3 ms·

I've done every step the author has done, in multiple flavors. I have the Kindle for PC app running under Wine on my Linux laptop, so that I can get ebooks I bu

I've done every step the author has done, in multiple flavors. I have the Kindle for PC app running under Wine on my Linux laptop, so that I can get ebooks I buy off Amazon decrypted and converted to EPUBs. I have the requisite suite of DeDRM tools and Calibre plugins so that I can strip the DRM off books I buy on my Kobo. At one time I had an Android VM so that I could pull the decryption key out of my Nook app and decrypt those books as well. It's a massive pain in the ass on every front, and I despise having to do it. There is hope on this front, however. People need to understand this. The e-book manufacturers implement DRM at the behest of the publishers. Publishers can also request that the books they sell not be DRM-encumbered. You'll see that listed on the product page. See below: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/lightspeed-magazine-issue-73-june-2016-people-of-colo-u-r-destroy-science-fiction-special-issue https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/lightspeed-magazine-issue-7... > Download options: EPUB 2 (DRM-Free) Or you may see a note like this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ME0TBFE/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ME0TBFE/ref=dbs_a_def_r... > At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. It's not easy to find books that are DRM-free, but this does show that pressuring the publisher works. I think this is the route to go if we want to make DRM-free books the norm. Pressure the publisher, not the platform.

justaguyhere 6y ago
stripping DRM - is this legal? surely there must be some fine print in 2px font size somewhere in the long user agreements that nobody reads?
- AdmiralAsshat 6y ago
  Probably. So sue me. I'm paying for the books. I simply wish to be allowed to choose what device I use to read the books that I paid for.
criddell 6y ago
As far as I know, there's no crack for Amazon's KFX format. There is a workaround to download the book in an older format that can be cracked, but when you do so you don't get the newer features that are present only in KFX files. If cracking DRM sounds like a fun project, check out the thread here: https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/issues/38 https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/issues/38
- AdmiralAsshat 6y ago
  That's correct. My version running in WINE is locked at Kindle for PC v1.24, I think. I can't really think of any "newer features" I would need in the books I'm converting, anyway. 95% of the books I buy are works of narrative fiction or nonfiction, and I buy them on Amazon for the purposes of converting to an EPUB and reading them on my Kobo eReader.
  - criddell 6y ago
    The big one for me is the option to set ragged-right. I'm not a fan of full justification. The other changes only in KFX include hyphenation, ligatures, kerning, and pop-up footnotes. Amazon's Bookerly font is also exclusive to KFX and it's quite a nice font IMHO.
    - Veedrac 6y ago
      It's weird that this has anything to do with the ebook. My e-reader gives those options (and many more) for plain epubs.

justaguyhere 6y ago

stripping DRM - is this legal? surely there must be some fine print in 2px font size somewhere in the long user agreements that nobody reads?

AdmiralAsshat 6y ago
Probably. So sue me. I'm paying for the books. I simply wish to be allowed to choose what device I use to read the books that I paid for.

criddell 6y ago

As far as I know, there's no crack for Amazon's KFX format. There is a workaround to download the book in an older format that can be cracked, but when you do so you don't get the newer features that are present only in KFX files. If cracking DRM sounds like a fun project, check out the thread here: https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/issues/38 https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/issues/38

AdmiralAsshat 6y ago
That's correct. My version running in WINE is locked at Kindle for PC v1.24, I think. I can't really think of any "newer features" I would need in the books I'm converting, anyway. 95% of the books I buy are works of narrative fiction or nonfiction, and I buy them on Amazon for the purposes of converting to an EPUB and reading them on my Kobo eReader.
- criddell 6y ago
  The big one for me is the option to set ragged-right. I'm not a fan of full justification. The other changes only in KFX include hyphenation, ligatures, kerning, and pop-up footnotes. Amazon's Bookerly font is also exclusive to KFX and it's quite a nice font IMHO.
  - Veedrac 6y ago
    It's weird that this has anything to do with the ebook. My e-reader gives those options (and many more) for plain epubs.