Who Really Owns Your E-Books? Switching from Kindle to Kobo

[@BobAg_]

The 'awakening' for me was turning on my Kindle one day to find Amazon had updated the cover of MY copy of The Martian, which pre-dated the movie, with Matt Damon's face. My initial rage was centered around it being akin to them entering my house and swapping out one of the books from my bookshelf; then it occurred to me that it wasn't comparable, because the book was never mine to begin with - I just thought it was.

[@gamevies9254]

Yea once anything in the ebook changes it updates the book on Kindle. That's why paperbacks are superior lol

[@Vioven]

They changed the narrator for that audiobook. I paid for it and now I have to listen to someone who’s just worse?! They’ve been changing the covers on me too for another series. Beautiful artwork is being replaced with really cheap and ugly pictures from the TV series made from the books.

[@jrm332]

They did that to my copy of foundation on audible, at least when I complained I got a free credit so there’s that… 🫤

[@daina3628]

Keep in mind that if the book is indie published, you can get fixed typos, if the author uploads a fixed version, and indie covers are usually upgraded, not downgraded, once the author can afford to get better ones. So it's not black and white, sometimes you get an upgraded, better version of the book for free.

[@johnradovich8809]

I hear you; who’d wanna look at that asshole.

[@justinwhite2725]

Amazon deleting 1984 from people's libraries is peak irony (I know that happened after this video but here we are)

[@jrodspeaks]

I WISH they would get rid of "Gender Queer" cause that's just straight up porn.

[@stephenaustin3026]

It happened in 2009.

[@happyjesus123]

@@stephenaustin3026 1984 is still available from Project Gutenberg Australia because Australian copyright law works differently. However, you should not download this book in other countries because that would be wrong.

[@JacquesMare]

​@@happyjesus123. ....it would be wrong...... 😂😂😂😂😂

[@lisadefries6718]

@@stephenaustin3026 ? So it’s not in kindle store ? I live in U.K. never noticed a book I wanted that not available yet going to check now Just checked it is available for 69 p but you can only purchase via os browser on iPhone not Amazon app. Something to do with Apple taking a percentage of profits from apps which it considers in-house purchases. Haven’t noticed any of my 15 year old library vanished maybe this is a USA thing only??

[@daveaultman7688]

If Amazon is going to take away your eBooks, they should give a refund.

[@GregBrammah]

With interest based on inflation rates between purchase and theft.

[@johneyon5257]

they give credit - and maybe refunds - cuz the payments are done electronically as well

[@Demon09-_-]

​@@johneyon5257 as long as you don't get caught by a random ban wave from the AI one day. If that happens you basically lose all access to your Amazon books. It's why if you buy books it's smart to remove the DRM and save a copy of them all somewhere

[@dfunited1]

They'll find a way to charge that back to the author.

[@sweetsummerrain8086]

No 'if' Amazon --- 'when' ...

[@aussiegruber86]

If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing Edit: I actually buy a copy of a book if I enjoyed reading it on the kindle.

[@Chewbury]

Yes it is

[@endezeichengrimm]

Arrrr. It's a pirate's life for me.

[@Chewbury]

⁠​​⁠you should just embrace it and say “thief’s life” instead of trying to romanticise it.

[@endezeichengrimm]

@@Chewbury Arrrr. It's a pirate's life for me.

[@singhmastr]

@@Chewbury dude really loves the taste of the boot up his rear. Person can spend hundred of dollars "buying stuff online" but if the company decides to shut down the service, you lose all your stuff with no recourse. But that's okay with you apparently?? I hope you lose all your stuff

[@kyrilson71]

I have been removing DRM from all ebooks I buy for 10+ years. So it surprises me when I see others that aren’t aware of these limitations. Once you figure out how to remove it, and do it as you buy a book, the process becomes very easy to manage.

[@Chewbury]

Absolutely. I buy everything if from Amazon and squirt the book onto my kobo via calibre.

[@anonymes2884]

One reason things have got to where we currently are in the world is that _most_ people cruise along unaware of _most_ things _most_ of the time. In some ways I envy that.

[@Chewbury]

@@anonymes2884 at least this channel is bringing it to the attention to its 7000+ subscribers. Good job!

[@GJStone-tf7vl]

How do u remove DRM?

[@kyrilson71]

@@GJStone-tf7vl I use a program called Calibre (highly recommended for ebook curation). Then Google drm plugin. You should find plenty of links with tutorials.

[@ignskeletons]

I will never forget when I was in school I downloaded '1984' on my Kindle which was free, but then Amazon retroactively decided to delete all the free copies that were published on the official Amazon website and they DELETED it from my Kindle. So I clicked download, had the book file locally on my device, and they felt entitled to go in and delete a local file on my eReader without my permission due to a licensing dispute. Unacceptable.

[@ignskeletons]

Side note: the irony of the book that they decided to do this with is not lost on me- LOL

[@Insightfill]

Wildly, I think the extra quirk at the time was that the book was removed, but your annotations remained. "Memory hole" indeed.

[@techone72893]

If you simply had saved the files on your computer, you would still have the copy of the book. Also, I'm sure it wasn't unacceptable to the actual license holder of the book who was getting ripped off by Amazon who was selling their product when Amazon had no right to sell it in the first place. Your books were, in essence, bootleg copies. License holders have rights too.

[@smallhelmonabigship3524]

@@techone72893 Is that the fault of the Customer? Or the retailer, so-called?

[@geminightur]

Amazon decided to sell it without the right to do so

[@RobynHoodeofSherwood]

I'm glad you mentioned libraries. So few booktubers do. The library is a great source for movies as well.

[@robertjones811]

... and all those "free" library books - my property taxes help pay for these - was my rationalization for buying a top-end eReader. And Kobo's ease of check-out decided it for me.

[@mggardiner4066]

@@robertjones811I’d rather my money go to that than a new police station when the old is perfectly adequate, or homeowners associations. Especially for people who can’t afford books and movies, musical instruments and 3D printing, or the free educational programs.

[@JDReC100]

Librarare great. The one near me has a 3d print lab, amoung other things

[@BryanTorok]

But, only if the book is popular enough and new enough for the library to carry it. If the book was published a few years ago and in a niche genre, they may not have it. If it is very popular, there may be a waiting list.

[@fredericapanon207]

Except libraries are getting shafted by publishers. Those e-books they lend have a limit on the number of times they can be leant. And buying an e-book license is more expensive than a regular book. My local library is asking for donations because their budget cannot keep up with demand for e-books.

[@syenite]

And this is why I purposefully do NOT tick the "add DRM" box when I publish my books and why purchasing on my direct store gives you pdf, epub, and mobi. I know how easy it is to remove drm and I just don't want my readers to have to deal w that hassle if they switch from one device to another. DRM doesn't stop pirates. It stops legitimate readers from being able to enjoy books how they want.

[@PhantomPirate1776]

Thank you for saying this. It's nice to know you can publish your books on your store, without having to go through Amazon. I hope to be able to buy more direct from authors in the future vs Amazon! 😊

[@Thorned_Rose]

I don't know you but just wanted to say I appreciate you doing this! I have made a conscious choice to never support Amazon and it breaks my heart every time I try to support an author directly only to discover they only sell their books through Amazon :( I will always prefer to buy direct and support authors as fully as I can.

[@JosThoSul]

Bless you! You're doing God's work!

[@HighNFiber]

Stuff you buy from Kobo has DRM as well, so same the same. If you want to "own" those books, you have to remove the DRM from them as well.

[@TheRitharu]

Exactly! Every company of every digital mediia has DRM and has hoops to deDRM and preserve away from the purchased from company. This whole video just screams off bias and lack of research.

[@shanghaichica]

@@TheRitharuyep. The only thing I could say in Kobos favour is that epubs can be bought and used on many platforms. So I think you can buy ePubs and use them on a boox or kobo device for example. However, you couldn’t read your Kobo books on a kindle without removing the DRM.

[@AaronSwenson]

​@@TheRitharusmashwords doesn't, but I don't think the big name books are there

[@folksurvival]

People purchase ebooks for Kobo?

[@HighNFiber]

@@shanghaichica The gamble is which of the "walled gardens" remains in business 10 years from now and which format persists. Right now finding dedrm for both formats is easy so removing the drm right away is the best strategy to eliminate the gamble. Again, I think the important thing to recognize is that you are in the same circumstance no matter which format you are using and to have a retention strategy that works for your situation and allows you to switch gardens whenever a compelling new device is released.

[@EzzyDT]

I am not accustomed to this. It makes me angry that I don't own what I paid for. For example, I have a circuit (cutting machine). When I purchased my Cricut, I could download files from different companies. The company changed its policy a year later, and I could no longer download files from other companies. It made me so angry. I now have a machine I no longer use because I will not download files from that company. If I could jailbreak my machine, I would have done it. I paid good money for that machine. I had a subscription, which I cancelled because of their new policy. I have many examples of companies who act like I am renting instead of making a purchase. They all make me angry.

[@tarabooartarmy3654]

“You will own nothing and you will be happy.” Look up that quote and be prepared to fall down a rabbit hole when you do. This is all planned.

[@EzzyDT]

@@tarabooartarmy3654 Yes, it's scary. I don't even have music subscriptions. I purchase a “CD” a month. Nothing is forever. What happens if a company goes bankrupt?

[@minngael]

Guess we need some hackers in the crafter community!

[@freedomthroughspirit]

100 % true, all part of the predator class' evil plans. We will rise up and reject them 💪 ​@@tarabooartarmy3654

[@mindimoom9142]

Similar thing happened to me with MYOB accounting software which I bought on disc many years ago and it was working fine for my purposes and there was no need for me to upgrade as it had the basic features that I needed. Then suddenly MYOB decided to use a subscription model and you had to log into their system to use the software which I didn't want to do. I stopped using them. People have to stand up to these practices. Very unfair.

[@michaelofstjoseph]

I didn't expect a Louis Rossmann crossover but I'm here for it. I'm glad to see more people recognizing the insanity of fake digital ownership, DRM, and other nonsense like that. Watering the grounds of competition is a good next step.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

@@michaelofstjoseph I think we're going to see a lot more Rossman type sentiments coming from people as there's just a lot of sort of consciousness being raised about the fact that we don't own any of our digital goods! most people naively assumed that when they click on buy they actually own it.... I've been trying to explain to my sister that that's not the case and of course she's pissed now but she realized. lol

[@chichi90504]

DRM isn't inherently bad, but rather, it's like candy fine in small doses, but we've long since passed the point of them stuffing 10 lbs bags of it down our throat daily

[@grisflyt]

@@chichi90504 Yes it is. And it's only going to get worse. The internet is eventually going to become useless. Everything is going to be a gated community. Of course, there's going to be an internet outside of those gated communities. FWIW, I have DRM disabled on my browser.

[@Luumus]

If you don't mind me saying a bit of a controversial opinion: the idea that all pirating is a unethical and a moral failing is a quite privileged one. Outside of the major anglophone countries like the USA, UK, Canada, etc books can be quite pricey for the average income or very hard to find (in particular new releases, either in English or in translated versions), in addition, libraries are either scarce or do not carry the type of books a lot of people want to read. I pirate most of my books, and only once I start reading them and liking them, then I usually buy the physical copy to support the author. But that means having to order them online and pay shipping (and sometimes import) costs. That gets expensive! And I live in the EU with reasonable access to shipping and a above average income for my country (though below for the abovementioned countries). Imagine other countries that don't have those system, or have strong political censorship, or have very weak currencies and/or small salaries. In those situations a book can cost the price of an entire week's worth of meals. Are we to tell those people that they shouldn't have access to books? I don't agree with that. Add to it the growing trend of companies thinking they can remove access or delete content that you have purchased, and piracy is the obvious answer. How much content - books, films, games, tv series - will be forever lost to corporate greed? That's what happens when everything is digital and subscription based. Pirating is a way to conserve art. As for the typical argument "You are stealing money from the artists by pirating", it has several issues: 1- Most people who pirate won't buy the content. It's not a "lost sale" as the publishing industries like to say. It's either too expensive or completely inaccessible. 2- It's blaming the common people for the artists' unfair salaries instead of the rich publishing industries who are actually exploiting them. 3- The more people consume that content, the bigger its reach, the more people (who can afford it) will buy it. Just through word-of-mouth alone. Edit: I've reached the point in your video where you tell people like me to piss off. Don't worry I'll be sure to not watch your content any longer but before that, your "solution" of using Overdrive/Libby is not feasible. Outside English speaking countries, this service is rare, if non-existent. So we are back again to the same solution. Either pirate or don't read at all.

[@brekke668]

I found that rather pompous myself. I will pirate copies of things out of print that you can't find physical copies at a reasonable price. The sales of those second hand items do not go to the author. I usually do this for old RPG books that like I said are out of print. I also buy bootleg DVDs of movies and shows that have never been released on DVD. Would I buy a legal copy if available hell yes but if the studio won't put one out then screw them. I live in the US and I used to read ebooks from my library because they had a huge selection. Then I moved to a smaller county and their library selection of ebooks is pathetic. So no not everyone has access to good libraries.

[@ayleen8365]

Here in latinoamerica are people that reprint books and sell it for 1 or 2 dollars because buying it legally cost average 10-20 Dollars and that is a meal and dinner for a whole family, and we dont have nice librarys because people tend to steal the good books for themselves or they resell them

[@missaisohee]

yeah i'll be out of this channel, but not bwfore i clicked like on this comment

[@loati94]

It's the same with videogames. Piracy doesn't affect sales, nor does internet streaming for the games. If someone was going to buy the game, they will . If someone wasn't going to buy the game, they won't. No matter if they pirate it or not. In fact, sometimes pirating leads to someone buying the game when they were not even considering it. I used to pirate all my games because I was a teen with no money. Now I am an adult with more money but I still refuse to pay 70€ a game, so I only buy games when they are complete and on sale. I don't pirate anymore, but I don't buy the same amount of games I used to pirate either. I stopped pirating because I started buying games, not the other way around.

[@mrspricecreates]

You’re not “entitled” to something for free just because you can’t afford it. If you can’t afford it you can save your money until you can afford it. Why should an author have to give you their hard work for free just because you don’t have the money. You’re not entitled anything. If you can’t afford it work harder until you can.

[@briandhackney]

physical media will always be king for consumer protection at least as long as corporations are allowed to do whatever they choose without facing any consequences.

[@nifftbatuff676]

Or digital media with no drm and open format. But yes, physical is more sure, even if they have a similar licence of use (e.g. you cannot copy a dvd or a book).

[@AfonsoBucco]

@@nifftbatuff676 physical books can be eaten buy bugs and DVDs can oxide, that's one of the reasons why: in serious places you CAN actually make copies of physical media legally

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

@@nifftbatuff676 So I have been doing the impossible all these years?

[@TheDigitalReader]

Welcome to the resistance!! If you are moving to owning your ebooks I strongly recommend checking out the pocketbook readers, the don’t focus on trapping you in thier ecosystem, and are my ebook readers of choice.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

I’ve never heard of pocketbook. I’ll have to check them out!

[@bragoen]

When the trend of e-readers and other similar services for movies or music picked up, some of us were loud about how it means we don't own anything and they can remove it at any time. We were laughed at and told we were wrong. Glad more people are now realizing who was right. Worst thing is you used to be able to pick up an ebook for only like 20-25% the price of a paperback, now it's up to 70% and it's not the author getting more money.

[@quantquill]

I had my eye-opening experience about "wait, we don't *own* the ebooks, we're just *renting* them??" when Microsoft closed down its ebook store. All the books people had bought went poof. They gave some amount of notice so those who wanted to keep their books could try to get downloaded copies, but basically, poof. I realized the same could happen any time with any of the ebooks and audiobooks. Amazon and Audible are unlikely to go bankrupt (never say never, but...) and they're unlikely to stop selling ebooks and audiobooks (again, never say never) so it's unlikely one would lose their entire library. But the "banned book" problem is a real issue. I agree, if you bought it, and they unpublish it, no takesy-backsies (though then it gets a bit morally grey -- if they don't pay the author royalties on sales, when their work has been unpublished, but readers bought it, that means Amazon gets to pocket all the money and not just some of it. So should they refund the money back to readers and then take back the book? Or refund the money and you keep the book? Or...? It gets complicated. Except that we should be looking at it the same way as a bookseller selling physical books who decides not to sell those books anymore. If they can't take back the physical copy, they shouldn't be able to take back the ebook.

[@MeriDoug]

This! I realize that digital media has unique problems not associated with physical media, but DRM and telling us that we're only licensing for the same price as buying a physical copy isn't the answer.

[@pietersleijpen3662]

I was in all honesty surprised to hear that Amaozn actually removed already bought books. I own copies of several where the publisher went broke, or recalled the books due to issues with the author. I can still read and download those fine (and I just checked this again to be sure Amazon did not recently change their policy and those books are gone now as well). It is just that if I search on Amazon shop they are not there, but they are still in my library. As for royalties, what royalties? Those are paid when you buy (or rent as it is) the book the first time, not each time you read them.

[@quantquill]

@@pietersleijpen3662 When you buy a book, Amazon pays the author 60 or 90 days after the end of that month (can't remember which, but it's 60 or 90, I have books on the 'Zon and it's a long wait for my tiny royalties, lol). If Amazon unpublished an author's books for some real or imagined fault, depending on circumstances, the author may not be paid the royalties they haven't yet been paid. In the case the books that got taken down were plagiarized, Amazon still collected the money from buyers before it got reported, but that's not going to the author.

[@nunyabidness9895]

This is why I own a NAS. You want to own digital things for real? You'd best have your own cloud.

[@voulafisentzidis8830]

These are the precise reasons, as an oldie, that I purchase physical copies of books, music and films!

[@davidsalvador8989]

They are such a good deal also if you go to garage sales.

[@voulafisentzidis8830]

​@@davidsalvador8989I've bought pre-loved books but tended to buy CDs and DVDs new, unless I can't find them elsewhere. Books I've loved I now buy in paper form, as audiobooks, and on Kindle. Too sad....

[@joelchrono]

11:19 I understand you being against piracy, but I assure you Overdrive is definitely not the solution, it only works in like what? 5 countries? Libraries barely exist where I live so yeah, my only real option is getting the physical book and getting it digital from "elsewhere"

[@travelminipainter]

Kobo and Amazon use the same logic of protecting content (aka "the books") with digital rights management (DRM). Basically, you don't buy the book, you just buy a licence to use the content. If you want to ensure that the books with DRM are yours forever, there is no other choice other than to remove the DRM to create one copy for personal use (which is legalish, as this is permitted in the licence agreement). Be aware though, that both Amazon and Kobo regularly update the reading software you use to read your books on PC/Mac and their devices (including the various flavours of Kindles and Kobos), and you will need to keep current with the software and plugins that allow you to remove DRM. I totally agree, that the practice of using digital rights management is not consumer friendly. It is however not Amazon or Kobo that impose this on publishing houses or self-publishing authors. They can chose not to use DRM, if they wish to do so. For Amazon or Kobo to be able to yank an already purchased book-licence from your library without compensation, is the really worrying bit. Legally they should not be able to do this, as the licence you acquire is perpetual, but they have done it on a number of occasions, so just be aware of that and don't feel bad to remove DRM, as long as you don't share the now unprotected files and keep them strictly for your personal use. Then you can read them pretty much on any device.

[@TheRitharu]

Exactly! I’ve also been DeDRMing my ebooks for years, and it’s not just Amazon or ebooks, but all companies and all digital media. Like you said, it’s not the selling companies that impose many of these restrictions, but the publisher of the digital media.

[@tarabooartarmy3654]

Or you can just buy the books you want and then download a copy from a pirate site as backup with the DRM already permanently removed.

[@travelminipainter]

@@tarabooartarmy3654 In my opinion that would legitimize the distribution of pirated content. It's one thing to remove DRM from a digital book *I* bought and paid for and store a digital copy for my personal use but quit another to download a drm-free copy of a book you use, cause somebody put his or her DRM-free copy out there and does not respect the author (even if I bought a copy with DRM).

[@TheRitharu]

@@tarabooartarmy3654pirating (even if you already own a legal copy) is illegal and I would never advocate for that. Plus, it takes the same, if not less, effort to simply download the purchased copy. drag it into Calibre, and that alone strips the DRM and you have a saved copy offline.

[@tarabooartarmy3654]

@@TheRitharu I’ve done that and I’ve also had it fail to remove the DRM several times and it was frustrating. Whereas I can download the file already stripped and save the time. And it’s not illegal to download a copy of a book you already own. It’s only illegal to distribute them. It’s against the terms of most publishers’ rights, but that’s not a matter of legality. That’s a civil matter.

[@Jose04537]

Valve say it, piracy exists because there's a service problem, in this case, not owning the stuff that you paid for. In California, they are making illegal to use the words "buy" and "purchase" if you are only giving a revocable license of use.

[@kyleethekelt]

Oh, I hear you on the topic of ownership. Growing up in a specialist school with a library full of huge, hard-copy Braille books, I didn't get to actually own any books which I could read until well into adulthood. Now, for the first time in my life, I can buy and own books which I can convert to my format of choice and read on one of my Braille devices. I use a simple little programme called Codex (now no longer developed), which a felow blind person invented to do just this: strip the DRM and convert it to a format we can read in Braille on our device of choice. Kindle books have been getting increasingly difficult to strip and convert, hence my shift to Kobo. I'm currently enjoying Janet Frame's Omnibus autobiography, 'An Angel at my Table'. Thank you for your thoughts. I have subscribed.

[@DigitalMoonlight]

If you wish to take a principled stand on owning your ebooks, ensure you only purchase DRM-free ebooks. The Kobo store has a whole section devote to DRM-free ebooks. Also any books you buy from Kobo that aren't in the DRM-free section, you may need to check to see if they have DRM and crack the DRM if they do. This shouldn't be too difficult as you already cleared the hurdle of liberating your Amazon collection.

[@snailrancher]

While I understand your underlaying message (and agree myself), you are wrong about removing DRM being legal in the USA. According to 17 U.S. Code § 1201(a)(1)(A) "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title." There are some exceptions, but generally if you use 3rd party software to remove DRM from Kindle books without Amazon's permission, you are breaking the law. You don't own the book; you licensed it. And read Amazon's TOS because they do NOT allow this. [And to be clear: I don't like this either, but that is the way it currently is.]

[@Dahrenhorst]

Glad I'm living in Europe. Removing DRM to download an e-book file onto your own data storage device is totally legal here. Including Amazon e-books.

[@carlosemiralonso7997]

@@Dahrenhorst Is crazy land USA. I'm from Argentina. When the last harry potter book comes alive, I was not able to read on spanish, so a friend of mines that speak english, just put an online unofficial translation on me to download. People who want to translate things to other languages, I'm not sure is legal. I know this, the only way to a book for became popular is to spread to "universe" so certainly my friend and I doing favors to the autor.

[@fox1actual]

@@Dahrenhorstoh brother. As if Europe isn’t a wacky place itself. We both have our issues.

[@Dahrenhorst]

@@fox1actual Sure - however, if you compare social security, work life balance or consumer rights (e.g. DRM), you'd rather live in Europe than in the US.

[@fox1actual]

@@Dahrenhorst of course you would brag of your welfare state. SMDH.

[@macylouwho1187]

I guess I’m old school, I just buy regular paper books. I like the ability to pass them on to friends or to resell them at a lower cost if they are ones that I don’t want to keep. I have a big enough house that I can do that. Three levels of storage space, so I can keep a few books around if I wish to reread them. At least this way if the weather takes out cell service and internet as it does sometimes in storms, I have a physical copy of something on hand to entertain myself.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

@@macylouwho1187 even still if you paid for the book probably still worth the effort to use the tor browser to get a pdf version of it. in case it's destroyed or something on accident or stolen. at this point it's not even just about our own consumption but it's about preservation. especially now if the internet archive is in jeopardy

[@ColineRusselle]

I have cracks in my house due to books even though thousands have been sold or given to charity shops or friends. Books are for sharing. I did get an early kindle with physical buttons to aid lazy reading in bed but soon got frustrated that for friends to read I had to give them the device! Knowing that Amazon was so devious my downloads have been minimal, mostly out of copyright, and money spent on real books.

[@futurestoryteller]

"Don't give me your excuses poors. I'm entitled to violate the law because I've first demonstrated that I have money!"

[@octavianpopescu4776]

Yes, she does sound arrogant with that. I don't pirate stuff, but on the other hand, I don't judge those who do. You do you, at the end of the day. Also, I'm not American either, where did she get the idea that we can't afford things? And it's not like I'm from some 1st world country, like Norway, I'm from the 2nd world. I get that I'm poorer than the average American, but the difference isn't as big as she assumes it is.

[@DramaAndPages]

Americans not understanding why piracy is rampant in third world countries is always cringe. Library cards for ebooks don't exist in most of those countries. Paying $15 for a book when you earn $200 (after paying rent and services), is ridiculous. The problem with ebooks is that there is no dynamic pricing

[@futurestoryteller]

I should point out I was more mocking the way she frames her petty moralizing as legally legitimate. Because I guess she thinks that's how it works if she just wishes hard enough. She doesn't actually have the right to do what she does, the fact that she believes she should does not make her stance any different than those of the pirates she pointlessly condemns. Personally I find that pathetic

[@ColouredShapes]

The main reason people pirate is because they view it as easier than buying, not simply because it’s ‘cheaper’. This is why practically nobody pirates PC games anymore, because Steam made it much easier for consumers to buy games (especially with regular deep discount sales). But at the end of the day this still requires someone to publish the games to the Steam platform, which hasn’t happened for many older games, so people have to find other ways to get those games. Plenty of out-of-print niche books only received physical publishing and haven’t had electronic releases for one reason and another, hell - as a student I had a real hard time finding some big-name philosophers’ lesser-known works in a format I as a visually impaired person could access ‘legally’. So when I can’t find an ebook for purchase I’m forced to access it another way. When a book series gets taken down from the kindle or kobo store and you’re only halfway through, where would you go to finish reading if it isn’t published anywhere else? Would you seriously just not finish the series?

[@raigne86]

Steam also has the benefit of being more pro-consumer than their competitors. There's a handful of games in my library that you can't buy anymore, for various reasons, on the Steam platform. Valve doesn't do what Amazon has done. Those games are still in my library. I can still play them. When EA flounced off the platform, for example, my access to Spore and Jade Empire didn't disappear. I could make a copy of the files to back them up without having to strip DRM out of them. This is why game companies have started to push live service or always online. They can force your Steam copy to be unusable by taking those servers offline, even if the entirety of the game could still function if you just patched the call to the server out.

[@daina3628]

Netflix has also significantly cut down pirating of movies and tv shows. Which in turn got undermined by a surge of other streaming services like Amazon and Disney+, so now you have to pay for numerous streaming services, even though you might want to watch just one show on each. Which now makes pirating more practical again.

[@Insightfill]

​@@daina3628 iTunes music also was in a similar sweet spot for a while. "Buck a song" was pretty attractive, and everything is in one place.

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

​@@daina3628Don't you mean Netflix had cut down piracy? Now there's a dozen different netflixes with overcomplicated and expensive pricing structures I see that changing fast.

[@Pitsenberg]

Lol

[@PatLund]

Actually removing DRM is technically illegal. So what you are doing is illegal. It is however the morally correct thing to do.

[@Swordfish728]

Yup, it falls under the anti-circumvention provision of the DMCA, even if the end use is lawful, like changing e-readers and just moving the books you bought, breaking the DRM itself is illegal. You're already a pirate in their eyes because you didn't buy your books a second time from Kobo's store.

[@matildas3177]

I'm happy to see that more and more people are waking up to the reality of how companies like Amazon work. If you can not read the e-book on any device, if you can not download it, then you do not own it. Same goes for anything digital tbh. It sounds crazy and old fashioned, but physical copies are the best option for the users, no matter the media.

[@vannederynen1]

To be fair the companies never actually hid this if you had ever actually read their terms of service. It has always been a lease of access not ownership

[@brionlund2467]

When you buy a physical book, what do you truly own? You possess the paper and ink-the physical object-but not the words and ideas printed within. Purchasing a book doesn’t grant ownership of the underlying content; it simply gives you the right to access it within certain limitations. In the digital realm, this distinction becomes even more pronounced. Buying digital content typically means acquiring a license to view or use the material under specific conditions set by the seller. This arrangement can feel less tangible and more restrictive than owning a physical item. Essentially, you’re paying for access under specific terms without owning anything tangible. That’s why I avoid purchasing digital content unless necessary. I recognize that I’m entering into an agreement where I have limited rights over the content I’m paying for. Understanding the terms and conditions associated with digital purchases is crucial, as it highlights the importance of being aware of the rights-or lack thereof-that come with them.

[@toonman361]

I spoke to my local librarian recently about the supposed unlimited availability of ebooks. They are software based after all. She says that the companies selling libraries copies of an ebook charges up to 10 times the average consumer purchase price to own ONE digital copy of the ebook. This makes it difficult for libraries to buy multiple copies and loan out more than one digital copy... even though it is not a physical book, based on the purchase price and rights. Talk about screwing the libraries and the public!

[@cocdcy]

Also making digital books “expire” after a certain number of loans is ridiculous

[@fredericapanon207]

Yes, my local library is soliciting donations because the cost and limited number of uses of e-books is blowing their budget out of the water.

[@tiandao8503]

Librarian here. We set a daily limit for e-book costs. That means that some days we meet our limit by 9 am. Anyone else is cut off until the next day. Another issue: If Amazon owns it they won't sell to us at all. They consider us the competition.

[@iamsemjaza]

If you have the DRM-Free version of a electronic book you bought, then you own that as much as you own any paper copy. You can copy it, convert it to another format, modify it, etc. You can even hand the epub or whatever (DRM-free version) to a friend and they can read it. This is why I purposely leave the DRM off the books/stories I write under all my pen names.

[@tiannat6996]

Only if the book was bought DRM-free though and even then it's frowned upon because your sharing something they didn't buy which they could easily upload and share to other people

[@iamsemjaza]

@@tiannat6996 Some peopel frown on lending your own printed books too. Some people frown on libraries. The frowners can eff off.

[@drytool]

The first thing I thought when I saw Amazon's e-book was named "Kindle"was "Fahrenheit 451". How true that turned out to be.

[@AdamJX602]

This started in the mid 2000’s when Apple removed the Disney movie catalogue from itunes. They also removed the films from people who had purchased them. They did eventually backtrack to allow people who had previously purchased to still watch, but that’s where it started. DRM is very present in video games for 20 years now. You only buy a license, not the product. I’ve started collecting blu rays again for everything I really like, as well as books.

[@anonymes2884]

Maybe worth pointing out that removing DRM is _explicitly_ prohibited in Amazon's terms of service so suggesting it in a public forum may not go down well with them and could lead to account suspension or, worst case, a lawsuit (that also applies to any viewers who decide to try it though you'll most likely not be worth the trouble of course). Just information BTW, not advice for or against :). DRM removal is also technically illegal in places like the US (thanks to flawed laws like the DMCA, perhaps ironically given your seemingly hardline stance on piracy). (the relevant part of the Kindle store user agreement is, "In addition, you may not attempt to bypass, modify, defeat, or otherwise circumvent any digital rights management system or other content protection or features used as part of the Service." which is a couple of paragraphs below another relevant passage, "Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by Amazon." - of course no one reads those which is presumably why it's apparently such a surprise to many here :)

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

has anyone ever been prosecuted for downloading ebooks for their own consumption? even if they did a VPN would solve that but even without a VPN I've never heard of such a prosecution.

[@carlosemiralonso7997]

@@michaelcorcoran8768 IT would be persecuting someone for less than 2cents. Valid, but pointless. Legally right but morally absurd.

[@DocTime56]

TBF, I'm of the idea that they shouldn't use the word "buy" if they can just take away the content from me. iTunes hasn't had DRM for YEARS (though it DID have at some point, and if you bought a protected song, it will remain protected) and artists are still publishing on the iTunes Store

[@hueypautonoman]

Libarian here. As far as I know, the DMCA prohibits the tools or software used to circumvent copy protection. They're not that interested in prosecuting individuals for using it but rather going after any organization or company that makes the software. This is what has allowed Nintendo to get emulators taken down even if the emulators themselves aren't engaged in piracy.

[@zoppie]

Overdrive was a thing in my area once. No longer. My library went with something called Cloud Library. But my Kobo still has Overdrive software on it, which cannot be used with CL. Nor, as tech support explained to me, can the Overdrive software be deleted and replaced with Cloud Library. So borrowing ebooks from my library is a very involved process where I have to use my computer as a middleman to borrow the book and then use third party software to transfer a copy to my Kobo. Another example of a technology that is quite capable of being one-touch, but isn't, because "reasons," forcing people to resort to complicated workarounds, quite effectively discouraging them from borrowing anything. Nice going, System.

[@bizzzzzzle]

I always find it the ironic the people that think are the most literate, never comprehended that these were always license when they tell you blatantly but you all skip it and just click “ok” because you want to get to consuming media faster.

[@deersakamoto2167]

I donate to Ana (iykyk) and FOSS (such as the Calibre app) instead of paying for DRM'ed books on Kindle or Kobo, and everyone should do the same.

[@Starrypaws64]

Based

[@sophier6504]

Do Anna books have DRM? They’re on my kindle now but if I get a kobo I want to move them with calibre but I have to look up how to

[@windayca]

My first device was a Sony Reader ( circa 2006, I think?). Loved the device, hated their software. Started using Calibre to organize the books I was buying from many different places (anybody remember Fictionwise?). Moved to a Kobo when I wore out my second Sony and they stopped making them. Chose a Kobo because the Amazon devices couldn't handle the wide range of file formats I needed. Bought a used Kindle, an older model, so I could get to the books I was increasingly getting from Amazon. Deliberately went for an older model so I could download in Amazon's older format, which I find in many cases converts more cleanly to epub. LOVE LOVE LOVE Calibre. I have almost 4700 books in my library.

[@MeriDoug]

Fictionwise! My first ereader was through them. It was expensive, and I had to make payments; or maybe it was a subscription. I still have the Librarian software on my computer, but I never finished converting my books for another platform. I eventually donated that ereader after I got a Kindle. I regret it, but it's a dinosaur.

[@Brilliantnash]

Loved my Sony, could read all formats on it. But long live Calibre, I can convert easily to the format I prefer.

[@dawnlawrence3372]

My first device was the Sony too and I fondly remember Fictionwise.

[@angusmckeogh659]

You own that stuff. You pay for it. You download it to your device. You don't need to switch devices. You remove the DRM lock on it and put it on your hard drive in an ebook organizer like Calibre. Voila!!! You own it for life. The device is inconsequential. It's just like buying a physical copy of the book. I take it home. Amazon does not come and take it from my house. I'm not distributing my ebooks. They exist on my device only. That's my personal library. So don't feel bad about sideloading books onto your device.

[@nunyabidness9895]

yup...and I own my cloud too. My NAS makes my digital library as real as the one in my physical bookshelf.

[@janetg.]

How do you remove the DRM lock?

[@ArifGhostwriter]

Since this is a KZbin video by/about/for readers & writers - the expression is: _Voila!_ It's French.

[@yavoth5850]

You don't own it and you recognise that fact every time you make a payment. Paying for access has no such necessary "ownership" consequences. You are no better than a "pirate" with the process you described (and good for you, no judgement here!)

[@angusmckeogh659]

@@yavoth5850 When you buy a book from the store, am I actually renting it? Do I need to return that, like some sort of outmoded Blockbuster video. When I buy a Kindle am I renting this device? No to both of those. So when I buy a book on Kindle, I'm download the text to my device, and I'm reading that on my own device and violating rules by giving my copy away to other sources. Much like I'm not making copies of my physical books and distributing them to other sources. Does Amazon have the right to come to my house and take away my physical books? No. Do they have the right to deny me access to the text of books I've bought on my digital device (which I also bought)? No. Amazon is NOT renting books to me. I'm not talking about Kindle Unlimited (which is a rental platform), I've purchased these books and they have zero right to take them back or lock them so I cannot open them. It's just like video games, when I buy something from the Playstation store, does Sony have the right to not allow me to play the game on my Playstation? No. Same scenario. I'm not renting, I'm buying. Illegally distributing copies of what you have purchased is piracy, simply accessing my copy, which I purchased on my own device (which I also purchased), is NOT piracy. Good luck to you.

[@jchoneandonly]

Piracy actually helps sales. A study was done in the eu a few years back and it got immediately silenced after it indicated that sales go up. If I pirate software or a book and I really like it, I'll go back and buy it as long as the creators don't go full woke bullshit or anti consumer. It's an excellent way to tell if you're a good creator when pirates come back to actually support your work or not

[@grootbatavia]

None of the large publishers or vendors respects copyrights. I have literally had Nat Geo appropriate and print opinion pieces I wrote for strictly non-commercial purposes (conservation). Best of all, they had inserted "opinions expressed by the author" that were not in the original text and not mine at all. Upon approaching the editor with a request to publish an errtum and attribute the rights to the article or at least correct the errors introduced, I was told they found the article in the "public domain" and were free to do as they wished. Rather than taking a legal battle to them, I decided to boycot anything to do with Nat Geo and affiliates, but it just goes to show. Since that time, I have had various print articles in other magazines pirated and published in digital form. While these do not include errors or alterations from the original, it is shameless. On one or two occasions, I have managed to get the articles pulled from the digital sources, but in general larger publishers know they will get away with it, so they just do it. This leads into the e-book formats and the discussions pertaining to ownership of the copy by whomever has purchased it. Yes, the buyer should be entitled to his or her copy, but once again large distributors like amazon (and many others) know the average consumer will not put up a fight. As a result, they continue their blatantly unethical practices of not paying their authors and not honouring their (paying) customers. Until we get to a point where authors unite, there will not be any changes. Unfortunately, the advent of AI generated content has, at least partially, undermined the argument that there is a need for "content creators", which only adds to the struggle. Arghh, end of rant.

[@xtieburn]

I mean... this is kind of ironic. In the US at least you are not legally allowed to break DRM even for personal use*, which is exactly what this video described doing. Its covered by the DMCA, the same laws used against pirates. I.e. In the eyes of the law The Nonsense Free Editor _is_ a pirate. Id argue a moral one, but then Im not the one making the blanket argument that piracy is fundamentally wrong... *Some places say it is, they maybe in a different jurisdiction because the DMCA is not particularly ambiguous on this, it prohibits circumvention with just a handful of exceptions, none of them about personal use. (They are about security research, archival stuff, reverse engineering, etc.)

[@quademasters249]

This kind of discussion reveals the divide between "moral" and "legal". if I pay for a book and the author gets paid, morally, i can do whatever I want with the book besides give away copies. That means removing the DRM or finding an unprotected copy through other means. I know it's not legal but it's not immoral. Stealing is immoral but paying for something, then changing what you paid for to fit your needs is neither stealing nor immoral. This was the norm before e-books took ownership rights away. A concrete example is I paid for 1000 paperbacks when I was a kid. I don't feel it's immoral for me to replace these paperbacks with an E-book versions of the same book. As long as I don't then give the paperback to someone else (most disintegrated and ended up on a landfill).

[@timwoody3835]

I like Baen’s approach. They sell their ebooks to you and you can download them in whatever reader format you want. Got another ereader with different format, fine. Just download it again. Oh, and there’s no drm on their books.

[@PatLund]

Her: "Don't say if your not American than you can pirate." Also her: "use this American library app."

[@ArifGhostwriter]

That's not really contradictory. It's speaking to completely different subjects.

[@tyramasters-heinrichs921]

Thank you for speaking the facts. I buy the book if I love the story. I'm not opposed to ebooks and have an older Kobo, but it's not my first choice, or second (audio books). I love Louis, and fully support right to repair. I'm on Louis side for basically all the same reasons he states. Technically you did NOT buy them, you subscribed to them (read the fine, fine, sub-sub clauses -- though loosely written, you'll find they not only own everything, but YOU also gave them permission to data mine your device (from what, when, where you read, to when and where you stop reading, etc.), and probably if not already, then soon all smart devices around you like modern cars do. I do NOT want people to steal books -- buy directly from the author; Please Do Not Pirate books from human Authors AND if you do, you better NOT complain when the authors are not publishing regularly because they're broke and have to get a job that takes them away from writing.

[@BWGPEI]

Buy vs rent - that theme is everywhere. I had an Amazon Kindle keyboard, which happily loaded and displayed the Baen free library books I had collected over many years. That device died, and I bought a Paper White. I was seriously annoyed to find that this new e-reader will not display these Baen Free Library books.

[@rac1061]

I was with you till around 11:30 when you went on your anti piracy thing. Ok, You do realize it cuts both ways right? If you publish your books on Amazon, you are not “selling” anything. You are selling a license…..often for full cover price. Personally, I would never pay the same price as a physical book that retains some real world value. (Which is why, I have no room in my house) As the writer you are choosing to participate in the digital ecosystem because you want those Amazon sales. I buy physical when possible, and I have even known people who purchased a digital copy to support the author AND THEN PIRATED a DRM free copy to get what they paid for. Still though, if someone is poor, fuck off. I don’t give two shits if they pirate book two of the holy romancer space dinosaur series. You are not even losing a sale because they probably were not going to buy it anyway. Having said all that, the vast majority aren’t going to pirate when there is an affordable and CONVENIENT option. So you can say shame on those who pirate, but I would say shame on those who misrepresent digital transactions as purchases to begin with. That’s on Amazon….and the writers and publishing houses too.

[@BruceJSkelly]

I started reading ebooks on the palm pilot with a 160 by 160 pixel screen. I forget the company I started buying ebooks from as there were mergers and buy outs along the way. The last buyout was by Barnes and Noble. About 160 of my books transferred from my then current provider, but several didn’t. When I asked B&N about this, their reply was that they aren’t licensed to provide the titles in question. This is the first time I really understood that you don’t own the books you purchase. I always say if you own something you can sell it. Clearly the resale of digital assets will land you in legal chaos. Perhaps the “Buy Now” button in the Amazon Kindle store should be changed to a “Lease Now” to differentiate between the ownership of a toaster and the ownership of an ebook.

[@keithhealing1115]

So if I have purchased the license to download and read a certain book, and Amazon decides to remove that book AFTER I have downloaded it, should they refund me? They have, after all, now taken my money and not fulfilled the contract.

[@jrodspeaks]

I have the OG Kindle Fire and I use Calibre to pull books off of it all the time. It can be done.

[@ShayGamerD3]

Removing DRM is a gray area. While it might be not illegal, it leads to piracy, since it allows for ebooks to be distributed freely to anybody. Removing DRM from your Amazon books and moving them to Kobo, while technically not illegal, it is against Amazon's terms of service, and since you admitted to it, you can be liable in civil court (which is obviously unlikely, but you broke Amazon's terms of service nevertheless). And I am writing that while being an opponent of DRM: both, the law, and terms of service are not on your side. I think the knowledge should be distributed freely, and while that might not include fiction books, which are an artistic expression, DRM is one of main reasons the access to knowledge is not free to everyone. Nevertheless, neither publishers (including those publishing your books), nor bookstores (including Amazon) want that, and their influence is enough to prevent the free distribution of knowledge.

[@michaelmurphy748]

In my opinion, you do not need to apologize to Louis Rossmann (I watch him too) because, at the time you did not know. However, you did admit you have learned something new and changed your opinion based on this new information. This is good and THAT should be applauded.

[@staceycoates1418]

This is one of the reasons why I like physical items. Because then I own it. And it is why I use Libby and buy free books or at leadt really cheap ebooks.

[@Chewbury]

I buy all of my ebooks legitimately. I also strip the drm from them. I’ve paid for it - it’s mine.

[@rachaelbirch9303]

Another point of contention is borrowing and lending. When I first got my kindle fire (its been a minute) there was an option if you went online to share/lend a book you'd bought and downloaded with a friend. You could only let one person at a time borrow, for up to like two weeks. and while they were borrowing it, you could not access said book. Just like if you had a physical copy. You could lend those out to your hearts content. The last time I went in to do this, I noticed this option had been removed, without notice. Pretty messed up, honestly. The more I think of it, I think I'll be moving away from amazon digital and looking for other options. It was news to hear that they can remove something from your kindle shelves because they suddenly deem it.

[@theninthcloud]

This became very apparent to me last year when I was traveling for a few months in a different country, and I turned on my kindle to read and found that the whole thing had been remotely erased because I had been out of my home country (US) for too long?. I had like 200+ books and they were all gone. I was able to restore them, but now I tread a lot lighter in Kindle land.

[@jpvoodoo5522]

Loius Rossman did not always feel this way about piracy. He only advocated for it in situations where the company has left the consumer in untenable positions as a reaction to it.

[@ElaineFoster101]

Love this video. If Calibre can send a book I purchased in epub format to my computer's download folder, then I can move those epubs to my external jump drive (aka passport) and have them with me wherever I am. Then, I can use the free Kindle Previewer that's on my desktop to read any epub I purchased. I'm going to check that out. THANKS for the heads up that books from my Amazon library can disappear.

[@msj7872]

I borrow all of the books I read on my Kindle from the library. I've reread a couple of books this way. Very convenient and free.

[@pandabear4014]

This is not available in Canada.

[@user-xd3wn2xs7g]

This is what I have done since the beginning of this year.

[@konradzuse4778]

Yes - that is how companies own you. Same with Videos that you 'buy' on Amazon. You can not watch them on an independent device, burn them to a DVD, put them on a USB-stick.. And if Amazon decides that they don't want to grant you access any more - it's gone! Good luck suing one of the richest companies in the world. Fortunately I live in Germany, and the movement for non-DRM content here always was strong. Also many publishers have a somewhat idealistic background when it comes to literature, therefore many ebooks come without DRM-protection or encryption, just with a watermark. And I love this! My wife can read the books that I bought - just as she would if I had bought a physical copy! This is true for some ebooks on amazon as well, but I recommend to buy a different device from the start.

[@jennifermead4420]

I think what is scarier than this is that companies can change the content of the books youve bought without telling you. They can literally rewrite the book you have read. 1984 anyone?

[@snowysnowyriver]

Especially children's books. Beatrix Potter, Enid Blyton, Dr Suess, Roald Dahl have all had their books tampered with. Even Agatha Christie's books have been "brought up to date". In other words, they have been censored.

[@tarunarya1780]

The topic is spot on. This applies from software registration/installation, ebooks, oculus Go, car software eyc etc. It is all been started with the excuse of piracy, but paid for software can end up not being able to be installed after activation services are switched off because the company has closed or the product made obsolete or the stores closes e.g. blackberry. Louis Rossman covers the hardware aspects. e.g. Apple design floors that make seemingly make them fail on purpose and faults that are not corrected despite knowing, giving a simple button codes so a button cannot be replaced etc etc, the repairs are made prohibitively expensive or there is /was no right to repair to force you to buy another device.Similarly car software and subscription models will also cause problems. Big mess that government should legislate for.

[@crystalrabbon]

It’s not just your Kindle books. ITunes, apple apps, any digital movie, 1/2 the software we use now as we pay monthly. You will own nothing and be happy.

[@EraYaN]

Calibre has a lot of plugins and “tools” to help you move books around anyway you please as well.

[@furtivedolus2504]

Copying is not theft ~ Also, technically you are breaking the DMCA by circumventing the DRM in Amazon's ebooks with Calibre. Now I don't have an ethical problem with this. But you seem to.

[@chillzwinter]

This was my reason for buying a Kobo from day 1 after researching the 2 options a few years ago. I thought....I want to have complete ownership and control of what I download to my device without the manufacturer having any say in it. The same reason I only use Android phones over iphones.

[@litabrooker7872]

Thank you so much for this enlightening information. I heard about Kobo the other day. Do they publish books, too? Or do I have to self-publish through Amazon then transfer the book to Kobo. In which case I need to know more about DRM (did I get that right?). Who owns my stuff? Such a good question.

[@tiannat6996]

Kobo has their own publishing section. You can publish your book straight onto the kobo software

[@zebulonramcharan8086]

I am a gamer, a writer, a digital artist and a reader. I have been seeing this kind of thing happen on all entertainment spectrum. Atleast if I purchase music from Apple Music I can DL it to what ever I want and listen through even Windows Media Player. But Games. Look what Sony did to Concord they deleted the game from people's library. I don't care if the game was bad anways the fact theat Sony went in and deleted the game from someone's device is bad enough.

[@kattz753]

I absolutely agree with you. Think about it this way. You buy a physical book. Someone from Amazon walks into your house and takes that book off of your coffee table. That's absolutely ridiculous. But, they have the absolute right to go into a device that YOU own and remove a book that you paid for and that's somehow OK? Sorry. We went through this with CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays too. I have converted every book, CD and movie in my house to a digital format. It all lives on an old PC set up as a media server. I can access it all from any of my way too many devices anywhere in my house and watch or read in any way that I want. I'm Canadian and we can only borrow library books on Kobo. I'm also a tech nerd and many of the books that I need are only available on Kindle. I use the Kindle app on a tablet if there are diagrams where colour matters. Everything else is on my Kobos. And now Kobo has colour! I'm waiting for the second gen colour Kobos and I'll buy one of those too.

[@AviSchwartz1]

As far as I know, unless things have changed, if you move your purchased ebooks from the Kindle to Kobo, Calibre doesn't provide a way to backup and restore the notes you take with the stylus. Stylus notes in books that you purchase from Kobo do get synced to the Kobo servers so even if you remove the ebook from your device, the notes will come back when you reinstall the ebook.

[@dfmatos80]

Hello from Brazil! About your video, I couldn't agree more! Unfortunately we have nowhere to buy Kobo devices here. There used to be a partnership between a big bookstore chain and Kobo here in Brazil, but since this bookstore chain went bankrupt, we have nowhere else to buy Kobo devices. We could buy them from international sellers, but taxes are extremely high. So, we're kinda "locked" to Kindle devices. I guess the only alternative would be to download the Kobo app to my mobile phone or tablet and read my books on it. But the reading experience is way different from reading on an ereader. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@neverfae442]

I always appreciate when an author isn't walling themself in to the amazon ecosystem. As a consumer its at the point where, if your book is amazon exclusive? Im just going to pass on it no matter how much I wanted to read it. On the flip side I adore finding indie gems in the kobo store and being able to just download them because the author most times has opted for a non-drm epub file. I usually go in and support those authors on their social media and go out of my way to recommend those books-- ironically im more likely to encourage someone to buy a copy of a non drm book Ive recced to them, if they can, than to just share my copy. I feel like authors being good to readers should be showered with love and praise for not succumbing to amazon's predatory practices.

[@illinois68]

I have owned a Kobo e-reader since the days of Waldenbooks and it selling Kobo e-readers in store. Kobo went above and beyond to replace that e-reader and that customer service has made me a customer for life.

[@jeffdege4786]

When I first started reading ebooks, I bought a Nook, and not a Kindle, because Barnes&Noble made it easy to download ebooks, and Amazon did not. Then B&N decided to go closed ecosystem, just like Amazon. Now, I read on an Android tablet.

[@sw6118]

I quit buying books on Amazon and borrow from the library. I disliked both kindle and fire. I really liked the original kindle with its e-ink. I hate backlit books and so went to audio books. I think that not reading leads to dementia and have gone back to hard copies. The other issue is that the plastic on the devices broke or became sticky. Given Project 2025 I can easily see many books censored out of existence on many platforms. I liked Overdrive, but they changed it to Libby which is less functional.

[@StarlasAiko]

And that is why I still prefer paper books. Sure, you can carry thousands of ebooks in your kobo or kindle wihtout adding much weight to your handbag, but because they are digital, they are property of the proprietary service provider of your device. Only if you buy physical do you have even a slither of a chance of it being yours. And yes, if buying is not ownership then piracy is not theft.

[@AnthonyMiller1]

I recently put all my ebooks into calibre. It took a while because you can't batch download the kindle files. My main reason for doing it was so that the books couldn't be interfered with by, for example, having the cover changed or parts rewritten.

[@Shay45]

If they are going to take books away they need to give the consumers their money back, period.

[@carlosemiralonso7997]

Many people already say this. So I quote someone else: She clearly says it is legal to de-DRM because she "purchased" the books, but if that were the case then that would invalidate the very purpose of DRM - which is to prevent the distribution or modification of the material after purchase. Furthermore, the reason Amazon can get away with pulling a previously published book is literally because Amazon isn't selling property for the consumer to purchase but rather the indefinite license to access that property - which they mention in the ToS agreement and also mention their indiscriminate ability to revoke it. Thus for both of these reasons, when she takes a book off the Kindle and de-DRMs it, technically and by the law she is pirating. I enjoy the video but im off because of the person logic. (she has not)

[@RaifSeverence]

Except she's not modifying the contents of the book and she's not distributing it. She removed the Drm to "own" the book and not worry about Amazon taking it from her device. (This has happened in the videogame space, and if it happened there, it can happen with books) She literally said that if she removed the arm to share with a pirating site, then she should be prosecuted. And your whole "amazon isn't selling products, just leases" is dumb since if they were doing that, they'd say "lease this now" rather than "buy this now" words have meanings after all. It's like leasing a car, at the end of the lease, you need to return it.

[@stormythelowcountrykitty7147]

I got a Kindle years ago. A book I bought was deleted. I never got another e-book and never will.

[@saviordream]

I just got my first Kobo e-reader a couple of days ago. I'd always been with Amazon, and while my 2nd gen Oasis was still going strong I wanted a change. Picked up a Kobo Clara BW (don't care about color) and it took me days to transfer all my books from Amazon over to my Kobo using Calibre. Definitely don't like how walled off Amazon is and I'm not sorry to have moved to something else. The good thing is, I can still buy books from Aamazon moving forward and just use Calibre to put them onto my computer (and e-reader of choice). But also not having an Amazon e-reader means I also have many more options on where I can purchase my books from as epub is a pretty universal format with every other company that's not Amazon.

[@f1remandg]

you are totally correct in your assessment that being able to access any books that you’ve purchased then that right should remain yours. Anything that you purchased in life should remain yours. I had a similar experience with Apple Music when I looked and found that one of my music videos had disappeared because Apple, iTunes, removed the video on their channel, I challenge that and they offered me credits, I was sarcastic and asked how that sounded to the original version? There was a pause and I then offered a solution that they refund me plus the credits offered for inconvenience in this situation, they eventually agreed, however by this point I’d had enough and said that I wanted the credits to be double what they offered me, they agreed and I have never purchased another piece of music from Apple, iTunes, since.

[@katedaniels9623]

Remember the WEF: you will own nothing and be happy?

[@BazzFreeman]

I am a very voracious reader, mostly SF/F which I have been since age 11 (I'm 67 now). After I got to the stage of not having enough physical room for books (2500 at last count) I went for the Kindle. I am very much in favour of Authors getting paid. (Otherwise they won't write new stuff for me to read) But I am very much of the opinion that sharing a book is very important. This is the way Baen does it. They have a Free Library of books that you can legally share with others. Usually the 1st book of a series to get people to buy the rest of course - but that's exactly what we did with physical books, right? I'm definitely going to look at the Kobo, although the Kobo app on the play store seems to have some issues. I absolutely require sync between device and phone so I always have books with me. I'll look around at several e-Ink devices though.

[@Paula_Dubbeltea]

Thank you for this! I feel like I am heard after all these years of reading on a Kobo Device. Most Kindle-People I was "preaching" to, where not recognizing the all- power Amazon holds over YOUR purchased eBooks. It's a topic worth to be discussed.

[@tarcbarbosa]

I feel the same concerning my switch games that I buy online. They can simple "unpublish" a game that you bought. What now? You never owned it, after all. We gotta be careful about this new reality we're in, indeed.

[@jamesjackson8292]

Its getting to be a huge question when it comes to things like tv shows and movies. If you go out and "buy" a movie on a digital store front it can be pulled from your library at any time without notice. At the same time companies are ramping down physical media production. Its happening everywhere.

[@DashWatson]

I have an extensive hardcover and paperback library, so when I want to read on the go, I just get the ebook off the internet and sideload it on my Kindle. I'm not paying for the soft copy again after I already paid for the same thing in hard copy.

[@redshed2020]

Same with music and movies. Download, strip drm and save on an external drive. That's what I do.

[@rebeccajohnston6418]

have adored my Kobo for the last 15 years! Kindle just can't compare.

[@tenacious2224]

This is why I am still buying physical media. I buy books and cds and some vinyl. I look at ebooks as a convenience for when I am on the go. My main issue with Amazon is that with their Audlible books, the royalties and spotify aint any better.

[@rbrbrts]

I've been using calibre and only buying drm-free books for about a decade. If someone wants to sell a book with drm, they're not getting my money in the first place. This does limit my choices at times, but I feel it sends the clearest message, you want my money, don't "sell" it in a format that robs me of actual ownership

[@dot.curious_blue9316]

I liked hearing the perspective of someone who tends to be anti-piracy and initially was an Amazon fan. But, you're technically a pirate now, because what you are doing with Calibre is DRM circumvention. Yo-ho-ho! Welcome aboard, matey!

[@BryceKant]

The new corporation logo is: "You will own nothing and be happy"

[@yavoth5850]

No, ripping "your" "purchased" kindle ebooks off kindle and uploading to another device is just as illegal as pirating them. (and I'm not saying it to stop anyone from sideloading onto kindle or removing drms from amazon ebooks - just don't pretend to be morally superior to those who get their files to sideload by other means than drm removal)

[@sorenpx]

I'm glad to see more people waking up to the nonsense that is "buying" things like eBooks and movies through platforms like Amazon, iTunes, and so forth. No, you don't own those things. I encourage everyone to buy books, movies and music on physical formats. I maintain (and continue to add to) collections of books, Blu-Rays, DVDs, CDs and records. We should all absolutely reject companies trying to sell us things digitally that we never really own. Demand physical media.

[@kalaalefaio5108]

Being able to actually download "my" e-books is why I switched to Kobo a couple years ago. Having to use Caliber and relearning the software each time, I don't have to use it very often, is the biggest downside.

[@trevx3680]

The term "buy" is misleading. If the company wants to retain ownership and control of media content then they should use the term "lease".

[@vu3088]

Do you dislike the Apple bookstore and reading books on an IPad?