“ Amazon’s biggest rival in the e-reader space has formed an official partnership with iFixit to provide repair kits and guides for its latest models.

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@dadbod
Amazon ended Browser based downloads last year and is added even more surveillance & control to Kindles & Apps (The Fire is simply a custom Android). So they right now have killed sales / downloads to all older models.
They are out of control
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Amazon
Most recent is Sat operator for iPhones.
Make too many returns (even if valid) and they will kill your account. Then access to all digital content on Amazon is gone.
Destroyed IMDB and Goodreads.
See Ring "doorbell"!

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@WanderingBeekeeper @dadbod
Also using Send to Kindle for Wirelessly copy to your Kindle or App gives Amazon a copy.
Almost no book is licenced for AI, at least by the author. A few publishers have done deals which may be illegal.
What is allowed in USA isn't a universal law.

[iris@neuromatch.social]

@dadbod I have a much older Kobo Clara 2E and I am both glad to see the direction of the company and disappointed that my ereader still declares itself capable of playing audiobooks, but only if they're bought from Kobo. It has Overdrive support and can load epubs from the library, but again, not audiobooks. Hope Kobo reassesses decisions like this for existing devices.

[j258853@toot.community]

@dadbod @HannahClover I switched from Kindle to Kobo Clara Colour and am very happy.

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@HollieK72 @christymarx @dadbod
For most of the world the non-Amazon alternatives for reflowable novels are
Kobo (Canadian / Japanese ownes German Tolino ereaders. Owned by Rakuten who does Viber Chat)
PocketBook Ukraine/Swiss (may have taken over or merged with Chinese BigMe)
Boox (Chinese)
reMarkable is Norwegian (?), but a one trick pony more aimed at PDF/Annotation (poor compared to TCL Nxtpaper 14 for PDF/Annotation).
The large TCL Nxtpaper 14 is best for fixed layout, illustrated & PDF

[cian@post.lurk.org]

@dadbod
Doesn't hurt that their e-readers are very good, and pretty robust (mine is nearly 10 years old, and works fine).

Very hackable too. Sideloading is trivial, and they don't seem to have a problem with it.

[livs_ord@mastodonsweden.se]

@dadbod Glad I got a Kobo!

[cian@post.lurk.org]

@sol_hsa @dadbod

You're holding them to impossible standards here.

Repairable does not mean that you can restore it to the factory state, or that all repairs are going to be cost efficient.

[sol_hsa@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@cian @dadbod well true. For most devices these days, battery change alone seems impossible.

[contrasocial@mastodon.social]

@raymaccarthy @HollieK72 @christymarx @dadbod

Not shilling for them, but my Kobo has been inoffensive. Their store has all the books I look for, and it also doesn't fight me when I upload ebooks I find in the public domain as well using calibre or w/e.

No real fuss, at least with the model I have.

[aaron_davis@toot.cat]

@dadbod That's awesome!

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@contrasocial @HollieK72 @christymarx @dadbod
I like the Kobo Sage and the mono Kobo Libra. Inexplicably they don't sell either now.
Kobo is best for Calibre
It can set subtitle, series, collection, publisher info/date, blurb as well as title & author. Linux / Mac / Windows. Reading status can be read /set. Annotations export via Kobo Utilities.

Libre Office Writer (copy past web or edit in odt). Extra SaveAs in docx & Calibre converts to ebook. Styles 1:1 CSS. Saved about 3000 sheets A4.

[sawaba@infosec.exchange]

@dadbod how painful is the ecosystem switch these days?