You can use the Kindle to read certain formats, but the Kindle ebook format is proprietary. You wouldn’t be able to purchase books from other retailers and download them to the device. You would either have to hack the Kindle OS and change the “cloud” pointer or download the ebook in another format to your workstation and copy it via the USB cable.f
This saddens me too. I’ve been using Overstock for miscellany and specific retailers for other purchases (i.e. computers and electronics from NewEgg).
You can often get books directly from the publishers in the MOBI format for the Kindle, like Baen books for example http://www.baen.com/library/. You need never get a single book from Amazon.
A. Drop the stupid e-books.
B. Use Abebooks or any number of good book dealers. It’s cheaper, you get first-editions, signeds and all kinds of goodies.
C. The books the liberals hate, tend to get into the antique-dealers fast and extra-cheap.
I wish there was an alternative. I was disappointed to learn that Bezos was doing this. Guess we need to all email and tell him we’re not going to do business with them anymore and I really enjoy my Fire, too.
There is always the library...
Thanks for asking the question. We, regretfully, have 2 Kindle fires in the household and I wish to avoid Amazon at all costs now.
Many if not all books on Project Gutenberg are in the MOBI (Kindle) format.
Also, don’t overlook using newsreader to download MOBI books (alt.binaries.kindle). You’ll want to get a copy of calibre.app to store and process other formats, which it will do as long as they aren’t DRM protected.
I have found that even EPUB books can be read on a Kindle (sometimes have to run through Calibre, however).
Thanks for the info. I really do not care where company officials donate their personal funds...but when they go big time like Amazon, they’re off my list. Too bad, ‘cuz Amazon used to get a lot of my money.
No longer.
Shove it up your smelly Obamas, Amazon. And next time, keep your nightly activities - or activity support - to yourselves.
Does anyone have suggestions about who to contact at Amaazon to register a protest (and boycott plans) with?
If you want to order actual books, I recommend alibris or powells in Portland Or. And I would write to amazon and tell them why they are losing my business.
do you like science fiction?
http://www.baen.com/library/books.asp
Free books, from the publisher, in several different file formats
Amazon was my favorite etailer, to the tune of over $10K per year for the past 7-8 years.
NO MORE!!!!
My account is closed; they will never see another penny from me or my family.
You can find most books with a browser search nowadays, just search the title.mobi , title.epub, or title.pdf. May need to wade through some questionable sites at times but if your firewall is robust and you know how to download torrents you’ll find that pretty much every book is out there free for the taking. Heck I’ve seen some massive libraries of 10’s of thousands of novels all wrapped up into one big (20gb?) torrent.
I bought The Bride a Nook. She’s tickled with it.
I used to order Amazon; not after learning this.
Return the Kindle and ask for a refund.
They will take it back
Used book stores. I found a great one here.
My wife has a Kindle.....she hasn’t paid for any books up til now she just downloads the free one’s.
You’ll have to stop using computers too.
Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates contributed $100 grand each to the same cause as Bezos and Apple is run by a gay guy.
I have a Nook Color and a Kindle Fire. I’m not bothered by Jeff’s politics at all. But if you are, get a Nook or a Kobo Touch both read epub. Download a freeware program called Calibre which is pretty good at converting almost everything. Get a tablet and with apps you can read everything. Moonreader is good, some people like Aldiko. It’s just not that big of a deal AFAIC.
Sure. I buy books from Books A Million, convert them with the free Calibre utility, and read them on my Kindle Touch all of the time. You are not locked into Amazon’s format.