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Comment by runn1ng | Hacker News Reader

I should dislike Amazon for closed-source software on Kindle and for its DRM, but... well, they have really nice offers.

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Kindles are very hackable in comparison to most devices.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...

Amazon also didn't void my warranty when I installed a few hacks on my e-ink Kindle.

Unfortunately they are very lenient with their devices because they know that the content is locked down completely. Once you buy Kindle books, you're unfortunately only renting them.

> Once you buy Kindle books, you're unfortunately only renting them.

Luckily, it is VERY easy to crack Amazon's DRM in Calibre.

Not excusing the DRM - I'm just thankful it's easy to get around (all you need is the Kindle serial number, which is easy to find in the settings on your Kindle).

Removing DRM from azw files is trivial if you are using calibre and have the right plugin. I do it as a matter of course whenever I buy any books from Amazon.

Last I heard Kindle isn't closed-source, they just don't make it particularly easy to build- which was never a requirement for GPL.

> which was never a requirement for GPL.

Depending on your definition of "easy-to-build", the GPLv3 addresses that (partially).

Read: http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/kindle-swindle-source-cod...

They publish the very minimum the need to publish according to GPL.

The main issue is that the bootloader of the Kindle devices isn't particularly easy to unlock (at least, I couldn't figure it out), so even if you do get the kernel built, it would be hard to actually install it on the device itself.

Whether to DRM a particular book is a decision of the publisher; some publishers allow Amazon to sell DRM-free ebooks.

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