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Old 01-28-2012, 09:08 AM   #136
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This format is based on HTML5, as is ePub3, as is KF8.
One difference is how to handle things that can't be done with HTML5. ePub3 has chosen javascript for that, Apple have chosen their own solution.
I thought Apple's new ibooks format supported Javascript as well, though you'd need to do that using custom widgets/templates.
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Old 01-29-2012, 12:02 AM   #137
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The analogy would be true if you change "can only be sold with their approval and giving them a cut" with "can only be sold by MS/Sony". Which is false.
The blind leading the blind
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Old 02-03-2012, 04:20 AM   #138
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I feel the bigger impact of Apple's announcement is to cast light on the paucity of simple text-to-epub authoring tools for Windows. Apple's offering is software to allow a broader audience to create both mass audience ebooks but also targetted ebooks for education, business training, church groups, etc. The proprietary format includes drm and offers Apple's device ecosystem in exchange for a 30% cut. But you can also export to pdf for targetted audiences. You won't have the media capabilities but you will have output that looks like an ebook in a widely accessible format.

Apple has consolidated the necessary functions (importing assets, basic editing, formatting appropriate for ebooks) into ONE program, in contrast to the common windows practice of juggling multiple programs to get from text to ebook. Sigil is the closest but its code-monkey design limits its broad appeal.

I'm a little surprised by the the discussion of media and interactivity here when in the windows world its still a theoretical proposition, assuming you are not hand-coding to epub3. InDesign will certainly support these standards eventually but it won't be free, will be more complex to use, and will remain priced beyond the reach of the audience that Apple is targetting.

There seems to be a lot of passion regarding how to handle media and interactivity even though well designed but affordable tools to create even epub2 ebooks are scarce.

Last edited by Fugubot; 02-03-2012 at 04:31 AM.
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Old 02-03-2012, 06:08 AM   #139
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Originally Posted by Fugubot View Post
I feel the bigger impact of Apple's announcement is to cast light on the paucity of simple text-to-epub authoring tools for Windows. Apple's offering is software to allow a broader audience to create both mass audience ebooks but also targetted ebooks for education, business training, church groups, etc. The proprietary format includes drm and offers Apple's device ecosystem in exchange for a 30% cut. But you can also export to pdf for targetted audiences. You won't have the media capabilities but you will have output that looks like an ebook in a widely accessible format.

Apple has consolidated the necessary functions (importing assets, basic editing, formatting appropriate for ebooks) into ONE program, in contrast to the common windows practice of juggling multiple programs to get from text to ebook. Sigil is the closest but its code-monkey design limits its broad appeal.

I'm a little surprised by the the discussion of media and interactivity here when in the windows world its still a theoretical proposition, assuming you are not hand-coding to epub3. InDesign will certainly support these standards eventually but it won't be free, will be more complex to use, and will remain priced beyond the reach of the audience that Apple is targetting.

There seems to be a lot of passion regarding how to handle media and interactivity even though well designed but affordable tools to create even epub2 ebooks are scarce.
There are already numerous decent free tools for creating text and PDF books on all platforms. The quality of PDF books, and other PDF documents are in general, are already quite high and iBooks Author brings nothing to the table there.

You can't use iBooks Author to create ePub2 books.
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Old 02-19-2012, 05:18 PM   #140
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And I thought it was a rhetorical question.
No question is truly rhetorical unless you don't allow the other person to respond.

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But apparently some people would rather deprive schoolkids of textbooks than allow them to have textbooks on a platform they dislike.
This isn't about the platform. It's about the software being used to supply the platform. That's not a small difference.


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Well, it is authoring software designed to create iBooks. Not e-books. Which are only available for iDevices now.
It's a dressed-up ePub. There's no reason the content (outside of the DRM wrapper) shouldn't be portable to any other device, the same way you can take an e-book and package it for Kindle or Nook or Sony. The thing Apple did was create software to make the file. The file itself isn't magical (despite what Apple wants you to believe.)

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True. You can also use Kindle Apps. Big difference.
Huge difference. It means the Kindle books can be used on any Android device, or any PC, or any Mac, for that matter (including iDevices).

But there's an even bigger difference: Amazon doesn't stake a claim on your content. Publishing through the Kindle storefront doesn't mean you have to forego publishing anywhere else unless you specifically sign up for the Kindle Select program for that work.

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Yes, Snidely Whiplash was always writing textbooks for children before tying the woman to the railroad tracks.
I think you misunderstand how this works. Apple isn't writing anything other than the software which allows authors to produce in the iBooks store. Apple isn't writing a single textbook.

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Second - "evil?" Seriously "evil?" I don't think you know what the word means.
What else would you call a Faustian bargain not even Microsoft has the balls to pull on people? Last time I checked, producing something in Word or Excel didn't give Microsoft any rights to the work product. Okay, Word and Excel aren't free, but neither do you have to make such a bargain to use OpenOffice Writer or Calc.

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Here's a free product you can use to create iBooks. If you use the program to create free iBooks, you can distribute it however you want. If you are going to charge for the iBook, you need to sell the book through iTunes.
That's correct. But as I said, who else would even dare to try such a stunt with a straight face?

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Sorry, that just doesn't meet the test of evil. If authors don't want to use the product, they're free not to.
For now. I mean, you understand what the endgame is here, right? Apple makes deals with schools so that only iPads (or their successors) are used in said schools. At that point, Apple locks it down and says you have to use iBooks Author to produce textbooks for the iPad.

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Just as they would be free to not use a product that cost too much. (And it's not evil to charge for software, either).
I never made that claim. What is evil is to stick into a EULA (you know -- that thing that most people just click through?) terms that are so draconian that no other software publisher would be able to stomach them.

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(I may be wrong, but I also don't think that the program will be very successful...while I think that e-textbooks will (eventually) be the future, I don't think that the interactive part of the textbooks is much more than a gimmick. (It's a little more than a gimmick, but not a lot more.) It's cool that you can see a DNA strand rotate...but when it comes down to what HS kids learn about DNA in biology, the rotation won't cause them to actually learn any more than they would from a color picture.
I could be wrong, too, but I don't think it matters how much more kids will learn. A lot of schools seem to view technology as magic that will instantaneously increase their test scores without any additional effort by the teachers. Give them some eye candy, and I'm sure they'll bite.
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Old 02-20-2012, 01:03 AM   #141
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It seems the most ardent criticism of AUTHOR is by people who are not inclined to make e-books for the iBooks app in the first place. Their complaint is that they can't sell iBook files from AUTHOR to anyone except through iTunes.

Can someone please explain to me how a publisher would sell AUTHOR created iBooks for profit in any other way than that which Apple has defined?

What am I missing out on here?
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Old 02-20-2012, 03:58 AM   #142
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Can someone please explain to me how a publisher would sell AUTHOR created iBooks for profit in any other way than that which Apple has defined?
The most obvious option: They could have the books for sale on their own publisher's website, either for less than they cost at the iTunes store--or at the same price, where the publisher gets more money because Apple doesn't get a cut. They could sell books through iTunes and make sure the last few pages have ads, "Get more of our books at our website!" instead of pushing their customers through Apple's filter.

There are other options--selling a CD of a dozen books to school libraries; authors selling customized packages comprised of parts of several textbooks, and so on. But the obvious one is direct competition with the iTunes store, counting on iTunes to catch the first few customers and then directing them to another site for followup purchases.
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Old 02-20-2012, 04:38 AM   #143
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For now. I mean, you understand what the endgame is here, right? Apple makes deals with schools so that only iPads (or their successors) are used in said schools. At that point, Apple locks it down and says you have to use iBooks Author to produce textbooks for the iPad.
Apple have always made deals with schools and given them discounted products. The idealists will say that it's admirable that they support education this way.

Realists will know Apple's marketing department follow the Jesuit principle "Give them to me for the first seven years and they're mine for life".

Both finish up with fanatical believers, though sadly for them their dropout rate is probably higher than they would like. I wonder what Jobs' Ninth Circle looks like?
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Old 02-21-2012, 07:39 AM   #144
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The most obvious option: They could have the books for sale on their own publisher's website, either for less than they cost at the iTunes store--or at the same price, where the publisher gets more money because Apple doesn't get a cut. They could sell books through iTunes and make sure the last few pages have ads, "Get more of our books at our website!" instead of pushing their customers through Apple's filter.

There are other options--selling a CD of a dozen books to school libraries; authors selling customized packages comprised of parts of several textbooks, and so on. But the obvious one is direct competition with the iTunes store, counting on iTunes to catch the first few customers and then directing them to another site for followup purchases.
OK, But that brings us full circle to the argument that Microsoft doesn't make you sell Microsoft word docs and Excel spreadsheets through some kind of Microsoft store. But Microsoft doesn't provide the applications for FREE do they?

So, Yes you are right Elfwreck. It's precisely that scenario that Apple are trying to ensure that businesses don't get a free ride at their expense. If you use Apple's new FREE software for profit then pay the Ferryman.

Last edited by wannabee; 02-21-2012 at 07:45 AM. Reason: EDIT: How many books are out there that haven't paid a cent to Sigil and Calibre creators? Apple have more clout and resource
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Old 02-21-2012, 08:35 AM   #145
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OK, But that brings us full circle to the argument that Microsoft doesn't make you sell Microsoft word docs and Excel spreadsheets through some kind of Microsoft store. But Microsoft doesn't provide the applications for FREE do they?

So, Yes you are right Elfwreck. It's precisely that scenario that Apple are trying to ensure that businesses don't get a free ride at their expense. If you use Apple's new FREE software for profit then pay the Ferryman.
There are two distinct business models you can compare what Apple is doing to.
One is Microsoft with Word, Excel, Adobe with PDF, and so on. They sell (or give way, I don't think it really matters) creation software, but impose no restrictions on what you can do with the output.
That doesn't match what Apple is doing.

The other is games console manufactures. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all have online game stores where you can buy downloadable games. They all provide development kits to let people create these games. And they all require you to only sell games through their stores, and maintain full control of what is and is not allowed to be sold through their stores. (And, in some cases, how much it can be sold for).
This is what Apple is doing.
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Old 02-21-2012, 10:46 AM   #146
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I mentioned this much earlier in the thread, but didn't have a link to back it up.

https://plus.google.com/113117251731...ts/RDmRzaSZB4a
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Old 02-21-2012, 10:02 PM   #147
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Can someone please explain to me how a publisher would sell AUTHOR created iBooks for profit in any other way than that which Apple has defined?

What am I missing out on here?
I think the point you're missing is that the Author portion doesn't matter. As far as I know, once you publish iBooks with Author, you're not allowed to sell your book in any other form, either. Yes, you can give it away, but you can't make any money off of it outside of iBooks -- regardless of the format. They don't just own the content in that format -- they own the content completely, as far as any royalties are concerned.
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Old 02-21-2012, 11:17 PM   #148
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I think the point you're missing is that the Author portion doesn't matter. As far as I know, once you publish iBooks with Author, you're not allowed to sell your book in any other form, either. Yes, you can give it away, but you can't make any money off of it outside of iBooks -- regardless of the format. They don't just own the content in that format -- they own the content completely, as far as any royalties are concerned.
You are misinformed. Apple already put out a clarifying change to their EULA that makes sure folks know that Apple is not making any claims to the content of an iBook.

You can use the same content you put into an iBook to make a Kindle book using other software...or write a program to create a dynamic book app to run on an Android device.

Basically, you simply can't SELL your iBook output from any other site than iTunes.

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Old 02-22-2012, 05:56 AM   #149
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I didn't know they made that change to their EULA. Thanks.
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