ruuger: HAL from 2001 with the text "Computer says no" (Computer says no)
Ruuger ([personal profile] ruuger) wrote in [community profile] ebooks2012-10-22 01:14 pm
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Saw this linked on Facebook and thought it might be of interest to folks here:

Outlawed by Amazon DRM - Amazon closes a customer's account and wipes their Kindle.

Edit: More detailed report about what happened (thanks [personal profile] manifold)
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ein_myria: anime character making a weird face (weird)

[personal profile] ein_myria 2012-10-22 10:43 am (UTC)(link)
*winces* is there any way to make an "offline back up" of what you purchased? I'm not a kindle user but this seems to be the fastest way to burn bridges with customers.
zvi: self-portrait: short, fat, black dyke in bunny slippers (Default)

[personal profile] zvi 2012-10-22 05:19 pm (UTC)(link)
you may find googling de-drm kindle to be very useful.
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[personal profile] rebecca2525 2012-10-22 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Just because you have copies of the files doesn't mean you're able to open them. I'm not sure how exactly Amazon's DRM service works, but often with DRM you can open the files only on the device you downloaded them to, and if you want to open them on another device you have to register that device with your account. The whole system hinges on the willingness (or ability) of the service provider to continue letting you read your content.

(Anonymous) 2012-10-22 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
http://dearauthor.com/tag/calibre/ has a number of articles about using the Calibre program to make backups and de-DRM things.
zippitgood: two stars merged on metallic blue background (gen - stars on blue)

[personal profile] zippitgood 2012-10-22 01:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm, I can't get the complete article to load.

Edit: Wow, they didn't even give her due process by letting her know exactly what the violations were and how she could prove she didn't do them. Insane.

I'm now sideeying my Kindle warily.
Edited (It finally loaded.) 2012-10-22 13:57 (UTC)
lexin: (Default)

[personal profile] lexin 2012-10-22 02:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Well. Interesting.

Glad I didn't buy a Kindle. I was tempted, but I saved up for an iPad instead.
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[personal profile] grey853 2012-10-22 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
This is the very reason I refuse to buy a Kindle and will keep my Sony eReader, thanks.
muccamukk: Girl sitting on a forest floor, reading a book and surrounded by towers of more books. (Books: So Many Books)

[personal profile] muccamukk 2012-10-22 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I was deciding what e-reader to get, then remembered the whole 1984 copyright thing, then bought a Kobo. I hope that Kobo never does this to me. I try to dl my copies, but I don't strip the DRM, so if they decided they didn't like me, I'd lose hundreds of books.
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[personal profile] masu_trout 2012-10-22 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
what

Well, this is certainly a wake up call. I've already got Calibre, I just need to figure out how to de-DRM my books with it. Maybe that'll be this weekend's project.
beatrice_otter: Radek Zelenka--sometimes what you need is a scruffy man with a flashlight (Scruffy man with flashlight)

[personal profile] beatrice_otter 2012-10-23 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
Google Apprentice Alf
wide_worlds_joy: (Rebel Flag)

[personal profile] wide_worlds_joy 2012-10-22 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Oddly enough, there's a program called "Kindle DRM Remover". Cross load your Kindle contents to your Cloud Reader, DL them to your PC, use the program to remove the DRM from them. Backup, save, store, spindle, mutilate, post handbills....
thejeopardymaze: (Default)

[personal profile] thejeopardymaze 2012-10-22 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Never. Buying. A Kindle.
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[personal profile] kathryn_scannell 2012-10-23 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
This is exactly why I'm dead set against buying any device that makes me dependent on a single vendor continuing to operate and do business with me. Right now I have a Kobo. I buy books from numerous places and download them using my computer, then use Calibre to put them on the device. If the Kobo goes belly-up, the files are still on the computer, and whatever I buy next will handle EPUB, whether it's a dedicated reader, a tablet, or a phone. And I generally avoid buying books with DRM on them like the plague.

scifisentai: bookshelf with purple and blue lighting (bookshelf)

[personal profile] scifisentai 2012-10-23 09:50 am (UTC)(link)
Can you do this if you're buying from the Kobo store? I've been poking at my account online but I'm not seeing any options to download to my computer instead of the library.
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[personal profile] kathryn_scannell 2012-10-24 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
No idea, I'm afraid. I've never actually bought a book from the Kobo store. I've got lots of downloads from places like Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and so forth. I've bought from Smashwords, and an assortment of small publishers.

However, even if you can't buy from the Kobo store and move it to your computer directly, Calibre will let you copy files from your device to the Calibre library on your computer, so you could do it that way.
scifisentai: bookshelf with purple and blue lighting (bookshelf)

[personal profile] scifisentai 2012-10-24 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, excellent, thank you. I'll have to try that. <3
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[personal profile] tameiki 2012-10-23 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
Right now I'm loving my Sony readers a whole bunch more. I always download straight to my computer and then put them onto SD cards which then goes into my Sony ereader. And I refuse to buy any books that are DRM'd. Ever. Now I'm very glad I didn't buy a Kindle...
manifold: A travel poster of a Computer vomiting a rainbow, with the headline: "Bored? Scroll the infinite pages of the INTERNET." (internet vomits rainbows)

Update!

[personal profile] manifold 2012-10-23 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2012/10/rights-you-have-no-right-to-your-ebooks/index.htm

Internet shaming got her account reinstated. But still.
zombie: ([dmc] from a flow of honeyed brine)

[personal profile] zombie 2012-10-23 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad I got the Nook Color instead. I can read books from multiple vendors on it. Because that's super scary.
marilla_pm67: (* Something girly - Lips)

[personal profile] marilla_pm67 2012-10-27 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so glad I got a PRS 650 from Sony !!!
I bought some epub with DRM, but I don't think I have to be angsty about them.

Thanks
Sam.
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