My Kindle Fire Page 8

  Deleting Books and Docs

  You can delete books and docs from your library. Be very careful here because doing so removes the item permanently. If you delete a book that you purchased from Amazon, you have to buy it again if you want to read it.

  1. Point to the Actions drop-down.

  2. Click Delete from Library.

  3. Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the book from your library.

  Changing Your Kindle Email Address for Docs

  Your Kindle email address is used to send docs directly to your Kindle. You can change the Kindle email address for your Kindle on the Manage Your Kindle page.

  1. Click Personal Document Settings.

  2. Click Edit next to the Kindle email address you want to change.

  3. Enter the new email address.

  4. Click Update.

  * * *

  Creative Addresses

  I admit that I tend to be boring with my email addresses, but you don’t have to be. You can choose any email name you want. If the email address you specify has already been used (including by you for another one of your Kindles), Amazon informs you that you need to choose a different address.

  * * *

  Limiting Doc Conversion Charges

  There is no charge for the delivery of converted docs to the Kindle Fire because it’s Wi-Fi only. However, if you have a 3G Kindle and your personal document is delivered over the 3G connection, Amazon charges you 15 cents per megabyte in the United States and 99 cents per megabyte outside of the United States.

  You can place a limit on your doc conversion charges for each document so that any delivery that would cost you more than a certain amount is not sent over 3G. You can also disable the personal document delivery service.

  1. From Personal Document Settings (see “Changing Your Kindle Email Address for Docs” earlier in this chapter), click Edit in the Whispernet Delivery Options section.

  2. Enter a maximum per document delivery charge amount.

  3. Click Update.

  * * *

  Disabling Delivery over Whispernet

  You can disable delivery over Whispernet altogether by unchecking the Enable Delivery to my Kindle over Whispernet checkbox.

  * * *

  Adding an Approved Email for Docs

  Amazon only converts and delivers docs emailed to your Kindle email address if the sending email is on your approved email list. You can add an approved email address using Personal Document Settings.

  1. From Personal Document Settings (see “Changing Your Kindle Email Address for Docs” earlier in this chapter), click Add a New Approved E-mail Address in the Approved Personal Document E-mail List section.

  2. Enter the email address you want to approve. You can also enter a partial email address such as “yourcompany.com” in order to allow all senders from that particular domain.

  3. Click Add Address.

  * * *

  Deleting an Approved Email Address

  You can delete an approved email address by clicking Delete next to the email address, as shown here.

  * * *

  Disabling Doc Archiving

  By default, docs that are sent to your Kindle are also saved in your Kindle library. Amazon gives you 5GB of space for personal doc archiving, so you might not want to save all of your personal docs in your Kindle library. You can disable the archiving of personal docs.

  1. From Personal Document Settings, click Edit in the Personal Document Archiving section.

  2. Uncheck the box to disable archiving.

  3. Click Update.

  Managing Subscriptions

  You can also manage your subscriptions from the Manage Your Kindle page. You can choose which device gets your subscription automatically, send past issues to your Kindle Fire, or download past issues so that you can sideload them to your Kindle Fire. Finally, you can cancel your subscription altogether.

  Changing Where a Subscription Is Delivered

  You choose which device receives the automatic delivery of subscription content when you first subscribe. You can change that choice from Manage Your Kindle. This option is only available if you have multiple Kindle devices registered.

  1. Click Subscription Settings.

  2. Click Edit for the subscription you want to change.

  3. Select a device to which new editions should be delivered.

  4. Click Update.

  Canceling a Subscription

  If you want to cancel a subscription, you can do it from Manage Your Kindle.

  1. From Subscription Settings, click Actions for the subscription you’d like to cancel.

  2. Click Cancel Subscription.

  3. Select one or more reasons for canceling.

  4. Enter a comment if you select Other.

  5. Click Cancel Subscription.

  * * *

  Access to Past Issues for Canceled Subscriptions

  If you cancel a subscription, any issues that have been downloaded to your Kindle remain in your library. However, you won’t be able to download any past issues.

  * * *

  Reactivating a Canceled Subscription

  Amazon maintains a list of all of your inactive subscriptions. You can use this list to easily reactivate a canceled subscription.

  1. From Subscription Settings, click View Inactive Subscriptions.

  2. Click Actions for the subscription you want to reactivate.

  3. Click Reactivate Subscription.

  4. Click Reactivate Subscription in the confirmation dialog.

  * * *

  Why Is the Actions Button Missing?

  If you have deregistered the Kindle to which an inactive subscription was being delivered, the Actions button is missing. Before you can reactivate the subscription, you first need to select a Kindle to which the subscription should be delivered.

  * * *

  Changing Subscription Privacy Settings

  Amazon does not share your email address with content providers unless you explicitly give permission to do so. You can do that using subscription privacy settings.

  1. From Subscription Settings, locate Privacy Preferences for Newspapers and Magazine Subscriptions.

  2. Click Edit for the subscription you’d like to modify.

  3. Check the box(es) for the information you’d like to share with the content provider.

  4. If you’d like for your settings to be the default for future subscriptions, check the appropriate box.

  5. Click Update.

  Updating Kindle Payment Information

  You can change the credit card that Amazon uses for purchases and for current subscriptions.

  Changing Amazon Purchases Credit Card

  When you buy Kindle books, MP3s, and rent or purchase Amazon videos, the credit card used for 1-Click purchases at Amazon.com is billed automatically. You can change this credit card information, add a new credit card, or choose a different credit card using Manage Your Kindle.

  * * *

  Multiple Credit Cards

  Amazon can store several credit cards for your account, and you can choose which one is used for your 1-Click purchases on the Manage Your Kindle page. Keep in mind that changing your credit card will not change the credit card used for your subscriptions. Those have to be changed separately.

  * * *

  1. Click Kindle Payment Settings.

  2. Click Edit.

  3. Enter your new credit card information or select a different card.

  4. Click Continue.

  Changing Current Subscriptions Credit Card

  Changing your 1-Click credit card does not change the card used for billing of current subscriptions. You must individually update payment options for current subscriptions.

  1. From Kindle Payment Settings, click Edit Payment for the subscription you’d like to change.

  2. Enter the new credit card information.

  3. Click Continue.

  Managing Your Kindle Devices

  You
can add multiple Kindles to your account, and all of them will be listed in Manage Your Kindle. Having two Kindles registered to the same account is useful if you and another family member have the same tastes in books. If you buy a book on one Kindle, you can read it on the other Kindle at the same time without having to buy it again.

  All of your Kindle devices (including the Kindle app installed on your computer or other devices) will be listed on the Manage Your Kindle page. You can deregister a Kindle or change your Kindle’s name.

  * * *

  It’s Not All Good: Registering a Kindle at Amazon.com

  You can also register a new Kindle from the Manage Your Kindle page, but to do so, you need the serial number of the Kindle you’re registering. You can’t find the serial number for a Kindle Fire without first starting the device and going through the initial setup, part of which is registering the device with Amazon. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to use the Manage Your Kindle page to register a Kindle Fire.

  * * *

  Deregistering a Kindle

  If you decided to give away or sell your Kindle, you should deregister it first.

  1. From Manage Your Devices, locate the Kindle you want to deregister.

  2. Click Deregister.

  3. Click the Deregister button.

  Renaming Your Kindle

  You can change the name of your Kindle device from Manage Your Kindle.

  1. From Manage Your Devices, locate the Kindle whose name you want to change.

  2. Click Edit next to the existing name.

  3. Enter a new name for your Kindle.

  4. Click Update.

  Deregistering a Kindle App

  You can also deregister a Kindle app on your computer, iPad, or mobile device.

  1. From Manage Your Devices, locate the Registered Kindle Reading Apps section.

  2. Click Deregister for the app you want to deregister.

  3. Click the Deregister button.

  * * *

  Why Deregister an App?

  If you are going to lend your computer or device to a friend, or if you are giving away your computer or device, you should first deregister the Kindle app. That way, no purchases can be made against your account without your knowledge.

  * * *

  Turning Whispersync Off

  Whispersync keeps all of your devices and Kindle apps synchronized. It synchronizes your reading position, notes, highlights, and more. You normally want to keep Whispersync turned on, but if multiple people in your home are reading Kindles registered to the same account and those people are also reading the same book, Whispersync should be disabled.

  1. In Manage Your Devices, locate the Device Synchronization section.

  2. Click Turn Off to turn off Whispersync. This change takes effect immediately.

  * * *

  Turning Whispersync Back On

  When you click Turn Off, the link changes to Turn On. You can turn Whispersync back on by clicking Turn On.

  * * *

  5. Managing Content with Calibre

  In this chapter, you learn how you can use a free tool called Calibre to manage eBooks that you download from sources other than Amazon.

  • Getting Started with Calibre

  • Adding Content to Calibre

  • Editing Book Information

  • Transferring eBooks to the Kindle Fire

  Amazon’s Kindle Store offers millions of books that you can read on your Kindle Fire, but Amazon certainly doesn’t have a corner on the eBook market. Sites such as www.feedbooks.com and www.baen.com have plenty of eBooks that you can read on your Kindle.

  Buying eBooks from Amazon gives you the benefit of having those eBooks stored in the cloud on Amazon’s servers, an advantage that you don’t get with third-party eBooks vendors. However, by using a tool like Calibre, you can easily manage your third-party eBooks.

  * * *

  Calibre Updates

  Calibre is updated often, and it’s possible that by the time you read this chapter, the steps may have changed slightly. I wrote this chapter based on version 0.8.29 of Calibre.

  * * *

  Getting Started with Calibre

  Calibre is available from calibre-ebook.com. Because Calibre needs to be installed on your computer, you need to access that URL from your computer and not your Kindle Fire. (You can download Calibre in both Windows and Mac versions.)

  Welcome Wizard

  After you’ve downloaded and installed Calibre, you can launch it and walk through the Welcome Wizard.

  1. Choose your language.

  2. Choose a folder for your Calibre library. If you already have eBooks on your computer that you want Calibre to manage, choose the folder that contains them. Otherwise, you can accept the default.

  * * *

  Creating a Calibre Library

  If you don’t already have a Calibre library, make sure you point Calibre to an empty directory where it creates a new library for you. It doesn’t matter where you create this folder. It’s purely up to you.

  * * *

  3. Click Next.

  4. Select Amazon as the manufacturer and Kindle Fire as the device.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Click Finish to start using Calibre.

  Adding Content to Calibre

  If you already have eBooks in the folder you chose in the Welcome Wizard, Calibre should already be populated with your eBooks. Otherwise, you need to import any existing eBooks into Calibre.

  * * *

  >>>Go Further: Ebook Formats

  eBooks come in many different formats. The most popular eBook format is called EPUB, and it’s the format that libraries have used for the past few years. The Kindle is the only common eBook reader that does not support EPUB format. Instead, the Kindle supports the MOBI format.

  eBooks that you purchase from the Kindle store are actually in AZW format. The AZW format is a derivative of MOBI. Amazon modified the format slightly in order to accommodate its serial number format and to add digital rights management (DRM) so that you can’t buy a book once and give it to a million Internet users.

  As long as you have eBooks that don’t have DRM embedded in them, you can usually convert them to MOBI format for your Kindle Fire. Unfortunately, it’s not a simple task to tell if a book is protected with DRM. The easiest way is to try to use the book with Calibre. It will complain if the book is protected with DRM.

  * * *

  Importing Books

  You can import eBooks in any format into your Calibre library. If an eBook is in a format that your Kindle Fire doesn’t recognize, Calibre can convert it for you.