Apple’s January 2012 education event: reinventing the textbook – The Verge

iBooks Author 1.0.1 EULA clarifies sales stance: works can be sold outside of the iBookstore

2012-02-03T18:40:06-05:00

Gallery Photo: iBooks 2 event hands-on

When Apple released iBooks Author as part of its education event in January, one element of the End User License Agreement raised some eyebrows: namely, it specified that works created with the tool could be offered for sale only through Apple services such as the iBookstore. Today Apple released a 1.0.1 update to the application - whose sole listed change is a revised EULA - that makes the company's intentions a bit clearer. According to the new language, Apple is only requiring products be sold through their channels if the work is finished in the company's .ibooks format - which, as you may expect, only works with iBooks in the first plac …

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Apple education event video now available for streaming and download

2012-01-20T02:53:30-05:00

Apple Education Event Video

Apple introduced a number of new products and initiatives at its event in New York this morning, including textbook support in iBooks 2, the iBooks Author content creation tool, and a new iTunes U app for iOS. If our hands-on impressions and liveblog didn't leave you sated, Apple has now posted video of the event itself. It's available for streaming on the company's website, or if you'd rather have a copy for safekeeping, you can download it through iTunes as one of Apple's video podcasts.

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iBooks Author restricts all sales to iBookstore, wraps for-pay books in DRM

2012-01-19T22:08:18-05:00

iBooks Author

After iBooks Author's announcement and release today, would-be writers began delving into the tool to see how it worked and what restrictions might be placed on it. Unfortunately, one of those restrictions is relatively onerous: Apple's End User License Agreement stipulates that books created with the tool can only be sold through Apple's iBookstore. As with other content sold through Apple's store, the company takes a 30 percent cut of all sales. Dan Wineman made the initial discovery, which applies only to books that are to be sold, not to books that are meant to be given away for free. iBooks Author can export to text, PDF, or Apple's cus …

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Apple iTunes U hands-on pictures and video

2012-01-19T13:48:46-05:00

Gallery Photo: iTunes U hands-on photos

The iTunes U desktop app has always provided students and non-students alike with access to lots of higher-education course materials, but it hasn't been accessible or very user friendly. The new iTunes U iPad app changes that, and is so completely chock-full of interesting college course material that it makes me want to be a full-time iTunes U student.

The app itself is extremely straightforward. Apple's Eddy Cue said it was built to look a lot like iBooks, and he wasn't lying: when you download a specific course or lecture it appears on your iTunes U mahogany bookshelf. The course sheet is laid out to look like a spiral notebook with div …

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Apple’s iBooks 2 and iBooks Author announcements raise questions about hardware, content

2012-01-19T12:07:40-05:00

via images.scribblelive.com

Sitting on the floor of the Guggenheim Museum just following a big Apple event gives you a little time to think. And there was plenty of food for thought here.

The company today began its official upending of the textbook market by launching a suite of new software, including iBooks 2 for iPad and iPhone, iBooks Author, and a new version of iTunes U.

Apple also announced partnerships with major textbook publishers including Houghton Mifflin, Pearson, and McGraw Hill. Those three companies account for 90-percent of textbook production, according to Apple vice president Phil Schiller.

The new tools are impressive to say the least, particula …

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iTunes 10.5.3 adds iBooks textbook syncing to your iPad

2012-01-19T11:47:57-05:00

itunes

Following the launch of its new education suite, Apple just launched a new version of iTunes for syncing your iBooks textbooks to your iPad. It's available for download now on Apple's site. We're not seeing it in Software Update just yet, but it should be good for download there soon.

iTunes 10.5.3 allows you to sync interactive iBooks textbooks to your iPad. These Multi-Touch textbooks are available for purchase from the iTunes Store on your Mac or from the iBookstore included with iBooks 2 on your iPad.

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iBooks Author hands-on: making textbooks in the 21st century

2012-01-19T11:34:15-05:00

iBooks Author

Alright, I just fired up iBooks Author, which is a free download from the Mac App Store. It installed quickly, and after selecting a template I was editing my first-textbook in moments. The single-window interface is just like any other modern iWorks app, and Apple isn't offering it for free for lack of features. Like Josh mentioned in the liveblog, the app is a mix of Keynote and Pages, with drag and drop layout tools and a sidebar of "slides" representing the table of contents.

Of course, the app isn't exactly designed for your mom to publish a interactive textbook of her vacation: while some aspects are a breeze, there's no WYSIWYG to bu …

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iBooks 2 hands-on: Apple’s reinvented textbook

2012-01-19T10:54:06-05:00

iBooks 2

We just downloaded our copy of iBooks 2 so we can dig into Life on Earth and give you our first impressions. iBooks 2 installs easily and doesn't have any changes on the surface - but when you flip over to the book store, you're presented with Life on Earth as book of the week and a large banner highlighting the new textbooks store. For now, there's only seven textbooks for $14.99 each as well as the free download of Life on Earth. The books range in size from about 750MB to nearly 3GB for the Biology textbook - a full set would take up most of a 16GB iPad's storage.

As for Life on Earth itself, it runs extremely well even on the original i …

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Apple iTunes U app released

2012-01-19T10:50:01-05:00

ITunes U

Apple has had its iTunes U offering for quite awhile, which has provided professors a digital hub to communicate with students, but it was only a matter of time before an iPad and iPhone app was released to compliment the service. While Apple's Eddy Cue said the new iTunes U app was designed to look a lot like iBooks 2, the app is strictly a portal for accessing all types of educational materials, including a class syllabus, full course notes and videos, as well as iBooks notes.

The gallery below should give you a good idea of the layout and the drastic design changes, but you should also be able to try it out for yourself later today. Even …

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Apple’s publishing partners for digital textbooks: McGraw Hill, Pearson, more

2012-01-19T10:34:21-05:00

Apple Textbooks

At Apple's "Education Event" today at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the company announced a number of new partners for its iPad-based education programs. Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - which together make 90 percent of the textbooks currently available - will be filling the new "Textbooks" category in iBooks 2 with high-school level textbooks, and are piloting the new iBook Author app as well. Their books will cover every subject and level of study for high-schoolers, and all will be available for $14.99 or less at launch. That price appears to be where Apple wants to keep things, too: publishers will be able …

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