6 ms·

Bad, but anyone sideloading would skip Kindles anyway for a long time now for much better products.

by poisonborz 2y ago

locusofself 2y ago
I think you can still sideload? Seems like this applies more to getting stuff off of the kindle to the P.C.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  No the books are downloaded from the Amazon site. This is what is being removed. They are for the specific purpose of officially supported sideloading so that is also being removed. Sideloading books from other sources is still ok.
locusofself 2y ago
Also, what better products are there? Kobo? I have a kindle oasis and it's a great device. Not that I love giving money to Amazon, I avoid that when I can with library or at least heavily discounted/public domain or side-loaded books whenever possible.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- cyberpunk 2y ago
  I kept my oasis chugging for as long as I could stand it but there was no replacement with physical buttons, so I switched to a kobo colour. It's pretty great, if you install koreader on it you can even get to an on-screen linux shell, if you just have to bang out some awk on the bus.. :}
- wkat4242 2y ago
  At least kobo still has physical buttons on most of their devices. The oasis has them yes but it hasn't been updated in many years. It lacks mod cons like light temperature and white on black mode. The one thing that really bothers me about Kobo is that they no longer have a b/w reader in the Libra format. The Kobo colour has so much worse contrast. That degradation is not worth the slight benefit of mediocre colours for me. It really means always needing the blacklight.
- marklar423 2y ago
  Kobo is definitely superior to Kindle in my book. The hardware is great and it's completely open to sideloading and even modding (it runs Linux under the hood). I can't speak to their digital bookstore but they integrate with Overdrive for library borrowing.
  - permo-w 2y ago
    besides books, which you can sideload very simply with kindle, what do you need to sideload to your e-reader
    - poisonborz 2y ago
      Better reading software. KOReader is fantastic (also on Kindle, if you jailbreak).
    - II2II 2y ago
      There are a few alternative e-reading applications. KOReader and Plato are both under active development. KOReader is great at reading PDF documents on e-ink screens, has nicer options for accessing Wikipedia articles, has useful options for tracking reading progress (e.g. you can see which pages you have read, which is useful while jumping around technical books), and generally goes overboard in giving you control over how a book is formatted. I have also seen random applications make their way to the Kobo, and some people use Kobo's for their own programming projects. Another benefit is the ability to sideload software without jailbreaking it. I'm not going to say it is easy, since you need to know a bit about Unix to package your own software for sideloading (verses something that someone else packaged for you), but at least you can do it using trusted applications (rather than downloading something from a random third-party).
    - marklar423 2y ago
      Adding on to what others said - I added a button that can download book files from my Google Drive, and it was as simple as copying over rclone and a one line bash script.
- 8ytecoder 2y ago
  Kobo Libra color. If I’m being very honest, the screen isn’t as good as the oasis but it’s a compromise I’ve accepted for vastly superior hackability. I telnet into my kobo and installed tailscale then pointed the api to my calibre web instance, I have a much better experience overall because the books are drm-free(d) and calibre web handles sync with kobo really well. And it has physical buttons. I was clinging to my oasis for the buttons.
  - palata 2y ago
    > the screen isn’t as good as the oasis Genuinely interested: how good does the screen have to be for mimicking text on paper? I have a Kindle from around 2013, I don't think I would ever need a better quality? > I telnet into my kobo and installed tailscale then pointed the api to my calibre web instance Wow that sounds great! This would make me consider a Kobo now (though my old Kindle is still good enough) :-).
    - Marsymars 2y ago
      > Genuinely interested: how good does the screen have to be for mimicking text on paper? I have a Kindle from around 2013, I don't think I would ever need a better quality? The 300 DPI screens are a nice step up, as are the variable colour-temp backlights.
loeg 2y ago
I use a Kindle and pretty much exclusively sideload. The display and form factor are fantastic. Battery life is very good. Last time I was in the market (late 2021), nothing else was as good.
- permo-w 2y ago
  you're right. it's an e-reader that you can email any epub file to and it'll read it. if you don't want to pirate, there's a functional store. what more do people need?
  - palata 2y ago
    People say that Kobo is hackable. Is it not possible to set up an email workflow there as well? Shouldn't be too hard, right?
    - permo-w 2y ago
      I don't know about kobo, but I know that with kindle you don't even have to hack it to do that, it's just a default feature
  - toyg 2y ago
    > you can email any ePub file Except when you can't, like literally yesterday: subscribed to Asimov's, sent ePub, got a link, clicked a link, "that link is not valid". Repeat, same message. Why? Who knows? My next ereader won't be a Kindle.
    - permo-w 2y ago
      you probably just didn't send it from a verified send-to-kindle email address. either add the email or send the epub from your kindle account email
    - int_19h 2y ago
      Can you clarify what you mean by "got a link"? If you're using Send to Email, there shouldn't be any links involved. You just, well, send an email to the designated address with the ePub attached, and it shows up in your library shortly after.
tormeh 2y ago
The Pocketbook Era Color is the best e-reader right now if you don't care about stores. Or at least it was the best device out there when I was in the market for a reader.
int_19h 2y ago
I sideload with my Kindle all the time and I don't expect to switch away. It still lets me grab any random non-DRM ePub and upload it over USB, or, better yet, add it directly to my cloud library with Send to Email (and then I also get position & bookmark sync across all devices etc).
devilbunny 2y ago
I only use eInk to read at the beach or pool. I am still happily using a Kindle 3G. That’s an old, old model, but it still works and it has physical page turn buttons. Too old to work with the Kindle store even over WiFi. But sideloading works just fine, and I always have a laptop on vacation. As long as I have 3-4 books ready each day I’ll never be caught short. Download, strip DRM if desired, sideload. Now I suppose it will just be Anna and me doing the sideload.

Bad, but anyone sideloading would skip Kindles anyway for a long time now for much better products.

locusofself 2y ago

I think you can still sideload? Seems like this applies more to getting stuff off of the kindle to the P.C.

wkat4242 2y ago
No the books are downloaded from the Amazon site. This is what is being removed. They are for the specific purpose of officially supported sideloading so that is also being removed. Sideloading books from other sources is still ok.

locusofself 2y ago

Also, what better products are there? Kobo? I have a kindle oasis and it's a great device. Not that I love giving money to Amazon, I avoid that when I can with library or at least heavily discounted/public domain or side-loaded books whenever possible.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
cyberpunk 2y ago
I kept my oasis chugging for as long as I could stand it but there was no replacement with physical buttons, so I switched to a kobo colour. It's pretty great, if you install koreader on it you can even get to an on-screen linux shell, if you just have to bang out some awk on the bus.. :}
wkat4242 2y ago
At least kobo still has physical buttons on most of their devices. The oasis has them yes but it hasn't been updated in many years. It lacks mod cons like light temperature and white on black mode. The one thing that really bothers me about Kobo is that they no longer have a b/w reader in the Libra format. The Kobo colour has so much worse contrast. That degradation is not worth the slight benefit of mediocre colours for me. It really means always needing the blacklight.
marklar423 2y ago
Kobo is definitely superior to Kindle in my book. The hardware is great and it's completely open to sideloading and even modding (it runs Linux under the hood). I can't speak to their digital bookstore but they integrate with Overdrive for library borrowing.
- permo-w 2y ago
  besides books, which you can sideload very simply with kindle, what do you need to sideload to your e-reader
  - poisonborz 2y ago
    Better reading software. KOReader is fantastic (also on Kindle, if you jailbreak).
  - II2II 2y ago
    There are a few alternative e-reading applications. KOReader and Plato are both under active development. KOReader is great at reading PDF documents on e-ink screens, has nicer options for accessing Wikipedia articles, has useful options for tracking reading progress (e.g. you can see which pages you have read, which is useful while jumping around technical books), and generally goes overboard in giving you control over how a book is formatted. I have also seen random applications make their way to the Kobo, and some people use Kobo's for their own programming projects. Another benefit is the ability to sideload software without jailbreaking it. I'm not going to say it is easy, since you need to know a bit about Unix to package your own software for sideloading (verses something that someone else packaged for you), but at least you can do it using trusted applications (rather than downloading something from a random third-party).
  - marklar423 2y ago
    Adding on to what others said - I added a button that can download book files from my Google Drive, and it was as simple as copying over rclone and a one line bash script.
8ytecoder 2y ago
Kobo Libra color. If I’m being very honest, the screen isn’t as good as the oasis but it’s a compromise I’ve accepted for vastly superior hackability. I telnet into my kobo and installed tailscale then pointed the api to my calibre web instance, I have a much better experience overall because the books are drm-free(d) and calibre web handles sync with kobo really well. And it has physical buttons. I was clinging to my oasis for the buttons.
- palata 2y ago
  > the screen isn’t as good as the oasis Genuinely interested: how good does the screen have to be for mimicking text on paper? I have a Kindle from around 2013, I don't think I would ever need a better quality? > I telnet into my kobo and installed tailscale then pointed the api to my calibre web instance Wow that sounds great! This would make me consider a Kobo now (though my old Kindle is still good enough) :-).
  - Marsymars 2y ago
    > Genuinely interested: how good does the screen have to be for mimicking text on paper? I have a Kindle from around 2013, I don't think I would ever need a better quality? The 300 DPI screens are a nice step up, as are the variable colour-temp backlights.

loeg 2y ago

I use a Kindle and pretty much exclusively sideload. The display and form factor are fantastic. Battery life is very good. Last time I was in the market (late 2021), nothing else was as good.

permo-w 2y ago
you're right. it's an e-reader that you can email any epub file to and it'll read it. if you don't want to pirate, there's a functional store. what more do people need?
- palata 2y ago
  People say that Kobo is hackable. Is it not possible to set up an email workflow there as well? Shouldn't be too hard, right?
  - permo-w 2y ago
    I don't know about kobo, but I know that with kindle you don't even have to hack it to do that, it's just a default feature
- toyg 2y ago
  > you can email any ePub file Except when you can't, like literally yesterday: subscribed to Asimov's, sent ePub, got a link, clicked a link, "that link is not valid". Repeat, same message. Why? Who knows? My next ereader won't be a Kindle.
  - permo-w 2y ago
    you probably just didn't send it from a verified send-to-kindle email address. either add the email or send the epub from your kindle account email
  - int_19h 2y ago
    Can you clarify what you mean by "got a link"? If you're using Send to Email, there shouldn't be any links involved. You just, well, send an email to the designated address with the ePub attached, and it shows up in your library shortly after.

tormeh 2y ago

The Pocketbook Era Color is the best e-reader right now if you don't care about stores. Or at least it was the best device out there when I was in the market for a reader.

int_19h 2y ago

I sideload with my Kindle all the time and I don't expect to switch away. It still lets me grab any random non-DRM ePub and upload it over USB, or, better yet, add it directly to my cloud library with Send to Email (and then I also get position & bookmark sync across all devices etc).

devilbunny 2y ago

I only use eInk to read at the beach or pool. I am still happily using a Kindle 3G. That’s an old, old model, but it still works and it has physical page turn buttons. Too old to work with the Kindle store even over WiFi. But sideloading works just fine, and I always have a laptop on vacation. As long as I have 3-4 books ready each day I’ll never be caught short. Download, strip DRM if desired, sideload. Now I suppose it will just be Anna and me doing the sideload.