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From: Torbjorn Lindgren <tl@none.invalid>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Amazon to remove download/transfer via USB option for ebooks?
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2025 16:31:12 -0000 (UTC)
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Jaimie Vandenbergh  <jaimie@usually.sessile.org> wrote:
>On 22 Feb 2025 at 06:45:15 GMT, ""Default User""
><defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan wrote:
>>> In article <vp9cc1$3acdu$1@dont-email.me>,
>>> Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> For the most part, I've moved away from Amazon to Kobo, which gives
>>>> you epub files that you can download. You can use Calibre to
>>>> convert epubs to mobi or azw3 to use on a kindle device if you want.
>> 
>>> I still get azw/azw3 files as I still use the 2011 "Kindle Keyboard"
>>> device.  The new ones don't have an aux jack, plus Calibre decrypt
>>> still works.
>> 
>> I don't have any actual Kindle devices, just apps for Windows and iOs.
>> The ability to get a workable file for those ended some time back.
>
>Kindles download the same encrypted files, so you couldn't decrypt them
>by USB copy either.

"USB Copy" normally refers to downloading it on Amazon's website "for"
a physical Kindle - so far this has ALWAYS resulted in the older
(trivially crackable) format even if it's locked to the serial number
of a brand new Kindle which would download the new format if
downloading via Wifi/4G (and every possible firmware version for it
support the new system).

So what you say is true but not relevant for this discussion. It's
also different to downloads for the apps where they closed this
specific loophole many years ago.

They're now finally closing the last loophole. Or at least closing in
some circumstances, I didn't get that text in Amazon when I downloaded
a purchase about one week ago (long after other reported seeing it).


So it's possible they're only doing this for US accounts but I think
it's more likely their notification is broken and that they're
dropping the KF8/AZW3 format completely. I guess having less formats
will save a bit of storage.

The KFX format came out in 2015 and support was backported to their
2013 and up Kindle models. So we're talking 11+ year old devices, not
sure they can even connect to Amazon's website any longer - I know the
Kindle Keyboard from 2010 can't due to certificate issues.

Yes, there will be SOME old Kindle left in use that can't handle KFX
format but they're going to be RARE enough that Amazon is unlikely to
care. And it's not just batteries, all mine that are old enough are
long since dead from other reasons - IE won't charge battery but a new
battery doesn't fix it so... "broken". Some of these were already on
their second battery when something else broke.