The Amazon Kindle War Against Piracy

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

LLMs, OCR, and Ebook Piracy

  • Several comments claim LLMs with image input make extracting books from Kindles easier than from physical books.
  • Debate over using LLMs as “smart OCR”:
    • Pro-LLM side: context-aware guessing yields cleaner, more readable text at scale than traditional OCR’s random garbage characters.
    • Opposing view: silent hallucinations are worse than visible OCR errors because you can’t tell where the text deviates from the original.
  • Some people already use LLMs to ingest textbook pages, then have interactive tutoring, grading, and language practice — including explicitly for pirated textbooks.

Amazon DRM Changes and Sideloading

  • New Kindle firmware reportedly uses hardware-backed DRM and tries to look up ASINs even for sideloaded files, causing “Invalid ASIN” errors.
  • Many see blocking or breaking sideloading as “tyrannical” or “draconian,” others argue hardware keys are just industry-standard DRM.
  • Some users report Amazon-delivered and sideloaded books interacting badly (e.g., covers disappearing, sideloaded versions vanishing if Amazon sells the same title).

Alternatives to Kindle and Ecosystem Lock‑In

  • Multiple commenters have moved to Kobo, Boox, Pocketbook, or Onyx devices; common reasons:
    • Native EPUB support, easier DRM removal, and integration with libraries (OverDrive/Libby on Kobo).
    • Ability to run KOReader or Android apps, and more open file handling.
  • Some still like Kindle hardware but keep devices in airplane mode and load everything via USB/Calibre.
  • Others prefer tablets (iPad, e‑ink Android, Daylight DC‑1) for flexibility, at the cost of battery life and eye comfort.

Piracy, Libraries, and Author Compensation

  • Heavy mention of Libgen/Anna’s Archive as default sources to avoid Amazon and DRM.
  • Ethical arguments:
    • Critics: piracy doesn’t pay writers; libraries at least buy copies and often compensate via lending schemes.
    • Defenders: treat piracy like a “try before you buy” library; buy physical or DRM‑free copies of books they love or gift them.
  • One working author claims higher piracy correlates with higher sales (via discovery and word of mouth), though others question causation and note this may change at very high popularity.
  • Some insist they will pay only for DRM‑free files (e.g., direct from publishers, Baen, Humble, ebooks.com, Kobo).

Ownership, Licensing, and Software Updates

  • Strong sentiment that “buying” DRM’d ebooks is closer to renting, since access can be altered or revoked by remote updates.
  • Philosophical debate about what “owning” means when cars, homes, and digital goods can be taken or disabled under various legal or technical regimes.
  • Several comments highlight the asymmetry: companies lock down devices with DRM while simultaneously scraping the open web (including pirated sources) for AI training.

User Coping Strategies

  • Common tactics:
    • DeDRM all Kindle purchases via Calibre and keep local backups.
    • Use old/jailbroken Kindles with KOReader; keep Wi‑Fi off indefinitely.
    • Switch future purchases to DRM‑light vendors (Kobo, publisher sites, Adobe‑DRM stores) and strip DRM before transferring.
  • Some welcome Amazon’s tightening as a clear signal to stop investing in its walled garden.