What happens to my Kindle stories when Amazon dies? And what about music from streaming services? Say 10 or 20 years from now, some of those corporations go out of business, do stories on Kindle disappear? Does music in my library disappear? What if it happens tomorrow instead of decades from now?
That all depends on the terms of service and if the files have DRM that requires checking in with a server. There is no single accurate answer, but you should assume if you do not have physical copies or DRM-free copies, you will lose it all.
That all depends on the terms of service and if the files have DRM that requires checking in with a server.
Kindle does not have DRM that requires checking in with a server. As long as the e-book has been downloaded to local storage, kindle readers work just fine without an internet connection.
I have first hand knowledge of this. I used to have a Kindle paper white device, and I currently have Kindle readers on both a Windows PC and an Android tablet.
Kindle does not have DRM that requires checking in with a server. As long as the e-book has been downloaded to local storage, kindle readers work just fine without an internet connection.
Right, but...
Assume you want to replace your computer. Can you simple copy or move the folder containing your Kindle books to the new computer? Can you install the reader program on the new computer without a connection to Amazon?
This is the simplest case, your old computer is still accessible.
But how when the computer is broken down? Retrieve them from a backup?
How to replace a Kindle device? (without Amazon, you may get a used Kindle, but how to transfer the books?).
My printed paperbacks from 1960 are still readable, but electronically stored data? I've still some old 5¼ in. floppy disks with different capacities; 3½ in. floppy disks with different capacities; small high capacity data cassettes (used in several backup systems); Iomega zip100 cassettes and an external zip drive with a 25-pin RS232 data cable; 3½ in. MO (magneto-optical) disks with 128 MB, 230 MB, 540 MB, 640 MB (the oldest disks-128MB unreadable on the latest drives); rewriteable CDs; DVD-RAM disks.
Even hard disks removed for back-up storage with interfaces no longer used in modern PCs and no drivers for those 'ancient' disks.
Digital storage? Unreliable!
HM.
Assume you want to replace your computer. Can you simple copy or move the folder containing your Kindle books to the new computer? Can you install the reader program on the new computer without a connection to Amazon?
For Kindle Reader for PC, yes (I've done it).
For a Kindle paper white, yes, but it's a multi step pain in the ass process.
For Kindle for Android, maybe, if you are configured to store your Kindle books on an SD card.
But how when the computer is broken down? Retrieve them from a backup?
Depends on the nature of the break down.
When I replaced my last computer, to save the time and cost of having the data on my old computer's 2TB drive copied to the new computer, I had the shop install the drive from my old computer on the new one as a secondary drive.
IIRC, you can then import the old library files into the new install.
As long as the drive on the old computer is good, you could do something similar.
How to replace a Kindle device? (without Amazon, you may get a used Kindle, but how to transfer the books?).
Dedicated Kindle readers (the paper white devices) don't support removable media. However, it is possible to access the storage on a Kindle by plugging it into a PC. It will see the Kindle as a USB drive. It is possible to manually load e-books on a Kindle reader this way.
Dedicated Kindle readers (the paper white devices) don't support removable media. However, it is possible to access the storage on a Kindle by plugging it into a PC. It will see the Kindle as a USB drive. It is possible to manually load e-books on a Kindle reader this way.
I tried hooking my Kindle to my iMac. There are only two places on the Kindle to hook up anything. I could find no way to make the iMac think the Kindle was a USB device. As far as I can tell, I have no way to access files on the Kindle. I assume they ARE on the Kindle, because I can access them when the Kindle is not hooked up to anything.
Kindle does not have DRM that requires checking in with a server. As long as the e-book has been downloaded to local storage, kindle readers work just fine without an internet connection.
So, where on my computer is it stored? How do I search to find the file(s)?
So, where on my computer is it stored? How do I search to find the file(s)?
On your Kindle for PC: Tools|Options, then select the Content tab. It will show the current location of your Kindle Library.
For Me, that's: c:\Users\Owner\Documents\My Kindle Content
What happens to my Kindle stories when Amazon dies?
Amazon is unlikely to die any time soon.
The big muddy river will probably continue to flow nearly forever. You may need to learn Portuguese to visit Brazil to see it, eventually.
The big muddy river will probably continue to flow nearly forever. You may need to learn Portuguese to visit Brazil to see it, eventually.
I am going to comment with a no comment.
The big muddy river will probably continue to flow nearly forever.
That depends on how much more deforestation there is. In the future, people (evolved from cockroaches after humans caused their own extinction) might talk about the Amazon Desert, just as we talk about the Sahara desert.
AJ
Printed copies are the only reliable, no-hardware-required means to preserve stories (or art works, instruction manuals, chemistry formulae...).
Besides the possibility of Amazon going out of business, or getting into some other, unrelated business instead, there's always other possible problems. Government decides you aren't supposed to read something, or changes documents to remove "non-woke" thoughts and ideas. Or to change history. That could even happen while you read, just like Windows updates.
If you have to have an internet connection to read it - it isn't safe. It isn't yours, despite the fact that you may have paid for it.
Buy a laser printer and lots of paper.
If you have to have an internet connection to read it - it isn't safe.
How can I determine whether I have to have an internet connection to read it? What I do is click on the Kindle icon and it gives me a bunch of book covers. I click on the book cover to read the book. If there's a local file that I could print out or copy, I have no idea where such a thing would be located.
How can I determine whether I have to have an internet connection to read it?
Shut off your internet connection and open a kindle book with your Kindle reader.
Impossible to say until it happens, but I can give two opposite examples.
Years ago I had an account on one of the first generation digital store-fronts for games. I can't recall which one. When they collapsed there was a brief period (a few months) in which users were encouraged to download backup copies of everything in their personal libraries. These new downloads had online DRM removed if applicable. Then the site disappeared and my library ceased to exist.
I also have a large collection of DVDs and BluRay discs. With the latter many came with digital copies. A couple of years ago when those services went out of business, they implemented a one-time pairing with a more major store. I went with Google, but I know there were others. Took a few minutes to log in and pair both sites, then presto! A couple of hundred new items in my Google library.
So these are the two extremes. They've happened before, they'll happen again. When Amazon dies because Bezos' head-in-a-jar falls off a shelf in the Zuckerberg Presidential Library, either their accounts will disappear overnight, they'll be transferred to another service, or something more measure in between will happen.
You almost never ever own anything outright you buy digitally, whether it's an eBook, a song, a movie. You buy a (temporary) license to access it as long as it is provided to you.
The terms of service always put the purchaser on the back foot. The provider basically can drop the media anytime they want, for whatever reason, and you have absolutely nil access to it.
That's why I still buy CDs, BD/DVD, and hardcopy books where possible.
And the most delicious example of this?
Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle
By Brad Stone
July 17, 2009
In George Orwell's "1984," government censors erase all traces of news articles embarrassing to Big Brother by sending them down an incineration chute called the "memory hole."
On Friday, it was "1984" and another Orwell book, "Animal Farm," that were dropped down the memory hole — by Amazon.com.
In a move that angered customers and generated waves of online pique, Amazon remotely deleted some digital editions of the books from the Kindle devices of readers who had bought them.
An Amazon spokesman, Drew Herdener, said in an e-mail message that the books were added to the Kindle store by a company that did not have rights to them, using a self-service function. "When we were notified of this by the rights holder, we removed the illegal copies from our systems and from customers' devices, and refunded customers," he said.
... ...
"It illustrates how few rights you have when you buy an e-book from Amazon," said Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer for British Telecom and an expert on computer security and commerce. "As a Kindle owner, I'm frustrated. I can't lend people books and I can't sell books that I've already read, and now it turns out that I can't even count on still having my books tomorrow."
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html
You almost never ever own anything outright you buy digitally, whether it's an eBook, a song, a movie. You buy a (temporary) license to access it as long as it is provided to you.
The terms of service always put the purchaser on the back foot. The provider basically can drop the media anytime they want, for whatever reason, and you have absolutely nil access to it.
That will never happen to me because I will never buy a book from which I can't remove the DRM. And removing that DRM is the first step I will take after buying it. Screw the terms of service that dictate that you actually don't own the book.
This is definitely not to illegally distribute the book but in my view when I bought a book it is mine to do with as I could with a paper copy. Being dependent to the whims of a company that can remove a book that I paid for is unthinkable, even if they refund it. In my eyes that's plain theft. Amazon won't have that problem with me because I don't buy from a company that I personally consider a criminal organization.
An Amazon spokesman, Drew Herdener, said in an e-mail message that the books were added to the Kindle store by a company that did not have rights to them, using a self-service function. "When we were notified of this by the rights holder, we removed the illegal copies from our systems and from customers' devices, and refunded customers," he said.
(My Bold)
Good for Amazon. Copyright upheld.
SoL authors who have had their stories put on Amazon by others should be pleased, hopefully Amazon will continue to uphold copyright to ALL authors.
They upheld the copyright, but as I recall they lost a lawsuit because of how they did it. Some guy was writing a thesis on Orwell and had tons of notes on his Kindle edition so he lost all those notes when Amazon wiped the book. He go a fair bit of money and I'd imagine Amazon handles that sort of thing differently now. I know they keep track of notes and highlights when I borrow a book on Kindle Unlimited and they're still there if I return it and borrow it again. I wonder if they could transfer all the notes from one edition of 1984 to another? Even assuming the page numbers don't match it'd be a lot better than losing them.
Well first off I only download epub files and save them on multi thumb drives along with a free epub reader program that I never have a problem with.
As for losing files if the computer crashes, if it isn't a hard drive crash I use a device that lets you plug in a hard drive via usb port to access the drive files. There are 2 devices one for old drives and new drives.
If you must rely on digital storage, then go with the flow - whatever is the most popular/common device at the moment. Right now, a removeable USB drive is cheap, common, and plugs into most anything.
Some day, those will go out of favor, and eventually no one will have anything that they can plug into.
It's your job to keep up with progress, and make copies of anything valuable on whatever medium is the current favorite. Rinse and repeat as time goes by. Treat your reading material like a business treats its accounts receivable. Make backups!
And don't read 'em on anything that has internet conection. Most devices I own have a way to disconnect from wifi. Someday, that may no longer be possible, and you may have to do your reading in the woods away from cell phone service and wifi hotspots.
I am somewhat of a packrat and still have 100's of 3 1/4 disc's I have no use for but I still also have 2 computers that have the drives for them.
still have 100's of 3 1/4 disc's I have no use for but I still also have 2 computers that have the drives for them.
Back in the 1970s, my company had a crash that lost critical data. Thankfully, we had the backup tapes in a vault in Iron Mountain. The problem was, we no longer had the tape drives to mount the very old, obsolete, tapes on.
Keep in mind when you purchase a digital copy of a book, video or album, you do not own it. You have only purchased a license to use for your personal consumption. You never own it as long as you play by their rules.
For ebooks, I highly recommend downloading Calibre eBook management software. There are instructions for stripping DRM from these books and using a cloud service such as Dropbox to store your books. You can also convert ePub to Amazon and vice versa once the DRM is removed. When I buy a book from either Amazon or Apple, I add it to Calibre and then remove DRM and it is automatically backed up to Dropbox. I have Dropbox on my iPad so I can download directly to Apple Books without taking up iPad memory.
What happens to my Kindle stories when Amazon dies?
Truth is that once Amazon is past its Prime, your stories will become dangerously volatile. So prepare for a consonant risk of your vowels exploding.