Amazon thing you to Kindle devices

[FizzingAda]

I've just watched this video which states that from 26th February Amazon will only allow you to download books to your Kindle, and not to your computer or ipad. When I buy books I usually download to kindle, and also to ipad, but I need to check re my older books. So we are going to be tied in to Amazon devices when downloading books. There are implications here, so it's worth watching the video.

Sorry, typo, should be tying, not thing.

Oh that will be annoying. I almost always use my Kindle but if it needs recharging and I’ve nearly finished my book I’ll switch to the app on my phone. It’s also handy if you need to pass the time somewhere and haven’t brought your kindle.

I think people are getting very confused by all this - I certainly was, so I have gone off and checked it. It is not the case that you will be unable to download books on to your computer/tablet/phone - you will still be able to do that and to read them through the Kindle app. Basically, you can download via wi-fi to the Kindle or the app as most people already do.

The thing that is being removed is the ability to download via USB cable. This type of download changes the format of the book that is downloaded, and the "problem" with this is that beyond backing up your books somewhere that isn't Amazon, then the books can be made readable by other e-readers or remove the DRM that prevents people pirating the ebooks.

Now you can have your own opinion about whether this is "fair" or not. But for probably 99% of people they buy Amazon e-books because they have the Kindle or the Kindle app and it will make almost no difference to them at all. The point about books being removed from Amazon "permissions" may be an issue for some people, as might automatic updates if a book changes in some way, but probably very few (and most of them probably didn't know about the possibility either).

So for most people the change has no impact at all and they won't notice anything different. You are not tied to Amazon devices - you are tied to Amazon software, and many of us thought that was the case anyway! Or couldn't be arsed converting the books to other ereaders when you have a Kindle and / or at least two versions of the app....

You still can use the app. As @EmmaMaria said it doesn't affect you if you are reading on ipad, tablet or phone via the Kindle app.

He raises interesting points about who owns something once you buy it - you would think you do, and if you only read via Kindle or on the app then you continue to do so. His objection, not unreasonable, but I actually don't know a single person who does this, is to Amazon stopping you downloading it away from the Kindle app on to your computer. Basically, it stops you sharing it with anyone else who might come along with a USB, let you copy them over, then upload them to their computer and then to their Kindle.

I have to confess, although I had entirely forgotten it until you mentioned it - my brother has done it. I know he once had thousands of books downloaded which he'd collected from mates... God knows why - I have hardly known him to pick up a book ever. Probably "just because he could".

I guess the downsides of possibly having a book go "missing" or update from the original I bought (should I even notice this happening) is the fact that ebooks are almost always significantly cheaper that paper versions, and sooooo much easier to shelve. I had to dispose of many hundreds of books when I downsized last year and was utterly distressed at how hard it was to give them to anyone.

Thanks @EmmaMaria for clarifying that, I was a bit confused as it seemed unfair that even if you have the Kindle app you wouldn't be able to download your books. The guy on YouTube must have the wrong end of the stick, and I got the other end!
phew, I've nearly 500,books on Kindle.

Oh - you're a "lightweight"...😂

I think thegut did explain it in as far as it went, but I think that "geeks" often fail to realise that everyone else isn't on the same page as them. What he explained is correct. But it needed another sentence at the beginning - "If you just read your books on Kindle or the app, and nothing else, you do not need to know any of this."

Ah, but those Kindle books are mostly just of the paperback novel variety. My 'real' books are in the thousands, and insulate the walls of my house 😄

Yeah, I had to "downsize" that collection (although increasingly the "non-novels" are on Kindle these days) because moving from a 4 bedroom Victorian house filled with books to a two bedroom more "modern" house didn't compute... Of course I no longer need books to insulate the walls!

Sympathies, EmmaMaria. I'm getting on now, and the thought of having to dispose of my beloved books is a killer. Especially all the books that have pictures or diagrams, Kindle just doesn't cut it.

We had to get rid of over 2,000 books from my parents' house. It was a nightmare, and as a consequence I see it as an act of revenge from parent to child! Because of it, when I moved, I disposed of as many books as I could and now only have two tall wide Billy Bookcase worth (not counting the cookery books, oh, and a couple of shelves of history/travel books but enough said on that). It was both traumatic and cathartic and I now apply the following rule: would you lend this book to a friend/would you actually ever read it again? Answer no to either part of the question and it's out to the Oxfam bookshop.

It also highlights that if amazon/publisher decide for any reason to delete or change the content of a book you own, they can do that. If you have a copy of the book on your harddrive they can't take it from you. After Feb 26th this option is gone.

The other issue here is that we will be forever tied to Amazon.
Currently if you close your Amazon account for any reason all of your Kindle content will be deleted by Amazon. When I got my first Kindle (around 2011)I used to download mine to Calibre but fell out of the habit. I've just tried to do it now so I have a backup of all my Kindle content on my Mac, but can't do it any longer. I Googled for help. There is apparently a work around but it's far too complicated and time consuming for me!

If you have downloaded your books on to Kindle then disconnect the wi-fi (which doesn't need to be on if you no longer have an account) then the books sit there for as long as you want. I gave my previous Kindle to a friend, and it had about 600 books on it - she is still reading them. She can't access my account because the Kindle has been disconnected from the account, but as long as she avoids connecting it to wi-fi the books remain on it.

Wow, I didn't know you'd lose all our books if you deleted your Amazon account. That seems unfair as you’ve paid for them.
I've got the original kindle, and it is no longer supported to buy or download books in to, so I suppose those are safe.
something to bear in mind…..

https://lisabethwright.medium.com/amazon-is-removing-your-right-to-download-your-kindle-books-5da4cb9d3689

Apparently what we buy on kindle is not a copy of the content but a license to the content!

Well, that video was an eye opener! I did not know that. I wonder if that affects any music purchased via Amazon too? I must do some checking…..

This is helpful. I read on my Kindle and also in the app on my ipad. So they would be removed from the ipad of course but Kindle safe as long as not connected to network. So just put it in airplane mode and keep it in airplane mode?

If you still have a kindle account and are reading through the kindle app, they won’t be removed

As an aside, I'm sick of going to my Kindle and, instead of just easily finding my library of books, they are now constantly advertising books that I might want to buy from Amazon instead. And they do a similar thing with Audible. I just want to see my books/my downloads. The default on audible when you search seems to be their catalogue rather my purchases.

Kind of spoils the experience of it being like a book imo. Grrr! 🤬

Fair warning: geek here!

Amazon music, Kindle ebooks, Netflix, Spotify, they are all the same. You own nothing and are only allowed access to that content which the billionaires want you to see at any given time. Kindle ebooks are routinely removed from the library, and very frequently updated / edited without users even noticing.

Even the BBC Sounds podcasts are going the same way (but you can still download those if you know how!).

Personally I'm in the same boat as the PP who used Calibre to download all their books a couple of years ago, but now don't have time to work out the latest DRM-removal hack that will work for the next few weeks until the Bezos cat catches up again with the free-speech mice. That means I've got most of my library in a free, decrypted form that actually belongs to me, but there are a handful of kindle books I've picked up more recently that I'll probably never properly own now. Maybe there's another way of buying ebooks?

Freedom seems to be a constant research project these days. E.g. I've got another research project underway to try and escape google photos. The short version of that story is: it's fiddly and I've sort-of got it working ...

I understand that but the scenario I'm talking about planning for is if I ever want to close my Amazon account.

but now don't have time to work out the latest DRM-removal hack that will work for the next few weeks until the Bezos cat catches up again with the free-speech mice. That means I've got most of my library in a free, decrypted form that actually belongs to me, but there are a handful of kindle books I've picked up more recently that I'll probably never properly own now

To be fair, whilst I have some sympathy with the view that we should own something that we buy, what you have done is illegal and deprives writers of their income. There's often a "blind spot" in our own conduct about copying books (whether that is photocopying, scanning or removing the DRM), pirating a DVD or whatever. We paid for it so it is ours to do with as we wish. But it isn't. You can argue that you won't ever share your ebooks so you haven't done anything wrong, and maybe you won't, but removing the DRM is basically the gateway to that. If you were an author, musician or filmmaker, you might have a different view about people who effectively steal your work?

I do have concerns about many of the ways in which Amazon (and others) operate, but that is a different matter. It isn't an excuse...
https://mybookcave.com/what-is-ebook-drm-and-how-does-it-affect-you/

Don't close it! You can have an account and never spend anything on it.