J T11h ago
Terence Eden
Amazon are killing off their old Kindles - notably the ones which still let you remove DRM from their ebooks.
I suspect that it is also because they can't connect to modern TLS servers.
A shame, although I was only using it for stripping DRM.
There are a few jailbreaks but the hardware and software is ancient, so I might have to repurpose mine as yet another semi-passive display.
#Amazon #Kindle #DRM
7:25amTusky
Show threadSimon Brooke12h ago
@Edent The devices -- at least mine, which is one of the first generation -- continue to work very well, and presumably we'll continue to be able to copy documents to them over a USB cable, which is all I use mine for now.
Show threadKeira (She/Her)12h ago

@Edent I still use my ancient Sony reader. The hardware and embedded software as been stable and fantastic since 2012.

But it can't be used with any DRM books anymore. I refuse to throw out hardware that works, so I pirate (but I do my best to also borrow from the library, or buy physical copies of books as gifts to make up for it).

Show threadTerence Eden12h ago
@keira_reckons Why not just buy the books and strip the DRM?
Or buy but then download a hooky copy?
Show threadJules she/her12h ago
@Edent well fuck 😢
Show threadRay McCarthy11h ago

@Edent
it's about control, not anti-piracy. The PW1 and earlier can't run the advanced tracking & control FW versions.

Don't dump. Use the Kindles for Gutenberg or ebooks from Kobo (not locked to Kobo apps/ereader, though many have Adobe DRM on the downloads).

Amazon previously ended downloads outside app / kindle.

Publishers/ Authors: Don't give Amazon exclusive rights!

Show threadPetra van Cronenburg11h ago
@Edent That means that Amazon makes it easier to kill all the connections to their company? 😉 My only one was the Kindle for getting books in different languages. I was already angry that I can't save my bought books with DRM to another device.
Show threadKoen Hufkens, PhD11h ago
@Edent Does this also apply for the old software clients?
Show threadTerence Eden11h ago
@koen_hufkens I am not Amazon. You'll need to ask them.
Show threadSimon B11h ago
@Edent what's particularly annoying for me is that I have a Kindle scribe and a paperwhite 1st gen that I read interchangably depending on situation and carry space. I use the amazon sync to keep my reading position synced, and using send to kindle I can't make books appear on the devices without plugging into a computer and faffing about.
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂11h ago

@Edent I have a 4 gen Kindle that I use daily (since 2011!) and absolutely love because of its physical buttons to turn the pages.

I love it so much I bought an identical one on eBay a year ago to have a backup.

In November of last year I jailbroke both of them... and I intend to continue to use them for as long as they will work 🥲

Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥11h ago

@Edent Imagine a publisher discontinuing support for paper.

This is why a corporation should never be in between media and the consumer with license 'management' or DRM.

Show threadDeborah Pickett11h ago
@Edent Looks like the device window is now 6th Generation (Paperwhite 2, not covered by this announcement) to 10th Generation (Last firmware 5.18.2, reputed to work with DeDRM Tools). Fortunately I have an archaeological record of old Kindles in a drawer, containing two devices within this window. Charging up the Oasis now to become my DeDRM device.
Show threadTerence Eden10h ago
@futzle TBH, it is easier to buy from Kobo. The DRM is trivial to strip and they price match Kindle.
There are some Amazon only exclusives, but they seem rarer these days.
Show threadDeborah Pickett10h ago
@Edent Agree, my own reader is a Kobo. Partner reads a lot of romance that is exclusive to Amazon, so moving hasn’t been an option.
Show threadGraeme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿10h ago
@Edent Now maybe the time to stop using the kindle store. The laughable thing is, given the tech they have, they sent out a generic email rather than one listing the applicable devices you actually have!
But the real pisser is that my most recent knidle, and the last one before they systematically enshittified the OS, is listed despite buying it in 2020!
So they want an awful lot of folk to buy new devices. I don't see that working well for them.
Show threadShaun McDonald10h ago
@Edent I recently replaced the screen on my Kindle Keyboard 3G to keep it going longer. I guess I need to get used to putting things on it via USB now.
Show threadDerick Rethans10h ago
@Edent I've just jailbroken my ancient PW1 with https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/index.html
Show threadNormanDunbar7h ago
@derickr @Edent Thanks for the link. What has jailbreaking given you please? (Before I go down that route myself.)
Show threadDerick Rethans7h ago
@NormanDunbar @Edent A third-party ebooks reader that understand more than just Amazon's format, and tinkering possibilities.
Show threadNormanDunbar7h ago

@derickr @Edent Sounds good. I shall give it a go and see where I get to.

Thank you.

Show threadBob Hannent9h ago
@Edent
I wanted to buy an ebook for my son, I was surprised how expensive the open platform ones are.
It's holding me back.
Show threadGary 9h ago

@bobdvb @Edent yeah, the Amazon devices are almost certainly loss leaders, even when you pay extra to have no ads.

Consider a second hand older Kindle and root it/put alternate firmware or reader app on it?

Show threadPetra van Cronenburg8h ago

@bobdvb I think that all readers are quite the same price in production, some companies like Amazon only subsidise them ...

With an epub reader you are already out of their prison ...

@Edent

Show threadMr. Lance E Sloan (IRL) 👤9h ago
@Edent
I have an old Kindle given to me by somebody who didn't want it anymore. I was hoping to jailbreak it to use it as a simple tablet without Amazon dependencies. I hope this news won't prevent that.
Show threadSueDiOh7h ago
@Edent I have books that are decades old that still work. Every time.
Show threadFrank Heijkamp7h ago
@SueDiOh
Just wait until the publisher knocks on your door, walks in and takes those books away.
@Edent
Show threadTerence Eden7h ago

@alterelefant @SueDiOh
I have books which are decades old which can't be found in stores any more - I simply can't buy a replacement.. I also have books which are damaged too much by water and sunlight - they're no longer readable.

eBooks are superior in all the ways that matter. Once the DRM is removed they're effectively immortal.

Show threadSueDiOh3h ago
@alterelefant @Edent Well, I only own one copy of each. There are lots more where these came from.
Show threadLaemenPang7h ago
@Edent #Kobo
Show threadTerence Eden7h ago
@focusedontheberry #Sandwiches
Show threadJohn Griffith7h ago

@Edent

I switched to Kobo years ago because you can check out library e books via overdrive seamlessly (I'm in New York state USA ). My local library system supports overdrive and so does the New York City public library. Any resident of New York state is eligible for a library card/account at the city public library.

You can use overdrive on a kindle but Amazon has put a lot more friction into the process

Show threadeighthourlunch7h ago
@Edent Fuckers.
Show threadNatalyaD4h ago

@Edent Ugh. I hate that our governments let Amazon and others make something obsolescent when it's otherwise fine. I will see if anyone wants my Kindle 3 to jailbreak cos I can't cope with the flashing page turn mode and had lost it when I was last able to sell it on.

I will look at Kobo and stripping DRM if I can read the damned epubs in FBReader as I find the Kobo Reader doesn't give me the colour combos and visual layouts I usually need.