@hollie @neocolapsar I'm not sure how far back this goes, but on the new models Kobo actually mentions repairability as a selling point.
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Many of us authors also offer our ebooks for direct purchase from our sites. No DRM and they can be downloaded to be read on your computer or phone. My Android phone has an app called Lithium that I use to read ebooks. I've not used it long but it's worked well so far.
@crcollins I always check author sites for this reason! :)
@hollie
You are breaking the DRM solely so you can read what you purchased on the device of your choosing, right? Not to make copies and distribute.
@screwturn Yes, that's correct. People should be allowed to put a book they own on any other device they want to use with which to read that book.
@hollie
As a writer, that is entirely fine by me. If you buy one of my books, it's yours to read forever
@hollie Presumably they'll eventually drop support for older hardware - it's a lot to ask for a company to keep 15-year-old devices maintained. But I agree that they have done a good job, and I love my Kobo.
WAY easier to crack than my Kindle books were...
@hollie Totally agree! I got an Amazon Kindle e-reader more than 10 years ago (because I didn't really care back then), but the device is really great and robust, and in combination with Calibre I can now read whatever I want without giving amazon any more money! I also "borrow" a lot of e-books from the library (cannot install the app, so have to break DRM on those too).
@hollie I'm still using the first Kobo I bought. A Kobo Glo. I bought it in 2013. The only problem is the old battery. It doesn't last like it used to.
@neocolapsar I wish we could replace these easier! It'd be so cool if this were something we could repair.
@hollie @neocolapsar I'm not sure how far back this goes, but on the new models Kobo actually mentions repairability as a selling point.
@whami @neocolapsar Oh heck! That's good to know!
I just checked the Help section of the website and yeah, the Kobo Libra Colour I have is designed to be repaired! 😁
https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/21137184146071-Repair-your-Kobo-eReader
@hollie I have the previous model of the Libra and adore it. The Libra line is the best all-round ereader in existence. I was gifted a Clara Color that a friend didn't want. I like it, but still prefer the Libra.
@whami Can I ask what you like better about it? Sometimes I think of picking up a used old model as a gift or backup, so I'm curious what your experience has been?
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@hollie
“You don't need Amazon for literally anything book-related at this point. [...] If an author only sells on Amazon, well, that's a choice they made.“
If that's where their readers are it's hardly a choice. The system is at fault for capturing and locking in users, not the users themselves (be it readers or authors).
@heygarrett Sorry, to be more specific, I meant, if that's the _only_ place they sell. As in, some authors have books on Amazon but also through their website or in other spaces.
Edit: Oh, I did actually say it correctly in the post.
I found out recently that Amazon has a download link in the book management system for books that do not have DRM. A couple of great indie authors I like do not put DRM on their books, so I'm able to buy them at Amazon and download them. For awhile they did not have this possibility. I'm happy for this, because both of these authors are on Kindle Unlimited and cannot offer books elsewhere as a result. I know that they do get a good percentage of income through KU and I respect their decision to use it. But, yes, I buy mostly from Kobo now and I do like using the Kobo ereaders.
@ajlewis2 I'm so glad they let you search that way, that's great!
I massively appreciate indie authors who choose not to put DRM on.
To be clear, I don't use Kindle Unlimited. I've been buying books from 3 indie authors for years at Amazon. I continued getting their books even after the change Amazon made. So I bought the books and then happened to find out that that 2 of the authors had no DRM and had gone through the trouble to set them to be downloadable. The 3rd author uses DRM. The bad news is that Amazon does not provide a way to search for DRM-free books like some distributors do. Maybe if they figure out they are losing sales they will make it possible to search for those books.
@ajlewis2 Oh! Yeah that is too bad, it seems like it would be a great way to improve sales! But yeah it does go against their corporate values, heh.
@hollie Can you download and break Kobo DRM without physically owning a Kobo?
I’d love an easier way to own my ebook library than my current Amazon workflow (granted I don’t buy a lot, I mostly just do Libby, but still a couple hundred books at the moment).
@roguefoam you can easily buy and download the .ascm files from the Kobo store
Drop that to Calibre (with the DeASCM and DeDRM plugins) and you're good to go
@joel @roguefoam Oh well there you go. :)
@roguefoam @hollie
Yeah, with Calibre.
But I love my hardware Kobo. I can read in the bath and it doesn’t interrupt me with bullshit.
@JoshuaACNewman @roguefoam Well but specifically CJ is asking (I'm assuming) if you need the serial number of a Kobo ereader as an ingredient in the plugin that Calibre uses to break the DRM, and I don't know for sure if you do, but my Calibre app DOES have, in the Kobo Utilities plugin, my Kobo's serial number.
But it's a technical question as to whether that serial number is required for the DRM breakage the same way that you weren't able to break a kindle book without authorizing Calibre with your Kindle's serial number. Seems like a safe bet though? I'm sorry I don't know enough about the plugin to be sure.
@hollie @JoshuaACNewman @roguefoam you can download Kobo books to any android device, (and iPads etc I believe) and read them on any browser so I'm guessing no on the physical device serial number
@hollie @roguefoam
Ironically, I’m only unsure because I don’t think any of my Kobo books have DRM anyway. I fiddled around with some sort of circumvention years ago and don’t remember the details. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯