Thursday, December 24, 2020

The Easiest Ways to Convert Kindle AZW to PDF

Did you ever come across .azw format file? If you ever tried to download Kindle books from the Kindle for PC/Mac desktop application and find them in the stored folder, you will see an AZW file. This is the just Kindle ebook file. Want to convert your Kindle AZW books to PDF format? OK. Then follow this guide. Here this post concludes all the easiest ways to convert AZW to PDF. No matter what version of Kindle for PC/Mac you are using, you will get what you want.

The detailed guide is different according to what version of Kindle for PC/Mac you are using. So here I divide this post into two parts.

Part 1. Convert AZW to PDF with Kindle Latest Version V1.32

For a long time, we must downgrade our Kindle for PC/Mac to an older version in order to successfully decrypt or convert Kindle ebooks. But now, I feel much glad to tell you that Epubor has finally come out the solution to deal with the latest version of Kindle for PC/Mac (now the latets version is V1.32). Just follow my steps to convert AZW to PDF with Kindle for PC/Mac V1.32.

Note: If you are using macOS Catalina or macOS Big Sur, you can only use the latest version Kindle for Mac V1.32 to convert AZW to PDF, because mac Catalina and Big Sur cannot run Kindle for Mac older version.

Step 1. Download Kindle for PC/Mac latest version from Amazon site and sign in with your Amazon account.

Step 2. Disable KFX support in Kindle for PC/Mac V1.32.

This is a prerequisite step for successfully converting ebooks downloaded via the Kindle for PC/Mac V1.32. Why? Kindle for PC/Mac V1.32 actually adopted a new Kindle DRM scheme called KFX DRM, which cannot be handled by any tool. Therefore, we need to disable the KFX support.  So how to disable KFX support?

(Before this step, please delete all your downloaded Kindle books from your computer by clicking the book cover and choose "Remove From Device". Otherwise, the KFX DRM is still there, and you will fail to remove DRM from such books.)

For Windows users: 

Download KFX_begone3.zip to your Windows computer. Unzip the file, you will get a Kindle.cmd file. The cmd file is a command. You just need to double-click the cmd file to run the command.

When the command is running, your Kindle for PC will be opened automatically. You don't need to do anything further. Just wait for the command to be run finished. 

For Mac Users:

Open the Terminal window on your Mac, and cut and paste the following code in the Terminal. 

sudo chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test

Then tap "Enter" on your keyboard. By default, you will be requested to fill in your computer username passwords. Fill in the password and tap "Enter" again. This is a renderer-test to to diable KFX support in the Kindle for Mac. 

Step 3. Run Kindle for PC/Mac V1.32 to download Kindle books to your PC/Mac.

To download Kindle books, please right-click the book cover and choose "Download". Remember not to double-click the book cover to download it. And also, don't open the book to read it until you decrypt it. Otherwise, you will fail.



Step 4. Download and run Epubor Ultimate

Download Epubor Ultimate here for Free
 

Epubor Ultimate can automatically detect the books downloaded via Kindle for PC/Mac. So you just need to drag the books from the "Kindle" tab at the left column to the right column. The DRM will be removed in a second. Then just click the bottom Convert to PDF button to convert your Kindle AZW books to PDF format.

Note: Only Epubor Ultimate V3.0.12.1028 and higher versions support Kindle DRM Removing from Kindle V1.32. If you are not using the latest version, please first upgrade it.



Part 2. Convert AZW to PDF with Kindle Older Version

Note: This is only working for the Windows users, and Mac users whose macOS is below than macOS 10.15 Catalina.

If you think running the command line to disable KFX support is difficult, you can try to use the older version of Kindle desktop, which doesn't require you to run any command line. 


If you have already downloaded the latest verion of Kindle V1.30, you need to uninstall it and reinstall the older version. Or you can just use Epubor Ultimate to help you automatically downgrade Kindle to older version


Step 2. Run Kindle for PC/Mac older version to download Kindle books. 

Either double-click or right-click to download the books is OK. 

Step 3. Run Epubor Ultimate to convert AZW to PDF. 

Any version of Epubor Ultimate supports converting Kindle AZW books that are downloaded from older version of Kindle for PC/Mac. But it's still suggested to upgrade it if you are not using the latest version of Epubor Ultimate. 

Download Epubor Ultimate here for Free
 

No matter what Kindle version you are using to download your Kindle books, the process of using Epubor Ultimate is totally the same. Just drag the books from the "Kindle" tab at the left column to the right side. Then just click the bottom Convert to PDF button to convert your Kindle AZW books to PDF format.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Calibre Adds Read Aloud Feature in v5.7

It is so thrilling to find out that calibre adds TTS to the calibre viewer. Now the viewer gives you the option to read book text aloud. To use it you can simply click the Read aloud button in the viewer controls to start reading book text aloud. Or use the shortcut for read aloud function (Ctrl+S) to start reading aloud the whole book, starting at the current page. The word being currently read is highlighted. Once you start reading aloud, there is a floating bar with pause and other controls, like speed up speech and slow down speech, close read aloudand configure read out, etc. You can also change the voice being used by clicking the gear icon in the floating bar that is displayed while Read aloud is active.

Besides, you can also read aloud selected text by adding the Read aloud button to the floating bar in the viewer preferences under Selection behavior(open the viewer controls >> preferences >> Selection behavior>> Click Add to add Read aloud option to the floating bar).



Thursday, December 17, 2020

Kindle Firmware Update 5.13.4 is Available Now

Amazon just released the latest Kindle firmware update 5.13.4. The new software update is available for all Kindles dating back to the Kindle Voyage and Kindle Paperwhite 3. You can wait for the new update to download over Wi-Fi automatically on your Kindle over the coming weeks, or you can download the update file and install it manually now. 

Except for fix bugs, you can hardly see any new eye-catching functionalities added to this firmware. Most of the new functionality seems related to marketing: Amazon adds more advertisements and recommendations to the home screen. In this new update, they have extended the home screen so you can scroll further on Home and see up to 5 pages of content. If you want to use this new function, you should make sure you have turned on the default home screen by going to Settings > Device Options > Advanced Options > Home & Library > Home Screen View

Here’s what’s new about Kindle Firmware 5.13.4 – December 2020

Extended Home Feed: You can scroll further on Home and see up to 5 pages of content.

Amazon Kids and Amazon Kids+: Amazon FreeTime and Amazon FreeTime Unlimited are changing names to Amazon Kids and Amazon Kids+ in the coming months. There is no change to the benefits you enjoy and no action is required from you.

Performance improvements, bug fixes, and other general enhancements.

However, today we noticed that they also added an important new feature not mentioned in the release notes, which enables you to Group Series in Library. This function can be turned on and off by going to Settings > Device Options > Advanced Options > Home & Library > Group Series in Library.

If you turn on Group Series in Library, a pop-up message will inform you: “Kindle has begun grouping series in your library. You can view individual books by tapping on the series group cover. This feature can be turned off in settings.” Then books that you have downloaded in a series will be grouped together automatically. It will show a cover for the first book with a number in the lower corner that indicates how many books are grouped.

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Remove Kobo DRM with Calibre Obok Plugin

Did you notice the Obok plugin when you download DeDRM_tools from Github? Do you know what it is used for? If you have Kobo books, you may need this plugin to remove Kobo DRM. In this post, I will guide you on how to remove Kobo DRM by using the Obok plugin on Calibre. 

Tip: Obok plugin is only for removing DRM from Kobo ebooks that are downloaded from Kobo for PC/Mac desktop app. If you download your Kobo ebooks from the Kobo site and open them with Adobe Digital Editions, please follow this guide: Remove DRM from Adobe Digital Editions with Calibre.

Step 1. Download the Kobo desktop app for PC/Mac

Step 2. Log in to the Kobo desktop app with your Kobo account, and click the book cover to download Kobo books to your computer. 

Step 3. Download Calibre 4.23.

(Note: Calibre 5.0 and higher versions don't support the Obok plugin. You have to use Calibre V4.23 to make it work.)

Step 4. Download DeDRM_tools_6.8.1.zip to the computer. Unzip the file. You will get DeDRM_Plugin.zip and Obok_plugin.zip. The Obok_plugin.zip is the plugin that works for removing Kobo DRM. No need to unzip further.

Step 5. Run Calibre>>Preferences>>Plugins>>Load Plugin from Files>>Choose the Obok_plugin.zip and add it to Calibre.

Step 6. Find the Obok DeDRM from the top menu bar and click it. 

Then a window will pop up showing all your Kobo books. Just select the Kobo books that you want to add to Calibre to remove Kobo DRM.


Wait for the Kobo books to be added to the Calibre library. It is also the process of removing Kobo DRM.

When all the selected Kobo books have been added to the Calibre library, it means they are all decrypted successfully.

Note: If you've successfully installed the Obok_plugin.zip to Calibre but it doesn't show in the top menu bar, you need to add it to the interface menu bar manually by this way:

Click Preference in Calibre top menu bar.


In the next window, click "Tools & Menus" under the "Interface" option.


Click to choose toolbar or menu to customize, and select "The main toolbar".


Next, add the Obok DeDRM from the left side to the right side. And then "Apply".
















In this way, the Obok DeDRM option should appear in the top menu bar of Calibre. Now you can follow Step 6 to remove Kobo DRM.

Tip: Remove Kobo DRM without installing any plugin.

Having a problem when installing or using the Obok plugin? Try another much easier-to-use Kobo DRM Removal -- Epubor Ultimate. By using this tool, you don't have to install any plugins to remove Kobo DRM. No matter you download your Kobo books are downloaded from Kobo site, from Kobo desktop app, or from a Kobo eReader, all your Kobo books can be detected by Epubor Ultimate. Just drag them from the left to the right column, and the DRM will be removed immediately.

Download Epubor Ultimate for Free
 




Thursday, December 3, 2020

Apple Reveals the Best Books, Audiobooks, and Podcasts of the Year

As the year approaches the end, Apple revealed the list of the most popular books and audiobooks on Apple Books and podcast shows on Apple Podcasts. The offerings “kept us entertained, made us think, provided a much-needed escape, or filled our hearts up,” noted Apple.

Below are some of the highlights of the list. For the full lists, you can visit the Apple Books and Apple Podcasts apps.

Best Books of the Year

The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett

28 Summers, Elin Hilderbrand

Long Bright River, Liz Moore

Deep State, Chris Hauty

The Last Flight, Julie Clark

Reborn Yesterday, Tessa Bailey

The Roommate, Rosie Danan

The City We Became, N. K. Jemisin

Piranesi, Susanna Clarke

We Are Not Free, Traci Chee

Best Audiobooks of 2020

Open Book, Jessica Simpson

Memorial Drive, Natasha Trethewey

Upstream, Dan Heath

The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett

Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu

Caste, Isabel Wilkerson

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Ibram X.Kendi

Fair Warning, Michael Connelly

The Guest List, Lucy Foley

Podcasts:

Show of the Year: Code Switch by NPR

Our Favorites This Year

California Love by LAist and KPCC

Canary by The Washington Post

Dying for Sex by Wondery

FANTI by Maximum Fun

Floodlines by The Atlantic

Ghost Tape by QCODE

How to Citizen with Baratunde Thurston by iHeartRadio

In The Bubble with Andy Slavitt by Lemonada Media

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Ultimate Solution to Remove Kindle DRM on macOS Big Sur

After nearly five months of beta testing, macOS Big Sur is finally released to the public on November 12, 2020. Here’s the full list of macOS Big Sur compatible Macs:

• MacBook (2015 and later)

• MacBook Air (2013 and later)

• MacBook Pro (Late 2013 and later)

• Mac mini (2014 and later)

• Mac Pro (2013 and later)

• iMac (2014 and later)

• iMac Pro (all models)

Big Sur is a massive update for the Mac, bringing a refreshed design, enhancements to Safari, Messages, Maps, Battery, Widgets, Privacy, and more. To mark the transition, the operating system's version number has been incremented from 10 to 11, for the first time since 2000. 

The design of macOS Big Sur is incredible. The whole OS feels overhauled. Everything is feeling new and much more pleasing to use. We strongly suggest you update to the newest macOS Big Sur. However, there is some bad news for those people who need to remove Kindle DRM on macOS Big Sur. This massive update contains tons of new features and upgrades, which cause all current eBook DRM Removal unable to remove Kindle DRM on macOS Big Sur any more. But the good news is that the Epubor team works around the clock and finds the solution to help you remove Kindle DRM effortlessly. Below is the step by step guide to removing Kindle DRM on macOS Big Sur.

Step 1, delete all Kindle books from My Kindle Content folder. 

Make sure you haven’t downloaded any Kindle books via the latest Kindle for Mac.

Step 2, run the command line.

Before running the command line, you must exit Kindle for Mac first. Then follow the instruction below to run the command line on Mac.

Open a terminal window by typing terminal after clicking the magnifier icon on the upper right corner of the screen, then copy and paste this command line: sudo chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test to the terminal window for disabling KFX support. Next, hit the Enter key and input your power-on password. Last but not the least, hit the Enter key again to run the command line.

Tips: If your Mac has no power-on password or you can’t run the above command line, you should enter this command line instead: chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test

Step 3, re-download Kindle books using the latest Kindle for Mac.

Open Kindle for Mac, find the book you want to download, right-click its book cover, and select Download in the pop-up window.

Step 4, download and install the most powerful DRM Removal--Epubor Ultimate.

Step 5, remove Kindle DRM.

Launch Epubor Ultimate, click the Kindle tab in the left navigation bar to load all of your Kindle books that are already downloaded to the software. Then add them to the right blank window to remove DRM automatically.

You will notice that many Kindle books downloaded in this way are already DRM free. And you can locate the DRM free files by clicking the book folder icon on the lower right corner of the software.

Bonus Tip

If you have a Kindle E-Ink device, you can follow this guide to remove Kindle DRM on macOS Big Sur as well.

*Kindle Fire tablet is not supported by Epubor software.

Thursday, November 19, 2020

ACSM Converter Download, Convert ACSM to PDF/Epub/Mobi Free

Step 2. Open ACSM file with ADE.

If your ACSM file is not opened by ADE, just right-click the file and select “Open with” >>“ Adobe Digital Editions 4.5”.

After downloading the ebooks, now you’re able to read them successfully on ADE. In this way, they have been automatically converted to epub or pdf. You can find the downloaded epub/pdf books here:

For Windows: …/My Documents (Documents)/My Digital Editions …

For Mac: Users/Your computer name/Digital Editions …

Note: You can only read these epub/pdf books on Adobe Digital Editions because they are protected by Adobe password. If you want to read them on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Sony, or ReMarkable eReader freely, you must convert the ebook format. Just continue to read, I will give you some solutions.

Step 3. Convert ACSM to PDF/Mobi/EPUB with ACSM Converter

Download Epubor Ultimate for Free

The ASCM files which have been opened by ADE will be automatically detected by Epubor Ultimate, and they will show under the “Adobe” tab. Just drag and drop the books from the left to the right zone. Then just set the output format as EPUB/PDF/Mobi you want and click the Convert button to start the conversion.

If you want to read ACSM on Kindle, choose Mobi or AZW3 at the output format.

In a few seconds, the conversion will be completed. You can just click the “succeeded” button or the blue file folder at the bottom-right to find your converted book files.

Now you have successfully converted the ACSM files to PDF/EPUB/MOBI. You can start reading ACSM on Kindle/Kobo/Sony/ReMarkable eReader, etc, and sharing them with your friends. Now you may have a clear idea about that ACSM file is a download link, you can open the acsm file with authorized ADE and then convert ACSM format with Epubor Ultimate.

Friday, November 13, 2020

Kobo Firmware 4.25.15875 Has Been Released!

On November 11, 2020, new Kobo Firmware 4.25.15875 has been released to all devices except the Mini. This new firmware adds clear history in a recent search, a traditional Chinese dictionary, and a Notes icon for quick access. 

As usual, you can now download the new firmware update from the Kobo Firmware Downloads page or you can wait for the update to automatically download while syncing, which might take a few weeks. 

Here’s what’s new about this new release:

• Add a Traditional Chinese dictionary

• Search now includes a Clear History button

• In a kepub, tap highlight will display the menu for the highlight.

• In a kepub, an icon is displayed in the margin for all annotations.

  o Tapping the icon displays the notes for the annotation in a popup.

  o You can delete the annotations, or tap the edit button to change it.

  o The icon is only displayed if the margins are wide enough to show it.

• Bug fixes, including:

  o Fix Forma and Libra H2O not sleeping after powering on with the cover closed.

  o Fix dictionary display in MyWords.

  o Handle PDFs with text before the signature.

  o Fix to in-book search when returning to full results. 

Bonus tips: if you want to take full control of your purchased Kobo books and back them up to your local disk, you can follow this guide to remove Kobo DRM effortlessly


Thursday, November 5, 2020

Remove DRM from the Latest Kindle for PC/Mac V1.32

For a long time, we have had to downgrade our Kindle for PC/Mac to the older version in order to successfully remove Kindle DRM. If we did not downgrade, we would fail to remove the DRM. 

More seriously, Kindle for PC/Mac recently is forcing users to upgrade to the latest version V1.32 without asking for any permissions. It automatically updated itself to version V1.32, which made us unable to remove the DRM from the older version Kindle for PC/Mac. 

As of today, we've finally figured out the solution to removing DRM from Kindle's latest version PC/Mac (now V1.32). You don't need to downgrade anymore. What a wonderful achievement! Now just follow my steps to have it done!

Update 2021/08/06:  Kindle for Mac V1.32 has stopped working on removing Kindle DRM. So if you've already installed the kindle for MAC 1.32, please uninstall it and then download & install the Kindle for MAC 1.31.

Step 1. Delete all your Kindle books from your Kindle library. 

Run your Kindle for PC/Mac, click "Downloaded" at the left menu, then right-click the book cover, and choose "Remove From Device".

(If you haven't downloaded any Kindle books via the latest version, just ignore this step.)

Step 2. Exit Kindle for PC/Mac.

Step 3. Disable KFX support in Kindle for PC/Mac

In this step, the process on Windows is a bit different from that on Mac. Please pick up the one that is consistent with your computer system.

For Windows users:

Download KFX_begone3.zip to your PC. Unzip it, you will get a Kindle.cmd file. The cmd file is a command. Now double-click the cmd file to run the command line.

When you run the command, your Kindle for PC will be automatically opened. You don't need to do anything further. Just wait for the command to be finished. 

For Mac users:

Open the terminal window, and cut and paste the following command to disable the renderer-test program.

chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test
If you fail to remove the DRM even though you have run the command, please add "sudo" before the above command to ensure 100% success.
sudo chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test

Put the above code in the Terminal and then tap "Enter" on your keyboard, you will be requested to fill in your computer passwords. Just fill in it and tap "Enter" again. That's it. Just take the next step. 

Step 4. Run Kindle for PC/Mac V1.32, re-download Kindle books to your computer by "right-click" and choose "Download".

Note: Don't double-click the book to download it. And don't open the book until you remove the DRM. Otherwise,  you will fail. 

Step 5. Download and run Epubor Ultimate (V3.0.13.511 or higher version), the best Kindle DRM Removal.

Download Epubor Ultimate for Free

If you have already downloaded your books from Kindle for PC/Mac, Epubor Ultimate can help you automatically detect them. So you don't need to manually find where they are stored on your computer.

You can just drag the books from the "Kindle" tab at the left column to the right main window. You will find that your books are decrypted immediately. It means the DRM has been successfully removed.

Note: If there isn't a word showing "decrypted" for a book, it means that book is DRM-free. So you don't need to decrypt it. But you may need to convert the ebook formats because the Kindle format AZW is hard to handle. Epubor Ultimate can help you convert the ebook formats to PDF, ePub, Mobi, AZW3, TXT. Just pick up the one you need.

Audible Offers 100,000 Free Podcasts to Rival Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Amazon-owned audiobook company Audible starts featuring third-party podcasts alongside various audiobooks and Audible Originals. Now it is further expanding into podcasts with the addition of approximately 100,000 podcasts to its service, totaling 5 million episodes, including top podcasts like Pod Save America, You’re Wrong About, This American Life, and FiveThirtyEight Politics. The newly added podcasts are free to listen for both Audible members and non-subscribers. 

“Audible listeners now have access to a wider range of innovative and thought-provoking content even beyond our growing library of Audible Originals and our unparalleled catalog of audiobooks — all in one place,” the company said in a statement. 

Obviously, with millions of podcast episodes arrival on Audible, Amazon wants to grab some attention from podcast listeners and compete against existing players such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. However, Spotify is still amongst the leaders with 1 million podcast shows on its platform. Besides, Spotify also offers various original podcasts for international audiences to stand strong in the race. Alongside Spotify, Apple Podcasts is already a strong competitor for Audible, with over 1.5 million podcast shows. What’s more, both Apple Podcasts and Spotify provide all unique podcasts without spending a dime. Compared to Apple Podcast and Spotify, Audible is significantly behind in the amount of content it offers. But it is just a start. We believe Audible will continue growing its podcast library.  

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Remove DRM from Adobe Digital Editions with Calibre

Adobe Digital Editions is an ebook reader app for reading ePub and PDF files. However, the reading experience of Adobe Digital Editions can be very terrible sometimes. That's the reason why many people want to get rid of limitations made by Adobe Digital Editions to read them in a better ebook reader. The limitation is called DRM. To remove the DRM restriction, we can make full use of Calibre with the DeDRM plugin, the guide of which will be comprehensively introduced in this post.

What Adobe Digital Editions books are supported by Calibre DeDRM Plugin to remove the DRM?

EPUBs and PDFs protected by Adobe DRM: Kobo books, Google Play books and more.

Now just follow my steps to remove DRM from the Adobe Digital Editions books.

Step 1. Install DeDRM Plugin to Calibre

First, download Calibre and the DeDRM_tools.zip to the computer first. (Unzip the DeDRM_tools.zip and get the DeDRM_plugin.zip. No need to further unzip the DeDRM_plugin.zip.)

Now run Calibre. Click the “Preference” at the top menu bar.

In the pop-up Preference window, find the "Plugins" under the "Advanced" option and click it.

Then tab "Load plugin from file". And then choose the DeDRM_plugin.zip you've prepared.

Follow the procedure and you'll find the DeDRM plugin has been added under the "File Type" option.


Having trouble in adding the DeDRM plugin to Calibre? Follow the guide Solutions to DeDRM Plugin Not Working with Calibre 5.0 to have it fixed.

Step 2. Add Adobe Digital Editions ePub or PDF to Calibre

First, we need to authorize the computer with an Adobe ID. (Click “Help”>“Authorize Computer”>Fill in Adobe ID and password>“Authorize”)


Then make sure the books have been downloaded from Adobe Digital Editions. The Adobe Digital Editions are stored here:

For Windows: C:\Users\Your Username\Documents\My Digital Editions

For Mac: \Users\username\Documents\Digital Editions

Next, add the Adobe Digital Editions ePub or PDF files to Calibre. You can just click the "Add books" icon in the upper-left corner, or just drag the ePub or PDF files to Calibre main interface.

You can continue to click the "Convert books" icon to convert your ebooks to any format you like, for example, convert the Adobe Digital Editions to Kindle AZW3 or Mobi format. Calibre supports a lot of output formats, including PDF, EPUB, DOC, TXT, AZW3, Mobi, FB2, HTMLZ, LIT, LRF, PDFB and etc.


If you receive an error "This book has DRM" as shown in the below picture, you can try the following solutions.

1. Add the DeDRM plugin to Calibre for a second time.

2. Ask a support question or report an issue in Github concerning the DeDRM tools. 

3. Try another much easier-to-use Adobe DRM Removal called Epubor Ultimate. With this tool, you don't have to install any plugins to remove the DRM. Better still, your Adobe Digital Editions books can be detected by this tool and you don't need to manually find them. Just drag them from the left to the right column, and the DRM will be removed immediately.

Download Epubor Ultimate for Free