> The 15.18.5 update is also having an adverse reaction to sideloaded books. If you deliver a book using Send by Email or copy it to your computer via USB, a critical issue may arise, where a pop-up appears with an ‘Invalid ASIN‘ number. The new DRM system is attempting to locate the book in the Amazon store to decrypt it, but since it can’t find it, it reports that the book is invalid. Amazon claims they are working on the issue, but preventing sideloading would be downright tyrannical.
Ouch. This is how I deliver a lot of my DRM-free purchases to the Kindle app.
Thankfully I deDRM'd most of my Kindle books last year or so, so I can read them in Braille on my Braille display without needing to connect to my phone and use the Kindle app. Also luckily for me it's legal for me to do that since I'm blind. One of the few perks I guess.
Not sure what they were thinking, but for a long time if you mixed side loaded books with kindle ones, the front cover would go missing from the side loaded when it synced. I've never let my kindle hit the web after I converted by Amazon purchases.
I can't blame Amazon specifically for it, but it is amazing how the wider tech industry is simultaneously pushing DRM down our throats and scraping/pirating any content they can find for training AI.
I bought some ebooks from other vendors to avoid lock-in and side-loaded them on my kindle. Last year, if Amazon sold one of these titles it would dissappear if I turned on wifi. I now have a kobo.
Good. Now it's more clear for users that putting all your reading-eggs in the basket of a nasty tech-company, is not ok. Glad I removed my Amazon account a long time ago
What is the role of "software updates" in this "war"
This phrase "software update" is mentioned several times
Usually this refers to soneone other than the comuter owner being able to remotely access and install software on the owner's computer, often without the explicit, non-compulsory consent of the owner
I bought a Kindle Oasis 1st gen when it came out, got it replaced by Amazon with gen 2 and I liked it as long as I could sideload books and strip DRM off of my Kindle "license purchases" but I anticipated the recent moves by Amazon and looked for alternatives, knowing that I'd probably have to love with some compromises, especially in terms of build quality and feel. Looked at Kobo, Onyx, etc but none really convinced me, especially when I saw most of them being stuck on Android 11. When I heard of the Daylight Computer DC-1 something clicked. The smooth display, readability in daylight, none of the cons of rink (except being gray scale), the blue light free display, Android 13 with 16 being on the horizon. Downsides are the uneven display borders, higher battery usage when the display is powered on/no always on display and the rather flimsy feeling of the back cover. DPI is a bit below modern ereaders as well. I'm still happy I went with it. It's now my daily carry for writing in the cafe, scribbling down notes with the included pen and its the best device I ever used to read PDFs and scanned books from archive.org that aren't downloadable.
Lots of cons still but no one is going to pull your ebooks from your device and it's still their 1st gen and only device they have. I just hope they ship export functionality for their custom app so that you can keep local copies of the documents you send to their backend.
It's great this was mentioned in a podcast once which got me curious about it in the first place. And without the blue lights you actually can read in bed without ruining your circadian rhythm.
I’ve personally found reading on an iPad mini to be great. You can use Libby, Apple Books, Kindle, or whatever else floats your boat.
Get that it’s not e-ink, but I’ve found a setting that does not fatigue me (black text on tan background - just like hacker news!) and have never looked back.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 44.6 ms ] threadWhat amazon could block is getting books from other sources onto a kindle. But there's plenty of devices. I use an iPad.
Using keys stored in hardware for DRM is industry standard. It's not draconian.
That said still buying. Their daily sales are (occasionally) just too good value for money even of if I know it’s locked.
I want properly created files the kindle can render with the options I want, not a pdf that forces a layout.
Its great hardware.
Ouch. This is how I deliver a lot of my DRM-free purchases to the Kindle app.
When I do, I subsequently remove wifi passwords and delete the networks.
Additionally, I disable software updates if possible.
This phrase "software update" is mentioned several times
Usually this refers to soneone other than the comuter owner being able to remotely access and install software on the owner's computer, often without the explicit, non-compulsory consent of the owner
Lots of cons still but no one is going to pull your ebooks from your device and it's still their 1st gen and only device they have. I just hope they ship export functionality for their custom app so that you can keep local copies of the documents you send to their backend.
It's great this was mentioned in a podcast once which got me curious about it in the first place. And without the blue lights you actually can read in bed without ruining your circadian rhythm.
Get that it’s not e-ink, but I’ve found a setting that does not fatigue me (black text on tan background - just like hacker news!) and have never looked back.