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Comment by harshreality

3 months ago

I don't know what state it's in (haven't used it in years), but do apprenticealf's DeDRM tools, which has been forked to nodrm/DeDRM_tools, still handle kindle PC app downloads? Tinkering with old versions of the PC app might work even if the current version doesn't, and there's a registry hack to disable kfx downloading and get azw3 instead, which worked at some point... it's outlined in apprenticealf's DeDRM repo, at the wiki link provided at the top of the repo's README, in the short section saying it's no longer maintained.

That would provide a closer-to-original version of the ebook, rather than just a visually similar one.

That any of this is necessary at all is absurd. Hats off to anyone with the patience to bypass Amazon's DRM rather than giving up on the Amazon ebook ecosystem entirely.

39 comments

harshreality

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ashton314  3 months ago

The thing that killed the download -> crack DRM workflow is that Amazon removed the "download and transfer via USB" option. I haven't bought an ebook from Amazon since.

The only viable option would be to buy the book and then pirate a de-DRM'd copy.

  • latexr  3 months ago

    Might as well send the author the money directly, instead of spending it all on publishers and middlemen that you’re specifically trying to avoid. When you do, include a note on how their chosen method of sale is most hostile to legitimate consumers and recommend some DRM-free book stores.

    • WithinReason  3 months ago

      Here is a breakdown of how much money the author gets (from Fabien Sanglard):

      https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbdoom/

      When I upload the PDF on Amazon, a minimal price is automatically calculated. In the case of the DOOM, Amazon sets the minimal price at $51.35.

      There is a slider which authors can use in order to add their "share" on top of Amazon price. I have added $3.88 which Amazon also takes a cut on. The result is $1.59 royalty and $0.77 profit per book sold.

      4 replies →

  • felixhammerl  3 months ago

    For those with an old Kindle, couldn't you download it onto the Kindle and then pull it off of there via USB?

  • bambax  3 months ago

    Most of the books I read are from authors long dead (current one: Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit, by Frank H. Knight, highly recommended). They don't need the money.

mapontosevenths  3 months ago

I pay for a tool called epubor that strips DRM from kindle, kobo, Adobe, etc and converts it epub. It works with the current version if the app. It gets updates when it stops working.

Feels jank to pay for the book AND pay to free it, but that's the world we live in.

  • boredhedgehog  3 months ago

    Epubor is merely plagiarism. They take open-source code and sell it without crediting the author. You can have all the functionality for free.

    • mapontosevenths  3 months ago

      I'm sure you're right, but I'm not sure I care. I mean obviously I would prefer they give credit where it's due, but even writing those tools in the first place is a felony in some countries. It's not like they're robbing someone of their livelihood and the value they add by putting Kobo, Kindle, Nook, and Adobe all in one place with a built-in format convertor is really high.

  • thunkle  3 months ago

    I just paid for it, downloaded the kindle app, and dragged the .awz8 file and it says it doesn't support the format!

    • mapontosevenths  3 months ago

      I think you might be doing something wrong then? Maybe you have the wrong file? The Kindle For PC app should always give you azw files, not azw8 (even if it does use the newer format they're all just named azw).

      It should show up in the epubor app on the Kindle tab after you install the kindle app and used it to download your books. No need to drag and drop from the file system it's all right there in the app. It finds Kindle, Kobo, etc and lists them.

      EDIT - Make sure you leave the Kindle app running. I think it needs to be able to read the keys from memory or something.