I didn't believe they would break the social contract and I was wrong.
I lost so much in money and notes when they decided the books I bought "to own" were now considered "licensed".
They changed the encryption on most of the newer ones so I couldn't even retrieve most.
They also took away USB transfer so I couldn't use the library system in the way I liked.
Now? I own a Kobo which will never touch the internet for the rest of its life and it only contains epubs. One day, Kobo/Rakuten will likely do the same.
As of when I'm writing this, three stories on the front page of HN (17, 18, 19) are about two bigtech companies dissing (for the lack of another polite word) their customers and third party vendors. I don't know how long it will take for the world to realize that these companies have nothing but at most contempt for you, except for your money which they want all for themselves. I'm not going to hold back on the fact that these multi-billion and trillion dollar MNCs lack any sort of scruples or integrity and their relationship with you is purely parasitic in nature.
I know that jailbreak is an option. But that's a rapidly closing avenue. Devices are getting harder by the day to jailbreak. The only correct solution is to vote with your wallet in favor of your own self-respect and independence. To not be their economic slaves. Consistently choose products that value your freedom, even if it's inconvenient and costly. Choose local stores, even if that requires you to walk to the nearby shop. You stand to gain a lot for those sacrifices. In fact, those gains may be things you can't afford to lose in the first place - like the democracy. (It's not a big secret that many of them have fascist ambitions.)
But whenever I raise this point here, somebody or the other rebukes that with some nonsensical argument about 'market demand' or something similar. First of all, market demand is decided by the consumer, unless we concede that right to the market manipulators. Secondly, this isn't something novel. Boycotts and preferential consumerism have been practiced successfully for ages and is in full effect as we speak. Can't you see how the citizens of entire nations are resisting fascism and hegemony through their shopping preferences? Due to this, I have serious reservations about people who make such counter arguments.
The technically proficient people like the HN crowd are the ones who should raise the alarm about technological exploitation and techno-fascism among the larger population and suggest the solutions. Instead, these people are out to defeat all such efforts and expose the population to the greedy cabal. I don't know if it's nihilism or outright betrayal. But don't be like that, please! Your knowledge and voice are valuable and they command respect. Use them to free your society and yourself from this economic exploitation and hegemony. Please start preaching publicly for the sake of all of our future.
> But that's a rapidly closing avenue. Devices are getting harder by the day to jailbreak. The only correct solution is to vote with your wallet in favor of your own self-respect and independence.
Sorry, "vote with your wallet" doesn't work on technical topics that average consumers don't experience viscerally on a regular basis. The only correct solution is political action that results in legislation and regulation.
The market is not a mechanism for maximizing consumer benefit, it's a mechanism for minimally meeting it. That's why enshitification happens: it's MNCs figuring out how much they can get away with, or part of a pot-boiling exercise to allow them to get away with more.
You guys updated your Kindle? From the first ad that I saw on my old Kindle, I just stopped updating it. It's an e-book reader. I reason that if I never update it, it will never update the ads.
Kindle gone, Kobo in. Bit more friction but I mostly just read library ebooks, free ebooks or the 500 ebooks books I took off my old kindle library a few years ago before I left.
Since last year Amazon doesn’t let you download your books as files from the web anymore. You have to sync purchases to a (presumably supported) Kindle device. I have a jailbroken Kindle and was shocked at the added hoops to read a legally purchased book.
Obviously the solution is to stop supporting Amazon. Some authors unfortunately only sell ebooks there.
Yep. I moved off Kindle onto kobo several years ago. I would still buy books on Amazon if they were only available there, and used dedrm to move them to the kobo. That doesn't seem possible anymore, so I guess I just won't buy anything from Amazon now.
Stallman wrote about this in 1997: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html
I've been warning people about DRM since day one. Never say "MY Kindle library", "MY steam games", etc. They are not yours.
I didn't believe they would break the social contract and I was wrong.
I lost so much in money and notes when they decided the books I bought "to own" were now considered "licensed".
They changed the encryption on most of the newer ones so I couldn't even retrieve most.
They also took away USB transfer so I couldn't use the library system in the way I liked.
Now? I own a Kobo which will never touch the internet for the rest of its life and it only contains epubs. One day, Kobo/Rakuten will likely do the same.
As of when I'm writing this, three stories on the front page of HN (17, 18, 19) are about two bigtech companies dissing (for the lack of another polite word) their customers and third party vendors. I don't know how long it will take for the world to realize that these companies have nothing but at most contempt for you, except for your money which they want all for themselves. I'm not going to hold back on the fact that these multi-billion and trillion dollar MNCs lack any sort of scruples or integrity and their relationship with you is purely parasitic in nature.
I know that jailbreak is an option. But that's a rapidly closing avenue. Devices are getting harder by the day to jailbreak. The only correct solution is to vote with your wallet in favor of your own self-respect and independence. To not be their economic slaves. Consistently choose products that value your freedom, even if it's inconvenient and costly. Choose local stores, even if that requires you to walk to the nearby shop. You stand to gain a lot for those sacrifices. In fact, those gains may be things you can't afford to lose in the first place - like the democracy. (It's not a big secret that many of them have fascist ambitions.)
But whenever I raise this point here, somebody or the other rebukes that with some nonsensical argument about 'market demand' or something similar. First of all, market demand is decided by the consumer, unless we concede that right to the market manipulators. Secondly, this isn't something novel. Boycotts and preferential consumerism have been practiced successfully for ages and is in full effect as we speak. Can't you see how the citizens of entire nations are resisting fascism and hegemony through their shopping preferences? Due to this, I have serious reservations about people who make such counter arguments.
The technically proficient people like the HN crowd are the ones who should raise the alarm about technological exploitation and techno-fascism among the larger population and suggest the solutions. Instead, these people are out to defeat all such efforts and expose the population to the greedy cabal. I don't know if it's nihilism or outright betrayal. But don't be like that, please! Your knowledge and voice are valuable and they command respect. Use them to free your society and yourself from this economic exploitation and hegemony. Please start preaching publicly for the sake of all of our future.
> But that's a rapidly closing avenue. Devices are getting harder by the day to jailbreak. The only correct solution is to vote with your wallet in favor of your own self-respect and independence.
Sorry, "vote with your wallet" doesn't work on technical topics that average consumers don't experience viscerally on a regular basis. The only correct solution is political action that results in legislation and regulation.
The market is not a mechanism for maximizing consumer benefit, it's a mechanism for minimally meeting it. That's why enshitification happens: it's MNCs figuring out how much they can get away with, or part of a pot-boiling exercise to allow them to get away with more.
Keep Calm, (Install KoReader) and Carry On.
tried it and returned to original reader, it was more inconvenient than built-in reader, I liked the idea but it had too many issues
It definitely has a learning curve and took me about 3 hours to get perfect. I’m glad I went through that because I absolutely will never go back.
Consistent fonts, padding, margins etc for every single book is so much better. OPDS support means effortless side loading of books. I love it
You guys updated your Kindle? From the first ad that I saw on my old Kindle, I just stopped updating it. It's an e-book reader. I reason that if I never update it, it will never update the ads.
Anyone still using Kindle after Amazon removed 1984, of all books, remotely from their devices only has themselves to blame.
Kindle gone, Kobo in. Bit more friction but I mostly just read library ebooks, free ebooks or the 500 ebooks books I took off my old kindle library a few years ago before I left.
Great incentive to get around to finally jailbreak them, it's actually really easy.
Since last year Amazon doesn’t let you download your books as files from the web anymore. You have to sync purchases to a (presumably supported) Kindle device. I have a jailbroken Kindle and was shocked at the added hoops to read a legally purchased book.
Obviously the solution is to stop supporting Amazon. Some authors unfortunately only sell ebooks there.
Yep. I moved off Kindle onto kobo several years ago. I would still buy books on Amazon if they were only available there, and used dedrm to move them to the kobo. That doesn't seem possible anymore, so I guess I just won't buy anything from Amazon now.
Great incentive to never buy a device you don't get to own and never pay for "libraries" where you don't get the durable files.
Oh so that's why my MIL's kindle suddenly stopped working for no reason!
Sigh, I'm gonna end up having to explain jailbreaking to a 79yo, aren't I? I would really prefer not to.
Just give her a Kobo. They're pretty decent, have good battery life and you can use them in combination with Calibre for a pretty good UI.
No, as the link says it's effective May 20th...
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678320
If you need evidence of Amazon’s ability to wield AI-driven development towards creative and productive ends…
Look elsewhere.