Kobo Firmware 4.31 Support Sideloaded Mode

According to Kobo official note about the new released Firmware 4.31,  Kobo has made the below changes in this firmware:

Increased Language Support

 • Added Catalan dictionary

 • You can now select Simplified Chinese in Settings > Language and dictionaries

 • Added Pinyin keyboard

 • Added English - Simplified Chinese dictionary

Book Covers on Sleep and Power Off-Screen

 • Book covers will now appear on the sleep screen for Fnac customers.

 • Tip: You can hide book covers or make them full screen in Settings > Energy saving and privacy.

However, besides these changes included in the Kobo official release note, there are also many new features added to the 4.31 firmware. Here is the detailed version of what’s new about the 4.31 firmware:

• Sideloaded mode

• Improvements in handwriting performance

• FNAC affiliate now has options for showing the cover

• Catalan dictionary added

• Simplified Chinese support:

    o Language in UI

    o Three new fonts any of the Chinese languages are selected (after syncing)

    o English - Simplified Chinese dictionary

    o Pinyin keyboard

• Fixes:

    o Crash when opening sideloaded epubs (Adobe OOM issues)

    o Move Notebook section from More view back to the tab widget on the home page when stylus is detected

    o Remove File Size limit when parsing text document. Previously text files over 2MB were ignored.

    o Syncing annotations across devices

    o Timezone database has been updated.

As you can see, one of the most useful features is that Kobo now adds Sideloaded mode. Once you are in sideloaded mode, it does not force you to sign in and can continue using the device, but, the sing in option is still there. This is definitely designed for users who cannot connect to a network during the setup. In a word, the device works without having to sign in.

Bonus Tips:

You can sideload DRM Free eBooks to Kobo here.

You can sideload DRM Free Audiobooks to Kobo here.

Audible Windows App Has Been Discontinued

On January 13, 2022, the Audible for Windows desktop app has been discontinued. Now it's currently not available in the Windows Microsoft store.

Here is a screenshot of the email message shared by a user:

According to the email sent from Audible,  users who already have the app installed on their PC can continue to use it until July 31st, 2022. But after that date, people won't be able to use the Audible Windows app to access the library.

And they encourage users to use their iOS or Android apps, the Audible Cloud player or the Echo devices to listen to the audiobooks. 

Audible Windows app has provided us a way to download Audible books as AAX format. But now it's discontinued. So the only way to download Audible books in AAX format is to download from the Audible official site www.audible.com. (According to some users, the download on the Italian Audible site has already been discontinued.)

In case Audible will discontinue the downloads from audible.com one day, it's high time that you should download and back up them to your computer.

Here is the detailed guide you can follow to download your Audible books from the Audible official site:

How to Download Audible Books to PC/Mac Computer

Fixed! Adobe Digital Editions Virtual Printing is Not Allowed

 - Can I print books from Adobe Digital Editions?

- Yes, you can. In Adobe Digital Editions, select File > Print or use the Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac) keyboard shortcuts.

However, you can only print books if the book publisher has not restricted the printing of the book. If the print option is restricted, the "Print" button will be greyed out. 

To check the book permissions, go to the Library, right-click the book, and select Item Info. Check that printing is enabled or not allowed in the permissions.

What to Do if Adobe Digital Editions Printing is Not Allowed?

Now the printing is not allowed, what can we do to make the printing available? As we said, the reason why printing is not allowed is that the publisher has made a restriction on the book. So the solution out there is to break the restrictions, more exactly, the DRM protection. Let's follow my steps to remove the DRM protection and print Adobe Digital Edtions books.

Step 1. Remove DRM from Adobe Digital Editions.

Download and install Epubor Ultimate. It's the best Adobe DRM removal & eBook converter for Adobe Digital Editions books. 

Download Epubor Ultimate for Free

 

Run Epubor Ultimate. All your Adobe Digital Editions books are automatically detected and displayed under the "Adobe" tab. Now just drag and drop your books from the left side to the right column. You will find the books are automatically decrypted. It means the DRM is successfully removed. 

Then continue to click the button “Convert to PDF” if your original Adobe Digital Editions books are in epub format. Once the conversion is finished, just click the bottom-right folder icon to find your converted PDF Adobe Books.

Step 2. Print Adobe Digital Editions books.

Once you have got your Adobe Digital Editions DRM-free and in PDF format, all that's left to do is to print the PDF file. There are many PDF readers that support the print function. 

Here I just open the PDF file with Microsoft Edge browser on my Windows 10. If you are using Mac, you can open the PDF files with the native software "Preview". Click on the "Print" icon at the top menu bar, then choose the pages that you would like to print and hit the "Print" button.

That’s all steps for solutions to Adobe Digital Editions printing is not allowed. It's rather easy, right? Don't hesitate to get Epubor Ultimate in handy! 

Best Books of the Year to Kick off the Year 2022!

Is reading more on your to-do list for 2022? If so, here are some of the best books of the year 2021, which can be the titles that can help you kick off the year 2022！

According to Amazon editors, they have announced the list of the top 20 books of the year. And below titles are the best among this list.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles 

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

Bonus tips: if you back up your purchased Kindle books on your local disk, you can try to use eBook DRM Removal to get rid of the DRM protection.