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Where does a person with very little technological knowhow go to get these epub/pdf/rtf/txt files to somehow load onto this "dumb" e-reader they buy? What is a

Where does a person with very little technological knowhow go to get these epub/pdf/rtf/txt files to somehow load onto this "dumb" e-reader they buy? What is a "dumb" e-reader? What software does a "dumb" e-reader need. There is a reason that Kindle prevail, and it's not because of some conspiracy or a giant company. It's because it's easy, basically like going to Chapters or Barnes and Noble and walking out with a book. There is no similar avenue for "dumb" e-readers. They need to know several levels of skills to get it and it's a lot more difficult then clicking "Buy" and start reading.

seattledev 6y ago
If you're so out of touch you can't connect a usb cord and drag and drop files, maybe just stick to physical books
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  That's needlessly elitist gatekeeping.
  - Accacin 6y ago
    The phrasing used was not great, but I do not think it's gate keeping. I honestly find it insulting that we think 'normal' people can't drag some files to a device, most family members know how to use a USB drive, and managing files on a USB drive isn't too dissimilar to dragging and dropping files to a device like an e-reader.
    - jkestner 6y ago
      'Normal' people like my parents don't have computers. The burden shouldn't be on them when the hardware they bought was unnecessarily restricted.
- ZanyProgrammer 6y ago
  Apple has spent more than a decade telling its users that you don’t (and can’t) do that. I wouldn’t assume that’s an easy skill for a lot of people.
srtjstjsj 6y ago
Isn't Kindle a dumb e-reader? Or does it require Amazon account even to access simple PDFs?
- blueflow 6y ago
  You can use a Kindle by drag&drop PDF files onto it. If you use it like that, there is no need to connect it to the Wifi at all. I use my Kindle like this.
  - DoingIsLearning 6y ago
    This is news to me, is that really true for all Kindle models? Can you really load files onto it as a connected storage device? Can you point to any amazon docs explaining this? I was under the impression that this was the big caveat restriction with amazon.
    - comeonseriously 6y ago
      https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/customerdocumentation/EM10/Kindle_User_Guide_en-GB.pdf https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/customerdocumentation/EM1... Page 6 Another cool thing is Calibre recognizes the Kindle. :)
    - thaumasiotes 6y ago
      Yes, of course that's true for all Kindle models.
    - blueflow 6y ago
      I bought the Kindle (model J9G29R) in 2019. When attached to the USB port, it acts like an USB mass storage device with FAT32 on it.
    - webmaven 6y ago
      > This is news to me, is that really true for all Kindle models? Can you really load files onto it as a connected storage device? Yes, all Kindles. The remaining annoyance is that besides PDFs and a few other document file formats, the Kindles don't read standard EPUB format ebooks, only .mobi or .azw ebooks. That was kinda sorta okay when the Kindle first came out (Amazon got .mobi through their acquisition of Mobipocket, and .azw is mostly the same format), as at the time practically every e-reader device had it's own proprietary format, but since then everyone has converged on the EPUB standard with Amazon the lone holdout. Thankfully, Calibre can automatically convert ebooks of whatever format to .mobi when transferring from your library to a Kindle.

seattledev 6y ago

If you're so out of touch you can't connect a usb cord and drag and drop files, maybe just stick to physical books

srtjstjsj 6y ago
That's needlessly elitist gatekeeping.
- Accacin 6y ago
  The phrasing used was not great, but I do not think it's gate keeping. I honestly find it insulting that we think 'normal' people can't drag some files to a device, most family members know how to use a USB drive, and managing files on a USB drive isn't too dissimilar to dragging and dropping files to a device like an e-reader.
  - jkestner 6y ago
    'Normal' people like my parents don't have computers. The burden shouldn't be on them when the hardware they bought was unnecessarily restricted.
ZanyProgrammer 6y ago
Apple has spent more than a decade telling its users that you don’t (and can’t) do that. I wouldn’t assume that’s an easy skill for a lot of people.

srtjstjsj 6y ago

Isn't Kindle a dumb e-reader? Or does it require Amazon account even to access simple PDFs?

blueflow 6y ago
You can use a Kindle by drag&drop PDF files onto it. If you use it like that, there is no need to connect it to the Wifi at all. I use my Kindle like this.
- DoingIsLearning 6y ago
  This is news to me, is that really true for all Kindle models? Can you really load files onto it as a connected storage device? Can you point to any amazon docs explaining this? I was under the impression that this was the big caveat restriction with amazon.
  - comeonseriously 6y ago
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/customerdocumentation/EM10/Kindle_User_Guide_en-GB.pdf https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/customerdocumentation/EM1... Page 6 Another cool thing is Calibre recognizes the Kindle. :)
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    Yes, of course that's true for all Kindle models.
  - blueflow 6y ago
    I bought the Kindle (model J9G29R) in 2019. When attached to the USB port, it acts like an USB mass storage device with FAT32 on it.
  - webmaven 6y ago
    > This is news to me, is that really true for all Kindle models? Can you really load files onto it as a connected storage device? Yes, all Kindles. The remaining annoyance is that besides PDFs and a few other document file formats, the Kindles don't read standard EPUB format ebooks, only .mobi or .azw ebooks. That was kinda sorta okay when the Kindle first came out (Amazon got .mobi through their acquisition of Mobipocket, and .azw is mostly the same format), as at the time practically every e-reader device had it's own proprietary format, but since then everyone has converged on the EPUB standard with Amazon the lone holdout. Thankfully, Calibre can automatically convert ebooks of whatever format to .mobi when transferring from your library to a Kindle.