I can guarantee you made the right choice going for the Kobo, nothing wrong with Kindle hardware but the Clara feels more like a readers e-reader if that makes sense?

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by John F

And piss off some customers and give them an incentive to switch to another platform.

It is hard to know where they will draw the line. They chose to eliminate Download & Transfer despite the negative feelings that caused.

Originally Posted by John F

I'm not sure why there isn't a possibility that they will introduce a new firmware (and mandate firmware updates) and new DRM (similar to what is used in KFX) to older Kindles/formats for ANY new purchases. Does newer DRM require much more CPU?

I believe the issue there is more a matter of cost in bringing developers up to speed to work on outdated models that likely do not have all that many devices left in use compared with newer models. At some point it is more cost effective to incentivize customers to upgrade their hardware.

Originally Posted by John F

It seems to me if people want to pirate, they will. They will go to whatever means necessary. If Amazon made their DRM 100% unbreakable, the only books that wouldn't be stripped would be Amazon exclusives.

I do not think that Amazon's use of DRM is about preventing piracy. It is all about lock in, making it difficult for customers to take their books to another platform such as Kobo. That is why all books in KFX format have DRM, even when the publisher has requested that it not be used.

[Lavender]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I do not think that Amazon's use of DRM is about preventing piracy. It is all about lock in, making it difficult for customers to take their books to another platform such as Kobo. That is why all books in KFX format have DRM, even when the publisher has requested that it not be used.

You nailed it.

It’s always about monopolistic power with Amazon. From the very beginning Bezos ran Amazon at a loss only focused on market dominance. That has never changed. It is fundamental to the company.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I very much doubt that Amazon will ever plug all of the DRM holes, but they can close most of them fairly easily ...

... If that happens then Kindles new enough to support KFX but old enough to no longer receive firmware updates, like your PW3, may be the only workable solution left.

Pretty grim. Since Amazon removed D&T, my enthusiasm for purchasing ebooks has diminished significantly and I find myself increasingly content to simply borrow books from the library. I'll probably always purchase a few favorites, but the joy I once derived from buying books just isn't there anymore.

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Pretty grim. Since Amazon removed D&T, my enthusiasm for purchasing ebooks has diminished significantly and I find myself increasingly content to simply borrow books from the library. I'll probably always purchase a few favorites, but the joy I once derived from buying books just isn't there anymore.

That's a shame to hear Did you only ever buy ebooks from Amazon? I've found my ebook enthusiasm has returned since Amazon removed D&T, I've found a few alternative places to buy from and having that variety (each shop has it's own personality/ feel) has made looking for my next book much more exciting.

[Lavender]

Could ebooks bought from bookshop.org serve as a possible replacement to Amazon? What is their DRM situation?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Lavender

Could ebooks bought from bookshop.org serve as a possible replacement to Amazon? What is their DRM situation?

DRM-free books can be downloaded. Books with DRM are locked to their app and web reader, and cannot be downloaded.

[Lavender]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

DRM-free books can be downloaded. Books with DRM are locked to their app and web reader, and cannot be downloaded.

Can they be downloaded to an iOS device locally, and extracted from a jailbroken one?

[John F]

Originally Posted by jhowell

...

I do not think that Amazon's use of DRM is about preventing piracy. It is all about lock in, making it difficult for customers to take their books to another platform such as Kobo. That is why all books in KFX format have DRM, even when the publisher has requested that it not be used.

Maybe. So they are hoping that existing/new customers are ignorant that they are currently/will be in a walled garden?

I wonder how many customers will be pissed when they find out, and how many won't care.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Lavender

Can they be downloaded to an iOS device locally, and extracted from a jailbroken one?

No idea, sorry.

[Knightreader]

Originally Posted by John F

I wonder how many customers will be pissed when they find out, and how many won't care.

The majority won't care.

[cgsmom]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Pretty grim. Since Amazon removed D&T, my enthusiasm for purchasing ebooks has diminished significantly and I find myself increasingly content to simply borrow books from the library. I'll probably always purchase a few favorites, but the joy I once derived from buying books just isn't there anymore.

I feel the same. When I decided to buy the new Colorsoft, I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. Even though I’m not foolish enough to believe that it would be my last reader, I was happy enough to buy books from Amazon as long as I knew that they would be available to use on other readers in the future. When D&T went away I just lost some of the joy I felt shopping for new books that would appear automatically on the Colorsoft.

I have made a few purchases on Barnes & Noble since I still have Nooks. It’s not like I will ever run out of reading material. I have more than enough books to last me a lifetime.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by cgsmom

I feel the same. When I decided to buy the new Colorsoft, I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. Even though I’m not foolish enough to believe that it would be my last reader, I was happy enough to buy books from Amazon as long as I knew that they would be available to use on other readers in the future. When D&T went away I just lost some of the joy I felt shopping for new books that would appear automatically on the Colorsoft.

I have made a few purchases on Barnes & Noble since I still have Nooks. It’s not like I will ever run out of reading material. I have more than enough books to last me a lifetime.

Wait...so are you saying that you're able to download your books from Barnes and Noble and put them onto another device?

Shari

[cgsmom]

Originally Posted by shalym

Wait...so are you saying that you're able to download your books from Barnes and Noble and put them onto another device?

Shari

Yes but there is some work involved. If you have a working version of the Nook Windows app you have to find the book files. If you don’t have a copy of the Nook Windows app, it has been discontinued by Barnes and Noble. It is available on the web.

I don’t know how to link to a thread in this forum but it is in the Barnes and Noble section and titled Windows Nook app discontinued. It is a long thread, but does explain how to get the app installed in Windows 11.

If I didn’t have the Nook app already installed I would probably just buy from Kobo. It is easier to use.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by Graham44

That's a shame to hear Did you only ever buy ebooks from Amazon? I've found my ebook enthusiasm has returned since Amazon removed D&T, I've found a few alternative places to buy from and having that variety (each shop has it's own personality/ feel) has made looking for my next book much more exciting.

My first ereader was the original Nook. At the time, I considered Amazon to be the Evil Empire. I was a very happy Barnes & Noble customer for years until they removed the ability to download epub directly from their website. (My memory is fuzzy, but I think there was a period when Nook for Mac was an option, but that didn't last long.)

That's when I made the reluctant switch to the Dark Side (aka Amazon/Kindle). I grew to appreciate Kindle and became a happy Amazon/Kindle customer once I figured out how easy it was to obtain and convert azw3 to epub (I'm not thrilled with the code that results from converting KFX to epub). But then D&T was removed, and now the only way to get azw3 is from my old K4BNT with a dying battery, and who knows how long that will continue to be supported.

I know a lot of folks have switched to Kobo, but I've lost my enthusiasm for book-buying. Also, while there are a few authors who are auto-buy for me, most of the books I purchase are ones I started reading as a library loan — i.e., if I really love a library book and want to keep it, I will purchase it. But now I'm thinking, "why bother? I've already read it, if I want to read it again, maybe I'll buy it then — or maybe I'll just borrow it again from the library."