Read Kindle in Ubuntu using Kindle Cloud

[nickleboyblue]

I'm sure some of you are aware of the new Kindle Cloud service now available from Amazon. For those of you who are not, the absence of Kindle software for Linux has finally come to an end and we can now enjoy Kindle content in Linux. If this was the main reason you weren't switching over, let me hear you say "Hallelujah!"

There is one requirement for Kindle Cloud: you have to have Google Chrome (or Safari, but hey, we're using Ubuntu, not something from Apple). This is not a downside for a lot of us, as Chrome is a common (and excellent) browser. I have it installed on my laptop, and I have installed in Chrome the Angry Birds app as well as the Kindle Cloud app. A lot of other apps, free and paid, are available, essentially turning chrome into an android console. Great idea!

Upsides: You get to read your kindle content on your Linux computer. This was the main reason why I was keeping Windows 7 on my hard drive. I have now wiped it off and am running only Ubuntu, again and finally (until I am required by my school to use windows 7, which is likely). This particular service is important to me since the kindle e-reader is so flimsy (it breaks WAY too easily, as myself and my wife can attest to after having broken two of them in just over a year). Kindle Cloud also has a very decent UI that is clean cut, easy to use, decently fast, and feature-rich.

Downsides: you don't get to keep book files on your own computer per-se. However, Kindle Cloud does support reading offline (using HTML5), which, unless you're planning on doing something unethical, makes this entire argument moot.

So, enjoy your reading and your cheap books and thank Amazon for finally finding a way to appease both copyright holders and end users at the same time, and for finally coming to their senses and extending support to Linux users as they should have done right from the beginning.

[schopenhauer1962]

Wow, thank you for that info, I use amazon.uk when I am in Europe, never saw anything about the possibility you mentioned. I own a lot of Kindle books and my netbook runs on Ubuntu, it used to run on windows 7, but became too slow for my purposes, so I "upgraded" it to Ubuntu. Since I write screenplays and novels on this thing, I like a lot of info around me and Kindle is a great solution (cheap writer's guides )
It took only a few seconds to install in Chromium, pefect ! Thanks !!

[forrestcupp]

Wow, thank you for that info, I use amazon.uk when I am in Europe, never saw anything about the possibility you mentioned. I own a lot of Kindle books and my netbook runs on Ubuntu, it used to run on windows 7, but became too slow for my purposes, so I "upgraded" it to Ubuntu. Since I write screenplays and novels on this thing, I like a lot of info around me and Kindle is a great solution (cheap writer's guides )
It took only a few seconds to install in Chromium, pefect ! Thanks !!

I've heard that the Kindle Cloud reader doesn't work in the UK and Europe.

And just so people know, the Kindle Cloud reader now works perfectly fine in Firefox. You don't have to have Chrome or Chromium for it. In my opinion, it's just as good as a Kindle mobile app.

[BeRoot ReBoot]

Downsides: you don't get to keep book files on your own computer per-se. However, Kindle Cloud does support reading offline (using HTML5), which, unless you're planning on doing something unethical, makes this entire argument moot.

You mean like buying books on a platform that enforces DRM that takes away your freedom and reserves Amazon's right to steal them from you any time they like?

[Grenage]

That's a bit off-topic, plus you know what you're signing up for when you buy through them.

[forrestcupp]

You mean like buying books on a platform that enforces DRM that takes away your freedom and reserves Amazon's right to steal them from you any time they like?

You have the freedom to choose whether to buy Kindle books or not. When they start forcing everyone in the world to buy Kindle books or go to jail, then they will be taking your freedom away.

[BeRoot ReBoot]

You have the freedom to choose whether to buy Kindle books or not. When they start forcing everyone in the world to buy Kindle books or go to jail, then they will be taking your freedom away.

Yes, but if you agree to it, you're agreeing to let them take your freedom. It doesn't change the fact that they're taking your freedom. That doesn't make it any more ethical, especially in cases where the only alternative is to get ebooks either from another source with similar freedom-stealing DRM, or from people who share them illegally.

[schtufbox]

I've heard that the Kindle Cloud reader doesn't work in the UK and Europe.

Worked fine for me here in England. Not that it matters, I have an actual kindle here to read my ebooks on, but the fact that the cloud reader thing exists is pretty cool.

[forrestcupp]

Yes, but if you agree to it, you're agreeing to let them take your freedom. It doesn't change the fact that they're taking your freedom. That doesn't make it any more ethical, especially in cases where the only alternative is to get ebooks either from another source with similar freedom-stealing DRM, or from people who share them illegally.

If I choose to legally drive a car, I have to have a license and abide by the laws, or else I'll get a ticket, go to jail, and/or have my license taken away. I could come up with a thousand scenarios where if you choose to have the benefits of something, you have to abide by rules and you're not just free to do anything you want. Even in the land of freedom, you're not free to just be reckless and do anything you come up with in your head. Anywhere you go, there are going to be rules that hinder your absolute freedom. That's life.

Think about the old way of buying books. You have to pay for the book, and that book can physically only be in one place at a time. We don't get ticked off at the publishers and stores because they won't let us have the books in more than one physical location at a time. And I don't get upset because they took away my freedom to buy a physical copy of The Hobbit in scroll form instead of the crappy codex form.

Also, I can't really get mad because I can't buy a Big Mac at Burger King. I'm stuck having to go to McDonald's and pay their price, get it in their packaging, and have it made the way they make it. Is that taking away my freedom because I'm forced to get a Big Mac the way McDonald's makes us get them? Should I be mad because I can't get a flat screen TV in a 4:3 screen ratio anymore, and they're taking away my freedom to get a TV in any screen ratio that I want?

When people put out a product, they have a right to make it any way they want, and you have a right to decide to buy it or not.

[BeRoot ReBoot]

IWhen people put out a product, they have a right to make it any way they want, and you have a right to decide to buy it or not.

And the fact that you're free to decide doesn't change the fact that the practice at Amazon is unethical. And, apparently, a lot of people still decide to give up their freedom in order to use Amazon's service, so it is a problem, and stop pretending otherwise.