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The Amazon Kindle War Against Piracy
- aftergibson 1y agoJust buy an old kindle. Mod it and get koreader running on it. Then put it in airplane mode and load books via USB from whatever source you like. Its great hardware.
- goosedragons 1y agoJust buy a Kobo. You can get a new one, you don't have to jailbreak it to run Koreader, it already actually ePubs out of the box, they don't have as aggressive DRM either. And the hardware is good.
- barnabee 1y agoMy Onyx Poke 5 is better than every Kindle I’ve owned. It’s super compact (great for travel), has a good screen, reads anything I’ve thrown at it, runs Android apps, and is simple to send files to over its (local) web interface.
- spwa4 1y agoLuckily one thing LLMs with image input are ridiculously good at is piracy. You want to get a book off a kindle? Easier than with a real book, easily. What amazon could block is getting books from other sources onto a kindle. But there's plenty of devices. I use an iPad.
- duskwuff 1y agoAn LLM? Just what I always wanted - an OCR tool that hallucinates.
- spookie 1y agoWhile dictionaries are often reliable enough to get the correct words back when some glyphs are misrecognised I wonder if some type of LLM would help in some cases. Not a worry in modern digital first documents though.
- spwa4 1y agoYou don't? Think about it. If your picture/source data is not perfectly clear ... what do you want? We all want perfection, but if you can't have that ... Would you prefer what current OCR does and just suddenly sentences go 2#!@%7Q&*@3 ladfk !@$? Or would you rather have a reasonable completion of a sentence that is nearly always (but not quite always) correct, that even actually takes the context into account?
- duskwuff 1y ago> Would you prefer what current OCR does and just suddenly sentences go 2#!@%7Q&*@3 ladfk !@$? Yes, actually. I'd rather be aware that the OCR tool failed somewhere than have the tool silently fabricate part of the text, or "correct" perceived errors which were present in the source document.
- boredhedgehog 1y agoBut you aren't aware, because the OCR doesn't know that it failed. You would have to go through the entire text by hand to fix the corruptions, but that's too much work, so you won't, and the corruptions stay in. In practice and at scale, the guesses of the LLM are the superior outcome.
- thaumasiotes 1y ago> But you aren't aware, because the OCR doesn't know that it failed. You would have to go through the entire text by hand to fix the corruptions, but that's too much work, so you won't, and the corruptions stay in. Well, if you assume that you're never going to read the book, then sure. But in that case it's even more efficient to not OCR the book either. You'll never know the difference. If you do read the book, you'll know where the failures are. And they're easy to correct if you can edit the document. I usually file reports of printing errors in Kindle books when I encounter them. (Do the errors get corrected? No.)
- akho 1y agoYour picture of a ebook is perfectly clear.
- qmr 1y agoI've tried to coax ChatGPT to do this but have not been successful beyond cover shots random page views.
- spwa4 1y agoI have. Hell, these days, both ChatGPT-5 and GPT-OSS are very good at taking my writing (as in paper writing) and, as long as you specify step-by-step what to do, get it through. Either discussing those with me in voice, or correcting assignments I make on paper. I use it to practice language and math. Oh, and to pirate textbooks. The issue is that an LLM-entered (as in in context) version of part of a textbook is something that I can talk to, write to, and have it judge my skills. Normally I'd have to find someone who'd be willing to spend a short time talking to me about a subject, and correct me, and who's willing to spend hours correcting assignments from me. Even when paying, that's essentially unavailable. Now I take a few pages, let's say up to a chapter but usually less, load it into ChatGPT-5, tell it to ask me progressively harder questions when I activate voice mode. Or I take one of those for-teacher "how to grade X" notes, write an assignment, scan the whole thing into ChatGPT, and tell it to correct my assignment, justifying everything on the teacher note and deliver a final grade. I tell it to be way too strict, and this has helped me, among other things, get very good, and one perfect score on language certs. I can prove that I am fluent in 4 languages (en, fr, de, and my mother tongue). If we're talking anything but specialized language it's even true.
- GardenLetter27 1y agoAt least e-Ink screens are becoming cheaper and better so there'll be plenty of alternatives if they block side-loading.
- pasc1878 1y agoI don't see any incentive for Amazon to do that. Even if you do not buy any books from Amazon you still paid them for the Kindle. And if you have a Kindle you might buy the odd book from them. Also the Kindle is marketed as allowing you to put your own documents on it. Yes Amazon want to stop you reading books licensed from then on anything but a Kindle but not the other way around.
- NoboruWataya 1y agoAs I understand it they don't make much money from the sale of the Kindle itself as they want to lock you into their ebook ecosystem which is where they make their money. I don't have hard figures though. They may market it like that now, but that can change. If Google can stop you sideloading apps on Android, I have no doubt Amazon could try to stop you sideloading books on your Kindle.
- jimnotgym 1y agoThis will be a nice foundation for an anti trust case. 1) sell device at break even/loss to gain market share 2) retrospectively lock out all content not from amazon
- nikanj 1y agoNow you just need a legal system that will pursue anti trust cases
- itopaloglu83 1y agoAnd before that you need a congress that will pass legislation to prevent such cases or even allow existing laws to be applied by not actively intervening.
- charcircuit 1y ago>Draconian measures are being taken to prevent Kindle books from being downloaded Using keys stored in hardware for DRM is industry standard. It's not draconian.
- OtherShrezzing 1y agoDraconian doesn’t mean “not widely adopted”. It means “heavy-handed”.
- azalemeth 1y agoI have never bought a system that requires DRM. It may be a standard amongst those who use DRM, but DRM itself is far from universal.
- xethos 1y agoPresuming it is industry-standard (not my industry, so I'm not about to concede the point), that doesn't make it less draconian.
- qmr 1y agoArgumentum ad populum.
- carrychains 1y agoThe industry standard is draconian.
- buyucu 1y agoI just use libgen / Anna's Archive. No need to pay money to Amazon.
- ugjka 1y agoSo how exactly pirating the books give money to the writers?
- trcf22 1y agoHow different is it from going to a public library?
- Mindwipe 1y agoAlmost every country in the world apart from the US pays authors for library lending.
- morsch 1y agoI wasn't sure how it works where I live, so I looked it up and apparently in Germany (according to Wikipedia) public libraries pay 3-4c per checkout to a central private body which redistributes it somehow. So unless the book is checked out a thousand times over and its lifetime, buying it still dominates overall.
- layer8 1y agoThe libraries also bought the book originally.
- portaouflop 1y agoInstead of lining bezos pockets get your ebooks from above sources and go to a real bookshop to buy hard copies of books you like especially - you can give them away and so support the actual author while not supporting bozo
- keanb 1y ago
- elcapitan 1y agoThe simple message is "Don't spend your money on things you don't really own, because you'll be at forever war with the lenders".
- makeitdouble 1y agoLast stop on this train is either "seize the means of production" or hiding in the woods
- antman 1y agoThe first stop is seize the things you bought apparently
- makeitdouble 1y agoFirst step is to not sell anything, and let you pay for an indefinite license.
- quijoteuniv 1y agoPlease expand on what you mean here
- makeitdouble 1y ago"things you own" is a more complex concept than most people give it credit for. If for instance you consider anything that can be legally and uniterraly taken away from you as not owned, that definition becomes really really small, short of you being a diplomat or some special entity. Many see "owning" things in a more colloquial way, but that's also how Amazon gets by with their shenanigans, as it still feels like ownership day to day.
- dh2022 1y agoYou are on: can you explain how anyone can legally and unilaterally take away my fully paid car? After that can you explain how can anyone legally and unilaterally take away my mortgaged home? Just curious. (If still interested in this game, can you explain how anyone can take away my books? This is closer to the topic at hand)
- WalterBright 1y agoI'd buy another Kindle if it displayed pages like a book - two pages, side by side.
- wilsonnb3 1y agoThe Kindle scribe does that
- WalterBright 1y agoIt doesn't mention that in the Amazon page for it. Thanks for the info!
- WalterBright 1y agoUpdate: I took a look at a Kindle scribe. The only layout options are portrait and landscape. I could not find a two page option. The Scribe is updated to the latest software.
- wilsonnb3 1y agoIt only does it for books in KFX format, that could be why. Rather annoying because you can’t convert books to KFX in Calibre on Linux.
- globular-toast 1y agoKOReader can do it. But get a Kobo, not a Kindle.
- Havoc 1y agoMade copies of most of mine before their last lockdown kicked in. That said still buying. Their daily sales are (occasionally) just too good value for money even of if I know it’s locked.
- echelon_musk 1y agoStill happily using a 4th gen D01100 with physical page turn buttons. Works fine with Calibre.
- lentil_soup 1y agoHonest question. Where can I buy ebooks outside Amazon to use with my jailbroken Kindle? Is there a Bandcamp for books? I want properly created files the kindle can render with the options I want, not a pdf that forces a layout.
- phantomathkg 1y agoI googled, and it seems Kobo can? But I don't own a Kobo to test it. https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019527954-Download-books-from-your-Kobo-account-to-export-to-another-device-or-app https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019527954-Downloa...
- frm88 1y agoI own an Onyx Poke and I buy my books at kobo. They work just fine. With a jailbroken Kindle capable of processing EPUB this should (!) work. Give it a try with an inexpensive book, maybe?
- fph 1y agoI have a Kobo. Yes, you can download books you buy from them to any device. They are Epubs with DRM.
- SCdF 1y agoThere are plenty of ebook stores if you google around, that have a standard range and use Adobe DRM, so off the bat wouldn't work on a kindle. In theory you can remove that DRM using Calibre, but I haven't tried. Other than that, not really? There are plenty of ways in which you can buy _a_ drm free book, but not some large range (or even bandcamp-quality range, where there are authors you've heard of, just not Dan Brown / Stephen King sized ones) site. I haven't got around to solving this problem so am also interested. I already own a kindle, I don't want to generate ewaste by changing physical device.
- thomasuebel 1y agoWas impacted by invalid ASIN pop up. Got fed up finally. Sold my kindle paperwhite via classifieds to someone who would embrace the Amazon walled garden (so someone new e-reading). Then bought a pocketbook. Now all my ebooks work again. And no waste. I use beam ebooks for drm free books. Bought all my Expanse books there.
- qmr 1y ago"If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing."
- barnabee 1y agoTo steal you have to take something from someone, i.e. deprive them of it, as well as acquire it for yourself. Piracy can be illegal, may be considered unethical by some, but it definitely isn’t stealing.
- elorant 1y agoThat's why I always have mine on airplane mode.
- notesinthefield 1y agoMy second generation Paperwhite hasnt seen the internet in close to a decade. I use Calibre and source books from all over.
- pavel_lishin 1y ago> The 15.18.5 update is also having an adverse reaction to sideloaded books. If you deliver a book using Send by Email or copy it to your computer via USB, a critical issue may arise, where a pop-up appears with an ‘Invalid ASIN‘ number. The new DRM system is attempting to locate the book in the Amazon store to decrypt it, but since it can’t find it, it reports that the book is invalid. Amazon claims they are working on the issue, but preventing sideloading would be downright tyrannical. Ouch. This is how I deliver a lot of my DRM-free purchases to the Kindle app.
- itsdrewmiller 1y agoI used to use the kindle email but I find https://www.amazon.com/sendtokindle https://www.amazon.com/sendtokindle much easier (and it allows larger files than email).
- devinprater 1y agoThankfully I deDRM'd most of my Kindle books last year or so, so I can read them in Braille on my Braille display without needing to connect to my phone and use the Kindle app. Also luckily for me it's legal for me to do that since I'm blind. One of the few perks I guess.
- heelix 1y agoNot sure what they were thinking, but for a long time if you mixed side loaded books with kindle ones, the front cover would go missing from the side loaded when it synced. I've never let my kindle hit the web after I converted by Amazon purchases.
- djoldman 1y agoLike my "smart" TCL Roku TV, I almost never allow my Kindle to connect to the internet. When I do, I subsequently remove wifi passwords and delete the networks. Additionally, I disable software updates if possible.
- rich_sasha 1y agoI can't blame Amazon specifically for it, but it is amazing how the wider tech industry is simultaneously pushing DRM down our throats and scraping/pirating any content they can find for training AI.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- wuschel 1y agoI did not look toe matter up in detail, but I am astonished as well in regard to this development. A grab for control over basic devices and a mass robbing of the commons. There is no strong political pushback from the parties/voters to this large scale collective theft of IP by cooperations, is there? I would expect some sort of taxation and redistribution to the content creators like there is with music content etc.
- daft_pink 1y agoTheir underlying problem is that the iPad and Android based tablets exist.
- carlosjobim 1y agoNot at all. Completely different use cases.
- daft_pink 1y agoI own both. I'm not so sure. If you're going to pirate books, it is easy enough to just do it on your iPad or purchase a Boox tablet. I own an iPad and I've often considered getting a e-ink android tablet just for reading pdfs.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- nunez 1y agoPrecisely why I stopped buying eBooks from Amazon. DRM Kindle Unlimited books? Sure; makes sense. Books that I paid full price on? No way.
- explorigin 1y agoI bought some ebooks from other vendors to avoid lock-in and side-loaded them on my kindle. Last year, if Amazon sold one of these titles it would dissappear if I turned on wifi. I now have a kobo.
- touwer 1y agoGood. Now it's more clear for users that putting all your reading-eggs in the basket of a nasty tech-company, is not ok. Glad I removed my Amazon account a long time ago
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 1y agoWhat is the role of "software updates" in this "war" This phrase "software update" is mentioned several times Usually this refers to soneone other than the comuter owner being able to remotely access and install software on the owner's computer, often without the explicit, non-compulsory consent of the owner
- jasonvorhe 1y agoI bought a Kindle Oasis 1st gen when it came out, got it replaced by Amazon with gen 2 and I liked it as long as I could sideload books and strip DRM off of my Kindle "license purchases" but I anticipated the recent moves by Amazon and looked for alternatives, knowing that I'd probably have to love with some compromises, especially in terms of build quality and feel. Looked at Kobo, Onyx, etc but none really convinced me, especially when I saw most of them being stuck on Android 11. When I heard of the Daylight Computer DC-1 something clicked. The smooth display, readability in daylight, none of the cons of rink (except being gray scale), the blue light free display, Android 13 with 16 being on the horizon. Downsides are the uneven display borders, higher battery usage when the display is powered on/no always on display and the rather flimsy feeling of the back cover. DPI is a bit below modern ereaders as well. I'm still happy I went with it. It's now my daily carry for writing in the cafe, scribbling down notes with the included pen and its the best device I ever used to read PDFs and scanned books from archive.org that aren't downloadable. Lots of cons still but no one is going to pull your ebooks from your device and it's still their 1st gen and only device they have. I just hope they ship export functionality for their custom app so that you can keep local copies of the documents you send to their backend. It's great this was mentioned in a podcast once which got me curious about it in the first place. And without the blue lights you actually can read in bed without ruining your circadian rhythm.
- QuiEgo 1y agoI’ve personally found reading on an iPad mini to be great. You can use Libby, Apple Books, Kindle, or whatever else floats your boat. Get that it’s not e-ink, but I’ve found a setting that does not fatigue me (black text on tan background - just like hacker news!) and have never looked back.