> A file with the .MOBI file extension is used for storing eBooks. It was originally a Mobipocket Reader format but has since been adopted by several different readers as well. Amazon purchased Mobipocket in 2005, and later discontinued the MOBI format in 2011.
> The current Kindle formats (AZW3, KF8, and KFX) are based on MOBI and is a proprietary format exclusively used on Kindle devices. And, in fact, you can still open files with the MOBI format directly on your Kindle
And (another fun fact) if you want to email EPUBs to your kindle, just make the file extension .png (!?) and it will be automatically converted, without the need for Calibre.
Most people HN would want it since we are power users who like desktop apps. But don’t rob yourself of trying to understand why everyone else doesn’t want to use desktop software to get a book on their Kindle.
For example, my girlfriend is an avid ebook reader but couldn’t be less interested in it. “I can see why that could be useful but... no thanks.”
We like the smell of our own farts too much sometimes. In this case, in the form of “why don’t people want to use more software to do what you were already doing without it?”
> But don’t rob yourself of trying to understand why everyone else doesn’t want to use desktop software to get a book on their Kindle.
Yes, that's a good point. I originally had "Why would you want to go without Calibre when it's so multi-functional?", but changed it to "Who knows why you'd want …" in an aim to sound less confrontational. I seem instead to have gone the other way!
I can download an epub on my mobile. I can email an epub from my mobile.
I can't run calibre from my mobile. I can rename .epub to .png and email that from my mobile.
Yes, I can host calibre somewhere else. No, my technologically savvy friends and family cannot. I also don't want them to depend on me to be able to convert an epub for their kindle when there's a trivial solution that doesn't require additional dependencies.
Because the only feature I've ever needed from Calibre is ePub conversion and Amazon will do that for me without hassle (and without access to desktop computer).
Kindle has jumped around in formats over the years. It's been AZW (which is basically mobi), AZW3, and now KFX. I assume that KFX is what this tool is calling "Kindle".
