Specifically:
When you plug them into USB into your PC or MAC, they no longer appear as external drives.
For anyone else who’s confused at the title
Critically, while they wont appear as drives, they will appear as MTP devices (the same way Android phones do) and will still allow you to transfer files. The communication protocol is different, but “New Kindle e-readers no longer appear on computers” isn’t true unless your OS of choice doesn’t support MTP.
Ok, but can you still transfer your own books through MTP?
Yes, including EPUB files
It must have been a slow day at the news office. Literally nothing special to write about, so this article was slapped together.
Ya I thought it was talking about advertising them or something
Glad I got a Kobo then.
Yep. Kobo is much better nowadays.
Very user-hostile, but very unsurprising.
Kindle hardware can be very nice, but almost every software decision is designed to keep users within their walled garden.
No epub support, no third party app support, no ability to load non-store audio, and now this. What a waste. These things could be so much more useful than they are.
Calibre has always been a small price to pay, but if sideloading goes away, I’ll certainly never “upgrade” again, and I’ll trash my 11th gen Paperwhite if they somehow make it stop working. Usable e-ink ereaders are even doable as DIY projects now, and Kobo will probably stay less closed-off than Amazon for a good while.
That said, reading the comments and the article it seems like as long as your OS (or some app) supports MTP, everything should still work more or less as it has, which is to say kind of annoying and with Amazon pulling little microaggressions like deleting your cover thumbnails, but overall sideloading should still function.
I bought 2 Kindle 4 and 2 Kindle keyboard on Ebay for $40 a couple years ago and couldn’t be happier.
I love love love the DIY electronics scene but for a device that’s meant to be held…I dunno. Ergonomics are usually an afterthought if considered at all. I can’t imagine a DIY e-reader being comfortable to use
Note: NOT shilling for Amazon here, I will never buy another Kindle
As much as the idea is cool, that display is also horrendous for reading. I could absolutely see it as “good enough” for a lot of projects, but not an ereader. 400x300 isn’t enough.
Abolish patent law.
Maybe replace it with some very strict non-extensible protection, based on time since patent registration or profit made with it, maybe something else, whichever happens earlier.
Either that or get used to oligopoly in every area of economics affected by electronics and computers and even all scientific advancement.
That this takes time to happen, doesn’t change the fact.
Isn’t that pretty much how parents work already? They’re extensible, sure, but only up to 20 years total. Not only that but you’re forced to document it too.
Maybe 20 years is too long.
Of course this comes out after I just purchased 2. Fucking vultures. It’s never enough.
You can just send 'em back and buy something else. Amazon will take any damn fool thing back.
Wow that is outrageous. Hopefully there are still sideloading ereaders on the market by the time my current one dies, I don’t want to have to go search for one on ebay.
YAR HAR FIDDLE-DEE-DEE 🎶 BEING A PIRATE IS ALRIGHT WITH ME 🎶
Many authors stipulate that their books must be sold on Amazon without DRM, so their readers can back up and use their books outside Amazon’s ecosystem. Does preventing users from accessing their files violate any conditions that were implied when people bought and sold books with that feature?
Sounds like time for some 3rd party bios flash…
I’ve owned two Kindle devices over the years, and the ability to directly load content, without involving a third-party service, was a big part of what made them usable for me. If that feature is gone, these devices will no longer be viable for my needs.
And the enshittification continues…
I’m in the same position as you. From what I gather you can still transfer files, I’m still buying a kobo when my voyage bites the dust.
Reminder: don’t buy things from Amazon.
Like, anything.
“But fast shipping!” No. Stop. Most places now have pretty good shipping, often for free if you happen to buy a certain amount. It’s OK if the thing comes in 3-5 days and not tomorrow. You will survive.*
*I know there’s a couple of niche cases where some people do need things quick and Amazon serves that purpose. But 99.999% of things are not that.
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I totally get that. And I have had that same experience once or twice. I break my own rule on those rare occasions where somehow the thing is only there.
The last time I bought from Amazon that I remember was in 2021 when I was putting together a new keyboard. Somehow they were the only ones that had the key caps I wanted. The only other place I could find them was Alibaba, and the shipping there was going to be literally 2 months according to the site.
But for normal items, I go to the seller as much as possible.*
(*And I know for some sellers it’s actually cheaper for them to use Amazon for shipping. I get it. But also, still, I don’t want to give Bezos money so I avoid it if possible.)
Kobo and Boox are better at making eReaders anyway.
I never heard of Boox.
I might get the Palma to replace my nearly dead Sony Reader.
Thank you for bringing that brand to my attention.
My kobo Libra 2 is way, way, WAY better than Amy of the Kindles or nooks I’ve owned. So good.
One thing amazon does that’s really useful is shipping to whole foods where you can pick up your item instead of it coming to your door which is really useful if you know someone will try to look through your mail
Cut Amazon shopping and subscriptions out of my life years ago and haven’t regretted it.
B&H and Home Depot have been two solid services for things they sell. Former is computer parts and photography. Both of them ship pretty damn fast.
Honestly, what convinced me to start using them was how increasingly difficult it is to get quality items on Amazon. Sifting through garbage gets old fast.
Shout out to B&H. I bought my drone from them, and they offered the same model bundle at a slightly lower price than Amazon and also offered next-day shipping for no charge.
They also have a physical retail store and real live people you can call if you have a question, unlike either winding up talking to a chatbot or being redirected to Mumbai after a 45 minute hold.
I don’t know these guys from a hole in the ground other than that, but they beat Amazon and that was good enough for me.
Agreed, and there’s also the bonus of much less likely to get a counterfeit item.
Counter argument: no.
For sure Amazon is predatory. For sure the services are overpriced. For sure they are killing Mom and Pop stores.
But you know what? I shop there for the same reason I shop at a Meijer or a Target or a Payless. Everything I want, one place, unified customer service, and it just shows up at my door. Probably 80% of my purchases are grocery delivery from Meijer and Amazon for basically everything else. Returns are no questions asked, service is fast, and selection is great, I just try not to buy amazon basics if I can help it.
Shipt, Uber whatever, GrubHub, etc etc delivery services that are supposed to solve the same problem are all fucking garbage. For sure I’m a corporate sellout, but I have a shitload of time to spend with my kids and my wife instead of fucking around with other services or driving around town and I’m not sorry about it 🤷
Edit: and with prime I got ad free movies, in home delivery, faster shipping, audible, and who knows what else besides. I won’t shop at Walmart so I’m probably a hypocrite, but I’m a hypocrite who is happy with the service for the money.
“I am unwilling to do even the least of changes to my lifestyle to improve life on earth” is not the flex you think it is. It’s honestly sad.
I’m not flexing. It’s a fact. Everybody makes choices and I am making mine. Do you own a car? And if you do, do you put gas in it, earth-raping heathen? Do you water your lawn? Have a gas lawnmower? How about solar panels?
I’m sure if we dig enough you’re shitty in some way too, yo.
There’s easy choices, hard choices and impossible choices. I don’t own a car, because I live in a place with good public transit and safe bike infra, so I wouldn’t stick it to someone who owns a car because they need it. I don’t keep a lawn, that’s stupid. Can’t remember last time I took a bath at home, no. It’s literally impossible to know the origin of most electronics you buy, but I rarely buy them and usually buy second hand. My electricity provider produces only renewable. I try to make better small choices along the way. I’m in no way perfect.
These are things that fit my lifestyle. Some are things you probably can’t do, and that’s fine. But not buying from the worst online shop in the world is one of the lowest hanging fruits. But sure, continue lying to yourself that personal change isn’t necessary. We’re not in a hurry.
It sounds like you don’t have to make ANY choices which must be pretty nice: it certainly makes it easy for you to judge other people!
I will absolutely take the easy road on getting non-food items we need twice a month to spend time with my kids and my wife. I would rather amazon than Alibaba, and I would rather do either than give up an hour of my time to shop something dumb like super glue with two kids under four.
I am also doing the best I can, and I’m sure you mean well, but you sure sound like an officious dickbag.
You’re trying to make it sound like the only options are buying super glue from amazon, or never see your kids. You are trying to paint a dramatic picture of reality that isn’t true just to justify your lazy lifestyle. I never said I didn’t have to make choices, on the contrary. Every day I have to make choices.
Bezos is also using his ownership of the Washington Post to silence the journalists there. So that’s fun.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/25/jeff-bezos-killed-washington-post-endorsement-of-kamala-harris-.html
It’s not fun and it’s not surprising. Billionaires are generally cancerous and they own a lot of shit. If you can avoid them all, more power to you. I guess it’ll be my fault if trump gets elected.
Yeah, I try to avoid Amazon as well, and just cancelling Prime went a long way toward motivating me to shop elsewhere. But we still order from Amazon a fair amount (far less than before we cancelled Prime), it just takes a bit longer.
Amazon is slower than pretty much everyone else in Germany, and it’s been like that for literal decades. To get almost universal next-day delivery nation-wide a shop needs to do exactly two things: Have the parcels ready by evening, and not be located in the absolute boondonks (which would mean two-day delivery).
Amazon, unless when ordering via premium shipping (included in prime but not worth it for that), takes days to even pack the parcel. Then they can spend a day or two sending it from one of their logistics centres to the other until handing it over to the actual parcel service.
What they do have going for them is the mindbogglingly huge selection. Pretty much the only upside, if you need five small things from what would be five different stores each having their order minimums for free shipping amazon is the sane choice.
Time to switch to lobo when my current oasis dies
I know it’s a typo, but the image of Lobo, DC’s heavy metal space biker, reading books to someone while they lie in bed is hilarious.
Well now I have to leave the typo hahaha
I checked my “content library” and I still have the option to download. Which is good, as I back everything up in Calibre. Maybe there are some regional factors here, or it may depend on which Kindle device(s) you own?
Comments on the article say that it’s not true, and new Kindles work exactly the way old ones do.
Seems like they don’t work exactly the same as they used to, as they now use MTP instead of USB mass storage, but while annoying, it’s generally a pretty trivial fix and your OS may already use MTP devices with no trouble. It seems there may be some other knock-on effects with fonts not sideloading right and needing a Calibre plugin to make pagination work how it used to.
So yeah, it’s getting worse, but Amazon hasn’t figured out how to bring the hammer down yet.
if you’re not opposed to using your already existing device, I suggest an app like ReadEra which uses multiple eBook formats.
if you’re uncomfortable using google play to download it, there are also fantastic libre readers on fdroid and independent sites that will also work beautifully.
i just like ReadEra cause it has so muvh customizability. and its one less device to take with me on long journies.
