Printer-friendly version
Author:
Amazon just changed my entire Kindle library from purchased to borrowed.
No one there can tell me why.
charlie.
Comments
“paper-less office” and “accessible anywhere cloud” ideas
That is my biggest and longest held complaint / pet peeve / gripe with the whole “paper-less office” and “accessible anywhere cloud” ideas. It takes but one little electronics glitch and POOF!!! everything you thought you owned is gone, together with any and all evidence of it. And it is virtually impossible to recreate.
And let us not forget the reliability of the good old Mark 1 memory banks that we tend to call “my memory”!
It it does not get written down on a piece of physical paper, it will eventually be gone. No aspersions to pieces of physical paper floating around our living spaces.
Dead Trees Rock
Dozens and dozens of stories and data in seven HD in a box from failed computers. The hundreds, thousands of hours involved in researching, assembling personal and medical info from girls, women, friends, doctors in those HD and floppy disks. Domains that were and no longer are like those who ran them. Reams of paper still relevant, a lot isn't as the data was tied back to the HDs and floppies. So much history buried so deeply back in Google it would take take a super computer to pull it up again hidden millions of web pages deep. So much of the transgender pioneer work by girls ahead of me, us, lost because they weren't front page news.
It isn't only stories that have been lost in our rush into the digital age. We also lost a lot of or personal self. I truly feel tg is a gift and wish those so blessed could feel the same even when abused and persecuted for being different. We're less than one percent of the population. How special is that! Galileo was one of those out of step with mass thinking and was persecuted. Keep in mind all those society hated when you feel alone in the world.
Hugs People
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Galileo was specifically
Galileo was specifically persecuted because he decided to write what amounted to political attacks on the Pope. It had little to do with science. Poke the bear with a stick....
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Notwithstanding the issue of lost data……
Or possessions, which I think most of us have dealt with to one extent or another, there is one thing that bothered me about your comment.
I fail to see how being transgendered could be considered a gift. Yes, in a way it does give me a unique perspective on life - my sons have pointed that out to me a few times, that I have a way of seeing things differently than either them or their mother. Decades of living as a man do give me that perspective, as well as the ability to see things from a female viewpoint - which has of course come much more to the fore since my transition.
However, how can living with the pain and anguish of dysphoria for decades be seen as a gift? How can you even begin to consider the pain I still feel every time I think about my lost childhood a gift? If dealing with the ignorance and prejudice that becomes more and more open in this country is a gift, then please pass me by the next time gifts are given out! I have had my fill of gift giving if that is what it is!
I know that unlike many transgender people I have been truly blessed in my life; I have had advantages that many of our sisters and brothers have been denied. Even through my transition, I still have the love of my spouse and my sons. Yes, there was a tough period of transition - a time when I was unsure if I would still have a relationship with any of my family or friends. I lost much - and I lost many friends and family. But in the end, those who I lost were never true friends, never real family, so what did I in fact lose?
Yes, I was lucky enough to be born in California - a state which recognizes my status as a woman and allowed me to change my name and gender even on my birth certificate. Yes, I am lucky enough to live in New York - another state which recognizes my status as a woman and made it easy for me to change my name and gender. I have been lucky enough to have good health care in a state that protects my status as transgender, a state that is not actively trying to outlaw my status.
But all of that simply makes it glaringly obvious just how poorly many transgender adults and youths are treated by our society today. Those who were not lucky in where they were born, or in where they live, or in the love and understanding of family and friends.
Again, with gifts like this, who needs Christmas?
How anyone can think that suffering through a lifetime of dealing with being transgender is a gift……..
I’m sorry, I just don’t see it that way.
The only gifts that I have seen throughout this are these:
I have learned who I truly am. I suffered through much to get to where I am today - seeking death through combat, and nearly at my own hand multiple times, not to mention the anguish of losing brothers and comrades in the service of my country. Yes, I have truly been forged by fire - and what is left behind is my true self. But the suffering to get here…….. mine and others. The scars which have been left behind in the forging……..
I have found the true meaning of love and friendship. Those who were false are no longer with me, and only those who truly cared remain. The flames of the forge burned that away as well, leaving behind only the tempered steel of truth.
I have discovered that there are those who truly value my skills and knowledge within my chosen field of endeavor, just as there are those who prefer someone of lesser ability simply because they are not transgender. I have been lucky enough to have worked for companies, and people, who value what you can do more than what clothing you wear. And I have been lucky enough to work with a staff that supports and cares for me - that treats me as the woman I am.
But even with these gifts, and even living where I do, I still deal with the small minded and the prejudiced. I still get mis-gendered, even though I live in a state which protects my rights. I still have had to deal with religious bigots (working in Human Resources of all places!) who were protected by my employer (Belk Stores at that time), even though they professed to be a company that values diversity and inclusiveness - a company that knew I was transgender when they hired me and played up upon their inclusivity.
I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand how anyone can say, “I truly feel tg is a gift and wish those so blessed could feel the same even when abused and persecuted for being different. We're less than one percent of the population. How special is that!”
If being abused and persecuted for being different makes us special, then color me not special.
All I ever wanted in this life was to be seen as a normal woman. If I am special, let it be because of who I am and what I can do - not because of what I am.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Digital fails and fades just like old media
Remember when Microsoft abandoned the ebook business and caused everybody's ebook library to fizzle? https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a27021744/microsoft-ebook-store-shutdown/
I've lost a few films that I "bought" from a streaming service that no longer exists, even though they were delivered through YouTube. I suppose it's just planned obsolescence: gotta grease the wheels of the economy somehow. ("You'll own nothing and you'll be happy," as Ida Auken said.)
Sugar and Spiiice – TG Fiction by Bryony Marsh
Bought or Borrowed?
A few questions to ponder
1) Do you actually own anything that is just in electronic form be it from Amazon or whoever?
2) If the 'thing' that you paid good money for is protected by some form of DRM is it truly yours?
My take is that you have paid for a rental of indefinite period for that device only. You don't own it. You can never own it.
That's why I no longer spend any money on E-books. At least with a 'dead tree' edition, I get to keep it and can pass it on to others without breaching copyright or other legal BS.
Samantha
PS.
I wonder how long it will be before the creator of tools like Grammerly, MS Office or Scrivenor start wanting a share of royalties from people who make money using said tools. Far fetched?
If society continues down the 'own nothing, rent everything' path then IMHO, it won't be long.
You haven't took a look at MS lately
Anything MS is now leased for a year. If I'm wrong I wish to be corrected but everything I look at from MS has a year lease or it's only for the computer it is installed in and can't be transferred if one's computer dies.
Hugs Samantha
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
MS and leases
You can if you search hard enough still buy a non subscription license for things like MS Office (Not Office 365). I know that because I searched it out about 5 months ago for a friend. Look for 'Home and Student'. There are packages available here in Europe.
If I could find a substitute for Lightroom (how it catalogs your images) I'd drop my one remaining subscription for IT stuff.
I use Libre Office myself rather than MS Office.
But in general, everything seems to be moving towards subscriptions. Bad move that IMHO.
Samantha
A free and nearly free Microsoft Office clone that I truly love
One thing that SamanthaMD didn't point out is that when you find the purchase (versus lease) licensed copy of MS products they cost a LOT of money.
I used to use Microsoft 2002 or 2003 because I own copies of it. Then I switched to the predecessor of LibraOffice (I forget the name). Then I eventually switched back because the compatibility with the Microsoft .doc format was not good enough. And once support for Microsoft 2002 stopped and the removed the downloadable upgrades I lost the ability to use .docx files the next time I had to do an install.
Eventually I found Ashampoo Office 8. It has equivalents to Word, Excel and Power Point that are, as far as I can tell, fully compatible with the Microsoft file formats. The user interfaces are also almost identical barring minor discrepancies. I purchased it 3 years ago for CA$24.88 in a Humble Bundle that also included Ashampoo PDF Pro 2, Ashampoo Win Optimizer 18 and Ashampoo Backup Pro 15.
If you want to buy it for yourself then I suggest you get yourself on the mailing lists for both Humble Bundle and Ashampoo. Ashampoo will frequently have their software on sale for about 75% off.
Another option is to purchase Ashampoo Office Free for the low, low price of free. Outside of not providing customer support and missing a few features like merging Excel spreadsheets into Word documents to produce mailing labels the free version is almost identical. If you like it and start using it then wait for a Humble Bundle or a deep discount sale to come out.
the predecessor of LibraOffice
Open Office
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
And the predecessor of Open Office is . . .
Star Office.
I'll say that it's sort of a
I'll say that it's sort of a yes and no. I bought the original Star Office, and I still have an account with the company (you can find my tedious post further down)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
They do still sell the
They do still sell the standalone Microsoft applications, as well as the Microsoft Office Suite. Not that long ago, I had a customer buy five copies for their business.
If you're curious about that sort of thing, go through CDW for your searches, rather than Microsoft's web site.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
You can purchase non-DRM e
You can purchase non-DRM e-books. Some is the author, some is the site. Lois McMaster Bujold, for example, has her e-books being non-DRM. I believe Baen does it for all their authors.
Bookapy is non-DRM (sub-site for storiesonline.net), and a number of the other sites have choices for non-DRM works that are download and keep. Most of the ebooks I have are non-DRM, non-proprietary. (Well, there are the MobiPocket format ones, but I converted those, and they were non-DRM to start.)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
That's one reason
I don't use the Kindle app on my computer or my tablet for that reason. I have a Nook embedded in my Galaxy Tab 4. I either buy eBooks from Barnes and Noble or Smashwords. They both allow me to download the eBooks to the device. No cloud necessary. Also both keep track of what I've bought and if I access the account from another device, I can download a copy there. My Nook app will allow me to side-load from Smashwords and if I'm reading the same book on different devices it will keep track of where I was in the book on the other device (providing that both have Wi-Fi access) and offer me the chance to jump to that spot.
The point is I don't need no stinking cloud.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
I use the download and transfer with USB option...
Which I haven't seen mentioned here yet. While it is not perfect, I do at least have all my Kindle files backed up on two independent external hard drives and can move the files on and off my Kindle as I wish with a USB cable while the Kindle stays permanently in airplane mode and never connects to an outside network. Due to a change on the Amazon site a year or two ago, I have to temporarily set Firefox to allow popups when I download those files now. The weak link here is that I suspect the files will only load on that one Kindle which will probably have its battery die at some point. It has been trucking along reliably since 2015, however, since it replaced my original Kindle which did not have a way to jump to a location within the file with a scroll bar. I like the Kindle as its matte-finish screen is easy on my eyes unlike the glossy screens that are so common nowadays. It has advantages over paper in that I can read it easily in a landscape mode with a larger font. I have trouble reading off paper without a magnifier. I can also read it in environments that would be hazardous for a paper book by sealing the Kindle in a zip-lock bag. The bag also keeps oily fingerprints off the Kindle when I occasionally run production machines which require little attention aside from keeping an ear open in case of trouble and pulling chips out of the tooling every quarter to half hour or so.
I also use the Kindle program on a MiniMac to read graphic novels which can't be read on the small screen of the handheld Kindle. By right-clicking on a file in the onboard library, I can and do download the file to be read directly off the computer. The problem here is that I have not found where the computer stores those files so they are not backed up on external drives. A workaround (which I will be looking into now that I have read this conversation) is to load the Kindle program on a couple of older MiniMacs I keep around as backups and download my favorite Kindle files to each. Probably only a few hundred favorite titles out of the 1700 files now in my Kindle library. So far (keeping fingers crossed) I have never had a Mac actually fail although I did upgrade around a dozen times over the last 30 years since my original Mac SE with its 20MB hard drive and (I think) 2MB of main memory. I have now hit a plateau with my current M1 MiniMac where I see no benefit to replacing it as it is fast enough for what I do with it that I doubt I'd notice any speed or capacity improvements with the new M2.
I do wish Kindle files were as universal as my mp3 audio collection which is one format which I have little fear of loosing as it is backed up as six complete copies in two locations and can be played on a wide variety of hardware. Even a non-digital format is not perfect as there is usually only one copy which can be lost to a fire or something. I switched my books to Kindle when I lost my own paper book collection around 20 years ago and found many favorites out of print except as digital copies. There were only two favorite paper series which I was unable to repurchase on Kindle. I'll have to look into Smashwords and see if they are a format that doesn't require a dedicated reader like Kindle and (I assumed but may be wrong) Barnes & Noble. If they offer pdf files for instance, as those can be read with multiple software options on a variety of hardware platforms.
I checked the Amazon website (I'm in the USA) and I see they have been making changes (again!). While my books are still shown as owned, book files and readers are now under two separate sections where they used to be combined under the heading of 'Content and Devices' or something close to that. I hope the problem with charlie98210's library is a temporary glitch and will soon be straightened out. Can an individual Kindle be hacked? I've avoided 'smartphones' partially because I've heard they are actually fairly easy to hack by kids with too much time on their hands.
EDIT:
Okay, it looks like I can forget about Barnes & Noble as it looks like they don't even offer a reader program for a desktop computer. I will take a closer look at the dedicated reader tablet as it looks like they have at least one with a matte finish. If downloaded files are not digitally 'locked' to one particular reader, this may be worthwhile to pick up as a backup. However, Smashwords (Thank you to Patricia Marie Allen for pointing that one out as well as B&N) looks like it has potential with that ePub format which looks well worth further investigation. Unfortunately, the two authors I tried in search, Anne McCaffrey and Tanya Allan, did not return any results. B&N did return results from Anne McCaffrey but none from Tanya Allan. Looks like Kindle is still my best option for now but I am going to look into backing up my favorite Kindle files on the two older home computers.
I am also in agreement that the idea of subscription software is horsepuckey. I still have my CD of Photoshop Elements 1 which runs on my work computer which runs Windows XP which I consider tolerable although I miss Win2K. I absolutely detest Windows 10 which does not seem to be nearly as flexible as the older systems. Even the Start menu is annoying to me and seems to have little options for reorganization. I have a Win10 machine sitting in a plastic bag in a closet where it has been stored since I gave up on it shortly after I put it together. Reminds me, I have spare parts stockpiled for my computer at work (including a spare Intel main board and processor) but I need to look for another power supply as I had to swap in my last one last year. While I have never had a Mac break down, the situation is very different for my experience with Windoze machines. I hope I never actually have to try to do work on a newer Windows machine but I have at least another 11 years before I hit a suitable retirement age so the odds are not good for the technosaurus that I am.
Okay, I've been up too late tonight (this morning?). Didn't mean to run off at the keyboard this much. Good thing I have today off.
As the stack of dead ones
As the stack of dead ones attest, I've seen and worked on a number of different dead apple products. They do die :)
Open Shell (Classic Shell Reborn) will give you a more normal 'Start Menu' on Windows 8, 8.1, 10, and 11.
https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
You can choose several different styles of menu, including Windows XP.
As an IT consultant, I've been working with Windows since Windows 2 (to a degree). Despite the simplicity of earlier ones, I don't particularly have "I miss version X" for most of them. I have detested ones (Vista, 8/8.1, and to a degee, 11), but I don't look back with nostalgia on the massive crashing ability of Windows NT 3.51 if you run a single movie file on it the right (or wrong) way. I don't look back in wonder at the fight it took to get networks functioning on Windows 3.1. I don't look back in delight at the 'reboot the system every 45 days unless you want it to lock up' of virtually _all_ NT kernel products until Windows 2000. (Some kept it up until the Windows 7 days, and it did come back in XP)
Let's not forget that Windows 95 would explode if you gave it 512MB ram or more. I _think_ 98 did it as well.
As for Office alternatives?
OpenOffice, which was the origin of LibreOffice (Oracle threw it at Apache once they realized their past misdeeds had meant they lost all the developers by buying the parent).
LibreOffice (I use this regularly)
SoftMaker's Office (Was StarOffice) I have an older copy of this.
And a variety of others.
For extracting the Kindle files - research Calibre. There's a process for pulling down and de-drming the files.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Another benifit of buying from Smashwords
When you buy from Smashwords, you own it and can down load it in any format you like as often as you like. They also offer an online reader.
Another tool that may help you is Calibre eBook manager. Any non-DRM eBook can be loaded and converted to any format you like, including Doc files. The best part is it's free.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Thank you,
This looks like a very useful program. Running 12.7.3 on my home MiniMac so I thought I was in trouble at first. Then I saw they also offer older versions for earlier operating systems.
Calibre is excellent
Calibre is excellent software. I've used it to convert Word and Libre Office documents into e-books without any issues.
When it comes to Amazon the unfortunate downside of using their quite good hardware in the various Kindles and their streamlined system is you're dealing with Amazon and whatever boneheaded corporate decisions they apply on a whim. They really need to be hit hard with some competition/anti-trust law—not just for their e-books—to allow competitors into the space.
How Many Times?
I used to save my Kindle stuff to my own hard drive, then started using 1TB hard drives until MS began to raid my drives, so I finally started saving to the Cloud. There are few stories that I read more than twice, and I am 77 so about to age out. After that, I likely won't care; perhaps being too busy with other things.