this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2026
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In the past it didn't matter, because you had the whole file structure for the application when you purchased it. You either downloaded it in whole as an install file or archive, or you had it on the physical media that you purchased it on. Maybe there was a license you had to input or some other rudimentary DRM system, but you had that too. No remote access from the company, no forced additional downloads or internet connectivity, no phone home. So they could say whatever they wanted, but you actually had the product.
Now with media files that only play with proprietary tools that phone home, or applications that phone home, your computers are backdoored. And if you have a system that's backdoored, it's not really yours, it's just something you can access for now. That's what your Kindle is: a backdoored computer with an e-ink screen and proprietary software that can open proprietary files that other software isn't supposed to be able to open. Which is why no one should buy one.
You should stop buying that shit then.
Also isn't the kindle fine if you just download offline files? Its been a very long time since I used one though.
I do happen to agree that one should not buy a Kindle. There are alternatives, and good ones.
But also a Kindle, a locked down computer that is illegal to make work properly, shouldn't exist.
The problem is that in so many of these specialized computers, every major device available is rights violating, or under powered. It is damn hard too "choose" your way out of an economy as an individual.