The Apple Core

Jason D. O'Grady & David Morgenstern

Don’t like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

By Jason D. O'Grady | January 31, 2012, 9:13pm PST

Summary: I’m getting tired of the vitriol about Apple’s iBooks Author EULA. If you don’t want to pay Apple’s 30 percent commission, there are other options. Just none from Google or Amazon.

A lot of people are up-in-arms over Apple’s license agreement for iBooks Author. It’s been called everything every superlative in the book from mind-bogglingly greedy, to unprecedentedly audacious, to — my personal favorite — crazy evil.

Somehow I don’t think that the iBooks Author team got together and settled on “let’s be crazy evil” as their team slogan. (Apple Legal maybe, but not the developers.)

In case you’ve been living under a rock, iBooks Author is a Mac-only software tool that Apple released on January 19, 2012 that allows you to create content for iBooks. The rub is that it’s iPad-only and requires authors to pays Apple’s standard, 30 percent commission when you sell works created with it.

Here’s the smoking gun portion of the 5-and-a-half page EULA found by clicking on the license agreement button in the about box:

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple.

But it’s section 2B of the EULA (”Distribute of your Work”) that seems to draw the most ire:

B. Distribution of your Work. As a condition of this License and provided you are in compliance with its terms, your Work may be distributed as follows:

(i) if your Work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute the Work by any available means;
(ii) if your Work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or
service), you may only distribute the Work through Apple and such distribution is subject to the following limitations and conditions: (a) you will be required to enter into a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary) before any commercial distribution of your Work may take place; and (b) Apple may determine for any reason and in its sole discretion not to select your Work for distribution.

For starters, Apple’s EULA isn’t a technical restriction. As Venomous Porridge notes, it’s trivial to save the document, install it on your iPad and open it in iBooks. By extension, it’s equally trivial to post the resulting .ibooks file on your server, sell it and retain 100 percent of the profit — until the Apple police catch up to you, that is. I’m waiting for someone to test this to see how aggressively Apple will enforce it.

While I was incensed when I first read the iBook Author EULA, after thinking about it a bit (and reading a lot of vitriol from the blogosphere) I have to take Apple’s side on this one. Here’s why.

1. Apple isn’t putting a gun to author’s head and forcing them to use iBooks Author. There are a raft of other eBook authoring tools that allow you to sell your work any way you want.

2. iBooks Author is free. Competing tools can cost as much as $700 dollars (Adobe InDesign).

3. What you’re really paying for is the distribution system via iTunes. Apple has always charged a 30 percent commission on sales from iTunes, why would the iBookstore or Newsstand be any different?

The other argument I hear against iBooks Author is that it’s not an open standard, or that it takes an open standard and adds proprietary extensions. Well boo-hoo. The fact of the matter is that Apple invested the time and effort to build the tool and extend the standard.

If you want the enhanced features available in iBooks Author, it’s going to cost your 30 percent. If you want to be stuck in the slow lane and wait for the standards bodies to catch up, by all means do so.

It’s also worth noting that Apple sells a $20 piece of software called Pages that can output ePub 2-compatible eBooks that are unencumbered by an “onerous” EULA.

Apple’s clearly laid down the gauntlet with iBooks Author and its message is clear. If you want to produce books for the #1 selling tablet (which could sell nearly 50 million units in 2012 alone), it’s going to cost you 30 percent.

Google and Amazon were clearly caught flat-footed by Apple’s announcement and the silence is deafening.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

TechrepLath 7th Feb

@TechrepLath After reread, I may need to clarify. The reason I mentioned "law" is quite frankly because I think these types of EULA should be illegal. It should not be possible to claim ownership of others creative work because they used your tool. And before you start arguing that any company is free to put anything they want in any EULA cause they don't put a gun to your head to use the product, NO they aren't. Obvious example is slavery. No one can enter into a contract of slavery. Yes it is an extreme example, and there are others, but I think I make my point. You can not just put anything in a EULA.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

mollyfud 31st Jan

Isn't that same argument (use something else) the same argument that should be made to people complaining about Search Plus Your World, or is Apple the only one allowed that defense?

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Habiloso 31st Jan

@mollyfud

Putting aside your rather unnecessary sarcasm, I think that there is a bigger issue. Many/most people don't read the EULA and I suspect that there will be some who use the application (without reading it) to only later find-out about the restrictions. That is when the problems will really start!

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

danbi 1st Feb

@Habiloso

If you are going to be affected this is if you are going to sell your work. That is business (however small it is). As every business, you take the risk if you don't know the rules of the game.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Urkel 1st Feb

Articles like this are exactly whats wrong with fanatics of ANY brand/group/movement. They act so dismissive to people who would dare question THEIR leaders decisions, yet they are blind to the fact that these "whiners" that they try to shun are the very people who make so much noise that their leaders are forced to change. This happens with Apple, the food industry, unsafe product manufacturers and the government.

In this case, Mac users can be so blind by their loyalty that they become "yes men". But in the real world then sycophants do more to STOP change than to instigate it.

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And you think

oncall 1st Feb

@Urkel

Calling Apple's EULA "crazy evil" and "mind-bogglingly greedy" represents a balanced and level-headed analysis?

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

kenosha77a 1st Feb

@oncall

You won't get a reply to your question from Urkel. (Just betting on that one.)

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Pete "athynz" Athens 1st Feb

@Urkel As the author of this article points out there *ARE* other options available than using iBooks Author for the creation of ebooks. So yes the whining and hand wringing by those who are not even likely to use the software because it's "too restrictive", "made by Apple", whatever is utterly ridiculous.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

kouzen Updated - 1st Feb

@Pete Athens

Apple's move is meant to REDUCE choice available to people. If enough authors publish only in iBooks format, consumers will have no choice but to buy iPads, because that's the only device the books are readable on. Apple is a CHOICE LIMITER, not a choice expander.

@oncall

"The greatest evil would be to call no thing evil."

Calling the EULA greedy and evil is not an analysis, it's an assessment. It is defining what "evil" means. Evil in this case means something that is completely at variance with the interest of the people at large.

We can analyze that, and I just did. Market power is used to reduce choice available to consumers, thereby increasing the corporation's foothold in the already clear-cut tablet market. Apple is trying to become and stay a tablet monopolist. This is not in the interest of consumers, because they will have to pay whatever Apple asks. It is a reduction of choice and thereby a reduction of freedom.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

non-biased Updated - 6th Feb

@Urkel So in other words unless somebody is outwardly outraged by the EULA then they are an Apple "yes man" in your eyes? Talk about biased.

@kouzen Actually, if the authors choose to only publish through iBooks that would be the authors reducing consumer choice because they were the ones to make that decision. Nothing is forcing them to use IBA or preventing them from publishing their books using other tools.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

z2217 1st Feb

@mollyfud Author is much more that an authoring tool. It seems to be aimed at creating 'textbook' content that can be tightly integrated into a unified courseware platform - specifically into iTunes U. If all you want to do is create an ePubs 2 book, there are tools for doing that without the onerous restrictions. Other integrated courseware solutions, for instance Blackboard, are also 'proprietary' in the technical sense, even if some solutions are available free.

Your complaint, I think, is like someone who encounters the first barbeque grill and being incensed that the grill cannot be used to saut?? things because the butter keeps running out through the slots... iBooksAuthor is a component of an integrated courseware creation and delivery system. It is inherently not intended to be an 'open' 'cross platform' authoring tool.

Try to keep the butter from dripping on the carpet.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

spicycheeks 31st Jan

If any one don't like the iBooks Author EULA, then they are going to use something else. Why is that incredibly simple logic is explained as an article here?

I thought I might find some alternative(either free or cheap) for iBooks Author in the article. Or did i missed something?

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Habiloso 31st Jan

@spicycheeks

You are correct. There are alternatives and no-one is tied to the Apple product.

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Education shouldnt be proprietary

Urkel 1st Feb

Its obvious that people SHOULD look for alternatives when they see something they don't like. But the bigger issue here (that is ignored by the Apple Defense Squad) is that Education should not be Proprietary.

Yes, Apple has no requirement to be open with this platform because they are a business and make decisions to ensure they make money so I have no problem with that for authors of most books. But the issue I have is that when it comes to education then we shouldn't be so blind to Apple's motives, and Apple should consider being a bit philanthropic here and actually consider the affect of dominating the education market. And O'Grady shouldn't be "sickened" by people who worry about what an Apple-dominated edu market would look like.

If Apple wants to beat the heck out of the phone, tablet or TV market then I benefit fro it because I'm an Apple (product) lover but when it comes to education then I want ALL alternatives available even if they come on inferior products. So Apple being the primary source of educational material (due to their dominance in the tablet space) is NOT good for our future.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

msalzberg 1st Feb

@Urkel

Education is already proprietary. Many of the textbooks used in schools in the US are determined by the right-wing Texas Board of Education. As the largest purchaser of textbooks, Texas sets the agenda. You have to buy into their incredibly anti-education agenda: That is certainly proprietary.

Electronic textbooks will free the rest of the nation from Texas' idiocy.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

jscott69 1st Feb

@Urkel You make an excellent point, but really it's just a plea for the Android or Windows markets to step up and offer a decent alternative. However, in my mind, that would actually be a bad thing, because then it starts to splinter things in the same way that we had/have the Windows vs Mac battles.

Students and educators deserve some platform agnostication (is that a word?), to ensure equal access to educational materials. But that goes against business' missions -- to make money for themselves and their shareholders. Apple came up with useful, desirable extensions to the ePub format; it shouldn't have to necessarily share that market advantage, unless it chooses to. Google or Amazon or anyone else that wants to is free to come up with an alternative; if they do, it'd be in their best interest to make it work on iPads, too, then that solution might displace Apple's proprietary one. But it would be bad to have two competing solutions -- students and educators don't win in that (unless buying one format entitles you to that work in any format, which would be a nice approach for things like eTextbooks, though may not work for other products).

I guess that's a long way of saying: I agree with you, but we should be careful what we wish for, because we might just get it ... and it might not be quite as ideal as we expected.

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Indeed

oncall 1st Feb

@msalzberg

I read somewhere it costs roughly $60 million to bring a major school textbook to market. As a result textbook makers have been internally trained to take the most conservative route to making books, i.e. don't put ANYTHING even the slightest bit controversial into any textbook, do what everyone else is doing and proven to sell, etc. What you get is a bunch of bland, homogenized garbage designed to make it past the school boards. Kind of like a more severe form of what happened to the rest of the publishing industry. Stuff like this is going to break that monopoly. It won't happen overnight, but visit the Kindle store now and see all the ebook bestsellers from "independent" authors.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

msalzberg 1st Feb

@oncall

If only it were so: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html

Rather than bland, homogenized text, we're forced to buy books based on a radical-right agenda that shows Phyllis Schlafly being more important than Thomas Jefferson, that tries to show that Joe McCarthy was right, and that there's no separation between church and state. And that's just the history books.

http://ncse.com/news/2009/04/setback-science-education-texas-004710

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Urkel 1st Feb

@jscott69 @msalzberg @oncall
Very good points and as much as we don't want to see a monopoly in textbooks, we also dont want to see fragmentation. But thats why I think it would be nice to see iBooks become some sort of universal super app.

Right now the plan presented is for iPads to be the future of textbooks and since they are the market leader of tablets then at a glance it makes sense. BUT, by limiting to only one device then you are fencing out those who don't want/can't afford an iPad. And thats why a universal iTextbook app makes sense. As much as we are to believe the iPad to be the "optimal" experience, in reality this is mostly just an expansion on ePub and, while I'm a big believer in the iPad, there's no reason my kids Macbook or the neighbors Acer won't be good enough to display text with embedded video. The real breakthrough is in the software so textbooks shouldn't be resticted by hardware.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

joetron2030 2nd Feb

@msalzberg, school districts will still be under the same strictures regardless of what the book is "printed on". They're still going to buy from the same suppliers.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

YetAnotherBob 2nd Feb

@spicycheeks

The Article suggests a look at alternatives. The referenced Article seems to recommend Sigil as a free alternative. Sigil makes ePub files. EPubs are an HTML container. HTML is the best format to use for texts. Sigil appears to be a Google sponsored GPL V3 Free Software project. see http://code.google.com/p/sigil/ for more information. the project page makes it look quite good. You would want to run this program on a real computer, not a tablet. A real keyboard is required. At first glance, Sigil appears to have more features than Apple Author does. It has the extra benefit of producing a work that need not have any DRM if you object to that. DRM can be added to any ePub if you decide to go that rout.

Sigil is available for Windows, Linux and OSX.

I hope this helps.

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How about we challenge the ZDNet "Naysayers" to a textbook contest?!

kenosha77a 31st Jan

I just read Chris Dawson's blog the other day where he gives his "Cliff???s Notes: iBooks ain???t it." interpretation of Ed Bott's take on iBooks.

Let's put this to the test. The contest is, roughly, to create a textbook (any subject) of 60 pages minimum length where interactive elements are an integral part of this digital textbook.

The time frame for this ebook creation contest is two weeks.

The contestants can choose any program or format they like to create their digital interactive textbook.

Finally, the contestants must publish their work on any nationally recognized distribution site.

Charging a fee for their work is not necessary but also not forbidden.

The winners will be chosen based upon the ebook's creativity, usefulness, how student interactive features are presented and popularity. The method used to determine the winner will involve the results posted from an online ZDNet poll.

Of cours, as stated above, the subject material is up to the author. Textbooks on the ancient art of waffle making to understanding the workings of a cold fusion reactor are all possible topics our ebook author could choose.

Best of Luck to all involved.

Why do this? Only experience can determine whether "iBooks ain't it" is a truthful opinion.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Peter Perry 31st Jan

I agree, people should use something else... I don't agree that people should just give them a free pass on this though.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

jscott69 1st Feb

@Peter Perry As someone who's written and had about a dozen books published through traditional publishers who give me only a small fraction of the final sales, I see absolutely NOTHING wrong with giving Apple 30% to distribute the book for me. That leaves me with about 70% ... which is about 58% MORE than publishers (for small-time authors, like me) typically get. Sure, I have to do or pay for the layout/design work myself, but that, too, is my choice.

The nice thing is: Since I'm satisfied with Apple's iBA EULA, I can use it, and you don't have to. And we both win that way. Neither of us is "right" or "wrong." There's no point in arguing any of this.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

BigMagoo 1st Feb

@jscott69 I don't think the 30% is the big problem. The big problem is that you are now banned to distribute your own work. Are you saying that you wouldn't want to have the option of selling it anywhere else? I think that should be up to the guy who created the book, not the guys who created the software.
The real tragedy, in my mind, is that there are probably quite a few authors like you that don't mind only going through Apple, which is going to force schools that want to adopt new tech to also go with Apple when there are plenty of other very capable products out there for half the price. The Kindle Fire, for example, would be perfect for textbooks and it's only $200. And if anybody uses the quality defense, you're gonna have a hard time convincing any level-minded person that the Fire isn't powerful enough to have interactive textbooks run on it.

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I get to keep 70% per sale? Fabulous!

silent E 1st Feb

@jscott69 Agreed.

Having written a book for a paper-and-ink publisher and getting 10% of their wholesale price per copy (after making up the advance royalties), the distributor of my iBook taking only 30% off the top sounds like a good deal to me.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

jon.bjerke@... 1st Feb

@jscott69

Aren't you at all worried that Apple has final say on whether your book/work will be allowed. If Apple doesn't like it, you can't take it to anyone else.

(b) Apple may determine for any reason and in its sole discretion not to select your Work for distribution.

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Not quite

use_what_works_4_U 1st Feb

@john.bjerke
You can't take the *ibooks* version to anyone else. Since no one else sells this format, I don't see it as a huge issue unless you did all your 'pre-press' work exclusively in iBooks Author.

If Apple won't sell it, you take your source material, use a different authoring tool to publish it to a different format, and take it to Amazon. If you use iBooks Author you have a Mac. If you have a Mac, you can use Pages. As the article points out, Pages will export to the standard ePub format, as well as MS Word, PDF, and probably others as well.

I agree that Apple as the gatekeeper of content is worrisome, but it's not like you wouldn't have options.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

admiraljkb 1st Feb

@jscott69
30% isn't the problem, that seems to be a normal/fair distribution cut from what I can tell. This seems to have exposed that to the rest of the population though. You basically don't own your work when you're done. You keep your copyright, but are exclusively locked into Apple in perpetuity(?). You can self-publish on Amazon already (also for a 30% cut), so I'm not sure why all the hubbub on the Apple iBooks, other than the specific tool being used... There are several self-publish outlets. The Amazon Kindle one is already available on the iPad, so I still contend this move by Apple is to prevent Amazon from growing their tablet share, should they release an upgraded Kindle "Inferno" or something.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

PMPsicle 1st Feb

@jscott69

The problem isn't with the 30%. That's comparable to everyone else in the market. In fact it's better than Amazon's 35%.

Nor is it with the charging of a "distribution" fee at all. Again, everyone is in this to make a buck. And I'd much rather lose 35% of my "royalties" to the salesman than get the usual 1-5% after the four or five people in between have taken their share.

The problem is that Apple has effectively attempted to seize the copyright with this EULA. In total violation of every copyright law, treaty and publishing convention. In essence, once I create a book using this tool, I no longer have the right to sell that book through any other means. I've lost the copyright. (It's the Work that is restricted not the output of the program). I've seen some questionable publishing practices regarding rights but this is over the top.

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I would Agree - But No Surprise

jpr75_z Updated - 31st Jan

It should be no surprise to anyone Apple is greedy. They have taken Capitalism to the extreme, and are all about the Profits baby (anyone reading the NYT articles of late?). But, then what corporation isn't. It could be argued Capitalism is evil too. It is Apple's product, and if they want to stick it to the customer - they will, and do. If you don't like it, don't use it. That would send a message to Apple.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

deaf_e_kate 1st Feb

I wonder if you'd be saying the same if Microsoft had created this EULA with its restrictions.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

YetAnotherBob 2nd Feb

@deaf_e_kate

It has happened, and there was a big furor. So, the answer is 'yes'! When Microsoft went that rout it was a mess. Microsoft seems to have learned. Now it's Apples turn. Looks like a great many people are about to discover Sigil (a GPL ePub authoring tool, with the same sort of license as Libre Office, but a very different output.)

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

smulji 1st Feb

I can live with the fact that

1. iBooks Author only works on the Mac
2. iBooks Author books only work on the iPad
3. if you want to sell it for money you must sell it through the iBooks store

But, I think it would be a great option if Apple also allows authors / content creators to sell the iBooks through other avenues such as Kindle Store, their own website, in addition to having to sell through the iBooks store. At the end of the day, Apple will still sell iPads since these files will only work on iPads anyways. That is the end game for Apple, is to sell more devices.

It's like the Mac App Store business model. If I'm a developer, I can sell my Mac app through any avenue....whether it's the Mac App Store, my own website, etc., just as long as I realize that the I have to give Apple a 30% cut of my app that's sold through the Mac App Store. Because at the end of the day Mac apps only run on Macs. End result = Apple still sells Macs.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Chinaren 1st Feb

@smulji

According to my reading of their terms, they do.

The WORK here only refers to the book processed by their software, not other versions that haven't been processed. Hence, by Apples own terms, you *are* free to sell other copies, just not the file that's been through their iBook processing.

'The work' is *not* the same as 'the book'.

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If you want an unbiased civilised view ...

johnfenjackson@... 1st Feb

... don't read O'Grady or Bott ... go somewhere else ... like Dignan or Hiner ... or off ZDNET altogether sad

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Serious _Yahoo 1st Feb

@johnfenjackson@...

http://www.digitizd.com/2010/02/23/53-of-the-best-tech-blogs-out-there/

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

msalzberg 1st Feb

@Serious _Yahoo

Thanks for the link.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

kenosha77a 1st Feb

@msalzberg

Did you notice ZDNet was not on that list?! Tells us something, doesn't it.

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However

ego.sum.stig@... 1st Feb

zdnet is a cute and fluffy little cesspit. And who would want to change that? After all, no one likes it, but they don't care. That is somewhat reminiscent of a refrain I hear every now and then.

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Something else

johnfenjackson@... Updated - 1st Feb

If one contrasts Google's attempts at a green datacentre (see another of today's ZDNET posts) ... their attempts to release books and fine arts images for free ... with Apple's hideous profiteering on works where they have had no involvement in whatsoever ... then the difference in ideologies between the two companies makes it an easy choice of which to support.

Were it not for their brilliant computer designs shaking up an otherwise monopolistic IT industry, I would be quite happy to see Apple disappear without trace. The 30% tax for a 'distribution system' is malignant when consumers and businesses have already paid for their computers and broadband connectivity (one wonders whether O'Grady has heard of the Internet): all we need is an inexpensive index of offerings. Google would be perfectly happy to provide this for free in exchange for advertising revenues.

Bott and O'Grady really are the pits: they argue their causes like biased politicians, without regard to merit, efficiency, green-ness, customer interest or logic. That's one of the reasons we are in such a mess in the West sad

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

msalzberg 1st Feb

@johnfenjackson@...

Was the ellipsis after "their attempts to release books and fine arts images for free" a placeholder for where you meant to write "without permission from the copyright holders, and without paying royalties?"

Look up "google book settlement."

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Why aren't iBooks available for Notebooks/Macbooks?

Urkel 1st Feb

All this hoopla about "iBook Creationism" is debatable. But the question I see being ignored is this:

Why the heck aren't iBooks even available on laptops or Apple's own Macbooks?

Is there really something that would restrain a financially bound student from learning when on his Apple/Non-Apple laptop? Or is Apple simply using EDU as a marketing tool for THEIR preferred device rather than whats best for students of all income levels.

While its awesome to discuss education changes we can't allow personal bias blind us from realizing that the people who need the most help probably aren't the ones who can afford Apple products. And if a poor kid is "restricted" to a more multi-use laptop then they shouldn't be robbed of the opportunity to read their homework digitally.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

kenosha77a 1st Feb

@Urkel

Interesting point. The only counter to your implied point of view is that certain hardware platforms are better suited for certain digital content and that, conspiracy theories to the contrary, no evil or malicious intent on Apple's decision to limit iBooks to the iPad (primarily) and other iOS devices was ever a conscious consideration.

In other words, I don't blame Apple for excluding Final Cut Pro X from the iOS platform in much the same way I don't blame iBooks being excluded from OS X devices.

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Wow, what a childlike simplistic rant.

hibernian567890 1st Feb

Why do I always read this fools biased gibberish?

Unsubscribing now.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Serious _Yahoo Updated - 1st Feb

and yet another bloggy sharted out by a guy with (6) books available from the ibook store .

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

frazierrg 1st Feb

Another apple FAN BOY that drinks the Kool Aid from jobs grave

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

Serious _Yahoo 1st Feb

@frazierrg

let me guess !!!
Which one of these Bloggies are you responsible for ?
or are you just a 14 year old linux user

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

William_P 1st Feb

The problem is that Apple changed the terms after leading people on about its ePub2 compatibility. The authors thought they could use iBA and save their file in a way that could be used elsewhere, only to have their work locked up in a proprietary format. And, yes, it IS proprietary once the extensions are added. From the author's view, they don't know if the feature they added is an extension or ePub-supported.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

use_what_works_4_U 1st Feb

@William_P
My understanding is that ePub2 doesn't support some of the multimedia features that iBA offers (but I admint I'm not an expert). When did Apple ever claim that the authoring tool created ePub2 content? Their claim is that the iBooks **READER** software supports ePub, and it does. That's a darn sight more standards compliance than I get with my Kindle!

Last point - Apple DID NOT change the iBooks Author EULA. iBooks Author was not previously available. To my knowledge they have not changed the iBook reader EULA either. If I am wrong about that, please provide a link.

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Developer announces software to convert iBook format files to standard ePub

gmeader Updated - 1st Feb

A developer has announced software that will convert iBook format files to standard ePub format. Once converted, Apple is no longer involved in your "work". This solves the problem of content you create using iBooks Author being locked into the Apple ecosystem.

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RE: Don't like the iBooks Author EULA? Use something else

TechrepLath 7th Feb

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