[chucker]

Originally Posted by torifile I would be unsurprised to hear if Push Pop Press were acquired by Apple.

Weren't they acquired by Facebook last year, though?

[torifile]

Originally Posted by chucker Weren't they acquired by Facebook last year, though?

Were they? If so, then maybe I would be surprised.

[alcimedes]

Originally Posted by screensaver400 The only way for eTextbooks to be successful is if they cost less than used books at a college bookstore... Say, $19.99-$39.99 for books that are $70-$120 new and $40-$80 used. eTextbooks can't be resold, so they are inherently less valuable. If you figure the average textbook is resold 3 or 4 times, the publisher will come out about even. College bookstores will be pissed, though.

Not sure which school you went to, but when I was in school I'd be lucky to be able to resell 1/4 of my textbooks. In most cases they were worth $1 - $5 because there was a new version coming out next year in most cases.

The idea of interactive text books sounds fascinating, and if you can keep them, why not? It would be kind of cool to be able to go back through some of my old text books and read them now, the main reason I got rid of them was to save space.

[psmith2.0]

iBook Author seems really cool!

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles... reation_.html

And it's free from the Mac App Store.

And "reinventing the textbook" too!

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...for_ipad_.html

I can't go back and find it, but I remember babbling a lot on here, prior to the original iPad's launch (when I thought textbooks would be part of it) the very stuff talked about today...photos and graphics/video playing a role, the ability to manipulate 3D models (DNA or atoms or whatever), inline video or audio where applicable, etc.

Took a couple of years, but this is all a no-brainer. The technology certainly exists. As is often the case, it'll be changing/challenging entrenched approaches or mindsets (often those of people or companies far from actual students). But it sounds like Apple has the three big textbook outfits - Pearson, McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - onboard with them.

So this could be the start of something big. Five years or so from now, buying your college books may be nothing like it is today.

Thank God.

EDIT: Apple's eTextbooks cost $14.99 or less...major publishers already on board.

[Robo]

To anyone who has ever had the misfortune of using Blackboard, from either perspective, the new iTunes U app seems like the coolest thing ever. I think it's so cool that a real software company (Apple, no less!) is shaking up that super-stale space.

But because I'm me: I don't get the name. It's not part of iTunes any more, it's not just for college-level students any more, and it's not really that much like the "free lecture podcasts" service iTunes U was. I think a new name like iSchool or whatnot would be more appropriate for what the new app really is.

But, still: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[torifile]

I wonder if this thing is going to create problems for self-publishing platforms like Lulu (Brad?) and the like. That said, I'm totally going to put my book out there.

[Xaqtly]

Will it? How much does iBook Author have to do with publishing printed books? I honestly don't know, I haven't gotten iBook Author yet. I was under the impression it was just for ebooks, where Lulu and Blurb are for self-publishing actual printed books.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by Xaqtly Will it? How much does iBook Author have to do with publishing printed books? I honestly don't know, I haven't gotten iBook Author yet. I was under the impression it was just for ebooks, where Lulu and Blurb are for self-publishing actual printed books.

Paper is going the way of the dodo. This makes paper publishing relatively harder than digital publishing and it's more expensive, too.

[psmith2.0]

There will always be a place for paper/print publishing and work (I think...ask me again in 40 years). But in some fields, with some audiences, digital/online is certainly the way to go. Education/learning has to be one of the top fits, for so many reasons. It's practically meant for such engaging, easily-updated and hands-on approaches. Who in the hell would rather read about some cellular process if they could, instead, see it move/transform and self-label/notate in glorious color and sound, guided by your own hand and allowing for three-dimensional perspectives and motion?

I imagine as us 40-and-up types age and fade away, people who are in their teens and 20's now (and those just being born) are going to come into a world where this kind of thing is the norm/standard.

When my little niece and nephew (third and first grade respectively) grow up and have their own children in 20 years, I suspect those kids may enter a school system where no such thing as a printed textbook ever exists.

Why would it have to, if we've seen just these many changes to tech and design in just the past five or so years? It may happen much sooner than what I've imagined, but it'll certainly go that way.

It almost has to. It seems silly to make students, any age/level, tote around expensive, bulky, heavy, (possibly) outdated and static material if a better, more engaging way is available. In the way that printed, full-color books were better than a stone slate and chisel/chalk, this new stuff is a leap above the norm. Or can be, in the right situation. The tools of the age. Nothing lasts forever, and there's always something better and smarter waiting to take its place.

Today's old farts will one day be gone (and hipsters and tech-heads currently in their 20's and 30's will be tech-savvy, -appreciating seniors...that'll be a huge advantage, once a generation or two passes). I'm fortunate in that I feel like I get to live comfortably in the smack-dab middle of it all...young enough to see/appreciate what it all means and can do, but not old and entrenched enough to be all "bah!" and "back in my day, we used books, dammit..." about it all.

I know it gets into funding and "haves vs. have nots" (not everyone will have access to iPads, WiFi, etc.), but maybe that's part of the process too, as districts and administrators begin to re-think (and re-route) funding and resources from older ways to newer ones.

Point is, that's stuff that will be addressed and worked out as it all transitions.

It won't be overnight - few things ever are - but it can start slow and steady. I guarantee you, 3-4 years from now we'll look back and today will be like some of those other "firsts" we associate with Apple (iPhone, iTunes Store, iMac, etc.). They all started out in a modest, measured way (none were "perfect" or fully-featured on Day One), but look at what they've become over the years, and the things they can do/offer.

Same thing here, I think.

Today was just the first, opening step. Give it a couple of years and see what happens...

This needed to happen. And, once again, is anyone surprised by who will most likely be leading the way? You can pretty much expect Everyone Else™, if the past 10 years is anything to go by, to suddenly be killing themselves to get into this new thing in the coming years.



Steve would be proud, if this goes the way it should. Didn't he talk about all this kind of stuff in that Isaacson bio?

[Eugene]

Would have been nice if the textbooks could be viewed on Macs...

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Eugene Would have been nice if the textbooks could be viewed on Macs...

Yeah, no kidding. Practically speaking, if you're taking 18 hours in college that's maybe $480/semester (six textbooks @ $80 each) vs $500 (iPad)+ $90/semester, so it really should be a no-brainer. I'm just really really unbelievably strongly against spending $500 on something that I only need for "political" reasons.

[709]

Obviously you're not majoring in economics.


My whole thing with this announcement is that they didn't make a push in iBooks for, y'now, books. Creating ebooks today is an absolute clusterfuck. It would've been nice to see that.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by 709 Obviously you're not majoring in economics. My whole thing with this announcement is that they didn't make a push in iBooks for, y'now, books. Creating ebooks today is an absolute clusterfuck. It would've been nice to see that.

They sorta did... they said iBooks Author could be used to create any kind of iBook, but was geared towards textbooks.

And no, I did not major in economics... I did fine in the micro/macro classes, but it never actually made any sense beyond the basics.

[chucker]

I didn't watch the presentation, but iBooks Author clearly names other book types in its description.

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by Dave Yeah, no kidding. Practically speaking, if you're taking 18 hours in college that's maybe $480/semester (six textbooks @ $80 each) vs $500 (iPad)+ $90/semester, so it really should be a no-brainer. I'm just really really unbelievably strongly against spending $500 on something that I only need for "political" reasons.

I'm not complaining at all about the monetary pros/cons of it all. I've had textbooks cost in excess of $150 brand new. While used books and old editions come at a substantial discount, that's precisely what they are. I love it when I open a page and it's completely highlighted or has dicks drawn in the margins.

I'm just saying that it would be terribly convenient if I could let someone else use my iPad or leave it charging while I use the textbooks I bought from a Mac reader.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Eugene I'm not complaining at all about the monetary pros/cons of it all. I've had textbooks cost in excess of $150 brand new. While used books and old editions come at a substantial discount, that's precisely what they are. I love it when I open a page and it's completely highlighted or has dicks drawn in the margins. I'm just saying that it would be terribly convenient if I could let someone else use my iPad or leave it charging while I use the textbooks I bought from a Mac reader.

Yeah, nothing quite like getting a textbook whose previous owner completely missed the point of highlighting...

I'm not in college anymore so I no longer need my old textbooks... I did keep a bunch of them (mostly math/phys/comp sci) and I still want textbooks that cover those topics, but it doesn't have to those specific titles or editions. I would love to sell them all, reclaim the shelf space, and buy replacement iBooks, but I can't because I don't have an iPad. It's silly and/or ridiculous.

[Satchmo]

This sounds like a great step forward in book publishing.

However, is it really as easy as Apple makes it out to be? I mean it's easy to drag and drop text and pictures, but what about the interactivity? Don't files that allow 3-D rotation or user selectable options still need to be scripted or built in some other app?

Apple did the same thing when they showed how easy it was to build an iPhone app.
Also while the templates are nice, it would be great if there was greater granularity and customization.
I guess we're left to Adobe and (shudder Quark) to provide us with tools to build custom publications.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Satchmo This sounds like a great step forward in book publishing. However, is it really as easy as Apple makes it out to be? I mean it's easy to drag and drop text and pictures, but what about the interactivity? Don't files that allow 3-D rotation or user selectable options still need to be scripted or built in some other app? Apple did the same thing when they showed how easy it was to build an iPhone app. Also while the templates are nice, it would be great if there was greater granularity and customization. I guess we're left to Adobe and (shudder Quark) to provide us with tools to build custom publications.

In the keynote they said you could use Dashcode (I think) to make your own widgets if you needed something non-standard.

[Moogs]

Originally Posted by Dave In the keynote they said you could use Dashcode (I think) to make your own widgets if you needed something non-standard.

That would sort of drive home the point... because Dashcode requires actual (real) programming AFAIK.

Satchmo, AFAIG the templates are easily re-arranged and customized. Looking right now at creating my own long-form template. The real problem with this app is the non-friendly Import/Export behavior WRT to EPUB and using it in an environment with other apps.