6 ms·
This is true not just for Kindle books. It's also your games library on Steam and all other similar stores. GOG.com is probably the only online game store where
by Moru 6y ago
This is true not just for Kindle books. It's also your games library on Steam and all other similar stores. GOG.com is probably the only online game store where you realy own the stuff you "buy".
- romwell 6y agoYes, but with Kindle at least you can strip the DRM of your eBooks. There's a Calibre plugin[1] that does it. If you really care about ebooks that you purchase, I highly recommend installing this plugin. It automatically strips DRM off books you download and open with Calibre. And keep a back-up of the (DRM-free) books somewhere that's not Amazon / a cloud. Because a cloud is simply a computer that you do not own. [1]http://www.geoffstratton.com/remove-drm-amazon-kindle-books http://www.geoffstratton.com/remove-drm-amazon-kindle-books
- hyperman1 6y agoNote how this is in most jurisdictions illegal. You are now pirating, except you paid for it.
- gambiting 6y agoIf by "most jurisdictions" you mean pretty much just US, then sure.
- kranner 6y agoIs it really illegal? At least in the US cracking DRM for personal backup is not infringing AFAIK. https://gizmodo.com/its-perfectly-legal-to-tell-people-how-to-remove-drm-1670223538 https://gizmodo.com/its-perfectly-legal-to-tell-people-how-t...
- giancarlostoro 6y agoThis is what makes ROMs for games for game consoles fully legal assuming you ripped them from physical copies. Not sure how anyone would prove you didnt generate the copy yourself.
- romwell 6y agoUm, citation needed for that claim.
- gambiting 6y agoWell, but that's like saying that you can download cracks for video games, so it's all fine. There are ways to make steam games work without steam, yet I wouldn't consider that to be a solution.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- giancarlostoro 6y agoI sorta used to do this so I wouldnt need to pop in a CD just to play some games cause the CDs were getting really scratched up as things were.
- Joker_vD 6y agoOr take this actual example: you buy a CD with a game, install it, and it doesn't run :( You go to the forums and there is a crack which also apparently fixes some crashes? You download and apply it, and lo, the game runs :) In fact, I believe in some jurisdictions it's actually legal: since you bought it, you're allowed file and sandpaper it to make it actually work.
- exolymph 6y agoThe last time I tried actually doing this, it was a huge pain in the ass: https://www.sonyaellenmann.com/2018/09/back-up-kindle-files-mac.html https://www.sonyaellenmann.com/2018/09/back-up-kindle-files-...
- romwell 6y agoI have a Kindle; it took me about five minutes to follow the instructions once, and it was automatic after that.
- gnud 6y agoGog also forces me to use their stupid launcher now, and tries to trick me into "connecting all my accounts". I don't see any compelling reason for me to prefer them over Steam, anymore.
- mcc1ane 6y agoHow does it force you?
- Moru 6y agoDark patterns most likely. They hide the downloads as much as possible. But to play some games multiplayer you need the gog launcher.
- izacus 6y agoWhat are you talking about? The DRM-free downloads are right there under "Backups" tab?
- gnud 6y agoMy single-player games all launch "gog galaxy" when I start them through the start menu. Honestly, if I'm going to fight against my software, I might as well be pirating.
- vijayr02 6y agoGenuine question: why do you consider the linked accounts a trick? I find the single launcher integration quite useful and don't see the privacy loss. Am I missing something?
- rob74 6y agoI was going to throw in https://www.humblebundle.com/store https://www.humblebundle.com/store, but then I realized that the myriad of various "bundles" that they keep launching nowadays (at least as far as games are concerned) and also their store only sells Steam keys. I think the games in the "Humble Indie Bundles" which come out once or twice a year are still mostly DRM free, but that's about it. You can't even search their store for "DRM free", so I guess that's not a thing there...
- toyg 6y agoHumbleBundle is a classic case of moral decline once institutional priorities overcome the actual mission. It went from "nice idea to support indies and pay-as-you-wish" to just another bargain-price channel for any company, expanding for its own sake.
- Shish2k 6y agoI still remember when the first set of games made a million dollars, and the devs were like “That’s enough money. Let’s open-source these games :D” Can you imagine anybody in the industry saying “That’s enough money” today?
- sherincall 6y agoI don't think it is fair to pin this on steam. Plenty of games on steam run without steam, and require no installation - just copy them over to a different PC. They often come with binaries for all supported OSes at once, so your windows install will work on linux too. It is the game publishers that choose to use steam drm. Often the same publishers publish on GOG without the drm (since gog, admirably, does not offer a drm option to them), but it is not steam that is forcing the drm on you. Your issue is with the game publisher.
- Moru 6y agoNo, it's in the agreement when you sign up for Steam. You don't own, you license.
- ClumsyPilot 6y agoWell the only owner is the copyright holder
- f1refly 6y agoThe only game I play of game I'd notice if it where taken away is counter strike global offensive, which wouldn't really run all that well without valve backing it, so I'm okay with that.