Sounds to me like Amazon is reducing the value proposition of their product. For me, additional roadblocks to being able to enjoy something they way I want when I have paid for it reduces the value of the product itself.
For example, if a DRM free book in an standards compatible format costs $20, then the DRM version I can still download for offline viewing is worth $10. The DRM version I can’t download is now worth more like $1-$5 depending on how badly I would want to read it while still supporting the author.
And yes, ebooks from the major sellers aren’t worth much to me and I rarely rent (because you’re not really buying) them.
From them perhaps.
As someone who likes to have a fallback way of purchasing digital content that I can remove DRM from, this annoys me.
I can still purchase mp3 and flac files from various online retailers, and I can rip bluray for my movies and tv shows, but now I need a new place to purchase ebooks that are downloadable. Anyone have any recommendations? The first few independent retailers i’ve found seem to require their own apps.
Fuck Amazon. Delete your account.
Here’s my purely capitalistic problem with Amazon:
A decade+ ago, I realized that major brands were using the site as their outlet store. I’d buy a pack of socks, and they’d be hideously deformed. I’d buy a few pants for work, one pair would be too small, one too large, and one would fit just right. I’m not fucking Goldilocks.
The final straw for me was when my coffee maker broke. I ordered a new one via same day shipping, which at the time had a minimum order of something like $50. The coffee maker did not cost quite enough, so I added something random to the order so that my same day shipping would be free. Ultimately, the coffee maker arrived late (i.e. not the same day) and the decanter was broken.
When I contacted Amazon about the issue, the agent said they could reship, but they wouldn’t send it same day so for that specific item it was going to take 3 - 5 days to arrive. They also tried to hassle me with a straight up return, telling me I had to take it to a UPS store, which at the time was 30+ minutes away.
Ultimately, I pulled a Karen and told them to cancel my Amazon Prime, which they did. Only problem is, I was 2 or 3 months into the year long subscription and assumed I’d get a pro-rated refund. I did not. When I got back in touch with customer service, they told me that Amazon adds up the value of the “free” shipping I received, the rental value of the movies and shows I watched on Prime, and the value of all the other services included with Prime and if that total exceeds the remaining value of the Prime subscription, then no refund.
They basically stole almost a year of Prime from me with no recourse.
Scum company. I got a lot of hate for saying this back in those days. But at least now, a decade+ later, people are finally starting to wake up. Not everyone, obviously. But at least I don’t get hateful responses and DMs quite as much as I used to.
library genesis. anna’s archive.
chances are, its there.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard about libgen and aa - and actually i’m not sure how they operate with direct downloads of copyrighted material? I find my ebooks through more conventional p2p means, but i’ve always just assumed that was necessary to avoid sudden takedowns
what is your p2p method, out of curiosity?
I get my linux distros via torrent networks, mostly
any good trackers for good linux iso availability?
with torrenting i sometimes can’t find some more obscure distros i’m looking for…
As a rule I don’t announce my trackers publicly so they can continue existing as my trackers, but the one I use mostly is small-rodent themed.
I’ll DM you
I pulled down the eight Kindle books I actually bought, about half of the books in my Kindle library are public domain, stuff like old Sherlock Holmes novels, some FAA handbooks, etc.
Next I guess is Audible. Over the years Audible has offered a lot of free trials with a complimentary audiobook several times, and I’ve amassed a bit of a collection. Including the edition of The Martian narrated by R.C. Bray you can’t get anymore. Those I’d like in mp3 format if I can get it.
some FAA handbooks
Just light reading…
I’m a flight instructor, so…yes.
GetLibation.com to download and convert your Audible library
Thank you. Audible was my lifesaver when I was working on the road but I’m definitely on the prepare part.
Unaffected since I’ve never participated in the Kindle ecosystem. I’ve been gifted a few Kindles but never was on board with that walled garden. Fuck Amazon.
I borrow them from my library through the Libby and Hoopla apps. If I want to support the author, I’ll buy a copy through some other means. Directly from them, if possible.
Very happy I got a PocketBook instead of the store locked alternatives
I’m planning on buying a pocketbook soon!!! I’ve been trying to get a sense of what the PocketBook interface is like on the device but haven’t found anything online. You don’t have a picture of the home / library page do you? Also, can you disable discover / suggestions on the PocketBook?
The UI is super simple, it’s based on Linux so it’s much closer to using a tablet computer, you access your books via folders
Default UI
Library is a file Explorer
UI without recommendations (I never bothered turning it off because I’m never on the front page)
Thank you so much for posting pics! It looks great.
Good luck accessing my ebooks.
Get them out of Amazon:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=361503
It works, I just exported alk my ebooks into epub earlier today.
I have hundreds of books in my kindle. But 0 on Amazon.
Oh, they are, are they?
I wonder if this is a response to someone jailbreaking all kindles ever the other day
Fuck kindles, get a different brand of ereader that just runs stripped android
It’s because the first few generations of DRM were extremely poorly implemented. My og kindle keyboard still works and will ignore the DRM (that would be locking me out of, for example, a library book after its due date) if you just change the file extension to one of the DRM free file types. It will also then let me distribute that ebook to others without restriction.
The kobo unes run Linux ootb, and they are as easy to install something like pluto on as an android one, but I still prefer them because I can do all kinds of shinanigans with the command line
Also if they are too expensive for you, just get a used one, as long as they have a backlight you can read just as well on them as a libra color
I was able to export (you’ll have to remove DRM via plugin) all of Kindle ebooks into epub using part of this guide:
No it isn’t 🐭
