Apple’s special event last week may have been targeted at the education market, but the new iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U apps — and how they’re being seen by both those who create books and those who read them — dominate this week’s issue of TidBITS. Adam covers the basics of Apple’s announcements, and also looks at why much of the consternation is happening because people are missing that Apple is aiming everything at the education market. Michael Cohen also weighs in with commentary about why iBooks Author will be a big deal in education, but taking the opposite view is physics teacher Steve McCabe, who argues that iBooks textbooks offer a warmed-up take on twenty-year-old ideas. In our own publishing news, it may not be an enhanced iBooks textbook, but Glenn Fleishman’s new “Take Control of Screen Sharing in Lion” still has all the help you need to choose and use the right method of screen sharing for your needs. And speaking of Glenn, he also runs down the latest changes in AT&T’s data plans for iPhones and iPads. Notable software releases this week include iTunes 10.5.3, Typinator 5, QuarkXPress 9.2, and Default Folder X 4.4.8.
We won’t be taking in-person TidBITS membership signups at Moscone, at the entirely reasonable request of our friends at IDG World Expo. Sorry for any confusion!
New iPhone subscribers at AT&T will pay more for data plans and receive greater usage allotments. Existing customers can stick with plans, but can’t return to older plans if they choose new ones.
Glenn Fleishman has updated his essential guide to Mac screen sharing for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, all while still including help for users of 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard, plus details on how to control a Mac from an iOS device.
In a major move into the education world, Apple has released a significant update to iBooks on the iPad that can display enhanced textbooks, a Mac app for creating those textbooks, and an iTunes U app for online courses. All the apps are free, but everything is tied to Apple’s hardware and commerce ecosystem.
Although there are some issues in regard to licensing and open standards, the introduction of Apple’s iBooks Author is a good thing.
New Zealand educator Steve McCabe may be a fan of Apple hardware and software, but he’s not buying Apple’s claim that enhanced iBooks will make a difference for education. Grade: C-. Really must try harder.
With all the fuss over the iBooks Author license agreement, what has been missed is that Apple is focusing the entire initiative on the education market, which is rather different from the publishing world in general. As one of those publishers left out in the cold, Adam may not like it, but he explains how what Apple is doing makes sense for Apple.
Notable software releases this week include iTunes 10.5.3, Typinator 5, QuarkXPress 9.2, and Default Folder X 4.4.8.
Read on for a collection of links to the most interesting articles and resources that the TidBITS staff discovered on the Web this week.