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Pages ‘12 could be Apple’s secret textbook weapon

By | January 18, 2012, 9:31pm PST

Summary: The consensus is that Apple will launch iPad textbooks today. While the consumption angle is obvious, it’s the creation part where things get interesting.

Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weaponThe suspense is palatable ahead of Apple’s education announcement today at 10am at the Guggenheim in New York City.

CNET: Live-blogging from the Guggenheim

In what’s probably the worst kept secret in Cupertino, Apple is expected to announce a partnership with major textbook publishers to produce, publish, distribute and/or sell digital textbooks to the academic market.

The consensus is that Apple will do for textbooks what it did for music, movies, TV, books and magazines: make them digital with an amazing user experience.

While the delivery vehicle is obvious (duh, iPad), it’s the creation tools where things get interesting.

Consider this:

On Tuesday The Wall Street Journal reported that Roger Rosner, Apple’s vice president of productivity applications (a.k.a. iWork), is “closely involved in developing the new digital-textbook service.”

On Wednesday AppleInsider reported that “Bliss” (the project’s code-name) will include software tools that will allow publishers to make textbooks more interactive.

Hmmm…

iWork ‘09 includes a word-processor/page layout application called Pages and one of its lesser-known features is that it can create EPUB files. EPUB is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) that is supported by the iPad (in iBooks) and every other ebook reader on the market.

iWork ‘09 has been languishing for years without a major update and is long overdue for a refresh.

Since iWork ‘09 has supported EPUB for three years, and Apple’s iWork chief is spearheading its “Bliss” textbook project, it stands to reason that Apple’s new textbook creation tool could be Pages ‘12.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple demonstrates Pages ‘12 with EPUB 3 support (and hopefully iWork ‘12) in New York today. In addition, I also expect Apple to announce textbook rentals (like Amazon did in July 2011) and iBooks 2.0 which will finally work on the Mac.

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Topics

Suspense, Tool, Apple iWork, Productivity, Jason D. O'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
richardw66 23rd Jan
@toodevastate

Yeah, I have a lot of books here, I like books, yet I find them less useful than the internet.

I think there are probably some hardback books that are works of art and worth having.

I think the large number of books we have at home are mostly junk, better replaced by an electronic version.

We also have a fair number of hardback textbooks. We mostly use these now for research in writing online teaching material (web, not Apple based).

I cannot see the advantage to the student of having a large quantity of paper to carry round to get the same information as they can carry in a single iPad.

I can see the advatage of interactivity if used sensibly.

I can see the advantage of not requiring universities to spend so much on turning trees into books just to get texts to their students.

The average textbook is not a work of art, it is a source of knowledge.

Many textbooks are not hardback, many are now spiral bound as the cost of production for a limited print run is very high. eBooks are ideal for the fields with a small number of students.

There are so many reasons why eBooks make sense for textbooks, even without interactivity.

But there are those who blog for the sake of stopping Apple, as Apple is not their source of revenue. These people come up with lists of 'facts' that are just plain stupid.

Hate speach and name calling is preferrable to giving students the best tools possible, unless those tools come from the great god MS or are somehow using that supposedly free god android, which is from that charity, google.
View in thread
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
kenosha77a 18th Jan
Too bad you didn't publish your speculations several weeks ago. Only a short time remains if your iWork update makes the cut. Interesting conjectures on your part, though.
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Methinks you may be onto something
A Grain of Salt 18th Jan
There has to be some reason why iWork hasn't had much love lately. Apple loves to release things with a context in which they can be used. What better context than having the tools to produce e-books with new deals with publishers in place.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
smulji 18th Jan
@A Grain of Salt I assume you're talking about iWork for Mac. iWork for iOS has gotten updates on a regular basis. To add to that, it's been awhile since iLife for Mac has gotten some love has well.
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Wow
rhonin 19th Jan
Sorry.
Even with a revolutionary update, I dumped iWorks or MSOffice many moons ago.
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I dumped both
Laraine Anne Barker 19th Jan
????????
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
The Danger is Microsoft Updated - 19th Jan
@rhonin - I dumped MS Office with Windows back in 1997. I now use NeoOffice on Mac. Played with the trial version of iWorks. It was okay. I prefer the Open Office for Mac - it handles all the formats, formulas and file sizes I need. And it's free (well, I did give them 2 5$ donations after using it for a year). NeoOffice is a great product and I can read and send all MS Office format documents without issue.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
Bozzer 19th Jan
1) The price of textbooks is unlikely to fall (For starters Apple is going to want 30%)
2) You're not going to be able to sell your textbook when you have finished.
3) You can't chip in and buy a textbook between a few of you.
4) You can't borrow or lend a textbook from your friend
5) Nothing beats being able to flick from page to page in a textbook.
6) The screen quality, despite being all "retina" or some other bullcrap is nothing like as good as actual print edition.
7) A book doesn't require charging up.
8) I can use multiple books at any one time.
9) I can buy second hand books.

Tell me, what benefits are there for a consumer of educational textbooks. If you tell me "interactivity" I will hit you - hard.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
bezetam Updated - 19th Jan
@Bozzer
Good points all, I think a benefit of digital textbooks is the ability to perform searches to find specific content. I'm really hoping that at some point companies like Apple and Amazon will allow you to resell the eBook that you is rightfully yours.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
pradhanavs@... 19th Jan
@bezetam Dude....you wanna sell eBook? it is a digital copy dude...can you sell your mp3 songs? You cant.... happy...Things change....I think this is a good change...Still, this doesn't mean that the paper back will die...There are Billions of people on this planet who cannot afford a tablet or a computer. So don't worry.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
B.O.F.H. 19th Jan
@Bozzer

I think the argument (from the students perspective) is that an 1/2"x7"x10" device is easier to carry, read and search than an actual book (and many things including libraries are going digital anyways). There was some whining a while back about students having to carry many books (cumulative weight) and pens, paper, etc. while these days they also have laptops, tablets and other digital devices.

When I was in college, I carried several books (took full loads) and also went to the library and did research, but that was almost 2 decades ago. These days, the students are more tech savvy and do research on-line. I have also found that my own library of technical books has shrunk considerably when I acquired a tablet (not Apple) and found many of the texts that I kept around in digital format (thus reducing physical storage space).

I seem to remember some news report a while back about the quantity of books that were being carried by students at places like UC Berkeley, M.I.T., and the like, of which this would aim to reduce. The students are already using laptops in classes.
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Being Abe to grab an image of a crystal in my chemistry text
baggins_z 19th Jan
And rotate and zoom it would have been a godsend. Don't knock interactivity.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
scH4MMER 19th Jan
@Bozzer - You have me convinced. This would have to be structured so that you get a free digital copy when you buy the paper, and the option to get a discounted digital copy if you already have the paper. Digital textbooks are no replacement for paper (unless paper is not available), but it would make a fabulous companion.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
comp_indiana 19th Jan
@scH4MMER Well, one would assume it would, at least for the immediate future, work just like iTunes. That is, once you buy it, it is associated with your account. You can delete your copy, no problem, it's still on the iCloud servers, no problem, no issue.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
prof123 22nd Jan
@Bozzer
Wake up Bozzer. This is 2012 and textbooks are stale, there was no change in 200 years. It is time for something new.

I realized how bad some textbooks are when I watched a science series on the Discovery Channel. I remembered this stuff from grade 11 or 12 but I never understood it. The show explained in one hour what my science teacher (I hope you burn in hell) and text books could not explain in one year.

Imagine some innovative, interactive text books, they could revolutionize education. What are you afraid of...
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
Loverock Davidson- 19th Jan
The Guggenheim is closed on Thursdays, but Apple is special and get to use it on that day. They wouldn't let me in on a Thursday. Hmph.
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And mayhaps
ego.sum.stig@... 19th Jan
Any other day that ends in the letter 'y.'
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
richardw66 23rd Jan
@Loverock Davidson-

Is this the real Loverock? Or just a good parody?
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
Stephen-B 19th Jan
So Crapple is trying to hijack the childerns in school again. The Feds should be investigating Crapple for monopoly abuses. I don't think that Crapple shoud be allowed to abuse its monopoly postition in ipads, by forcing parent to buy them for school. The children would be better served if the schools required Windows 8 tablets, as the will last all day as opposed to Crapple's 3 hours.
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I'm a glutton
ego.sum.stig@... 19th Jan
So, which monopoly on what does Apple have?

Note, it's not the same as your monopoly position with the saddest post so far today.
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There will always be people posting crap on this blog
Laraine Anne Barker 19th Jan
Just ignore them; they aren't worth your time and effort.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
The Danger is Microsoft 19th Jan
@Stephen-B
- 12
even worse parody. Mike Cox you will never be!
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
comp_indiana 19th Jan
What Windows 8 tablet? What Windows 8 OS, for that matter? Oops, there goes the monopoly.

iPad gets 10 hours, easily.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
BobMcDol Updated - 19th Jan
This is fine but many professors will not allow electronic devices on in their classrooms. So it would only be useful for courses where electronic devices are allowed or those using the electronic format would be at a disadvantage to those using real textbooks, since they can be used in class.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
comp_indiana 19th Jan
@BobMcDol Right, and books remain useful until the professor tells you to 'put your books away'??? This is a disadvantage of real textbooks, you can't read them during the test. They should therefore, probably ban them. Or something.
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
Tigertank 19th Jan
@BobMcDol
Nobodys mentioned it but there is also the possibility of students pretending to use their books in class but in reality they will be on Facebook and playing games etc.. Of course that is to their own detriment but it is easier to abuse and easier to get distracted with the Internet only a tap away. I definitely think it is a great idea for studying in between classes though.
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I don't see that as the case
ManoaHI 19th Jan
@BobMcDol "many professors will not allow electronic devices on in their classrooms." Are you a student? I am, this is the second time around for me (got my bachelors degree years ago), now prepping to see if I can study/write/test like I did before, a prep to see if I can do this again for my masters. The first time around, there were no electronic devices except for cassette recorders. They weren't banned most of the time, and when they were banned it was because another student didn't want to be recorded.

But this second time around, many other students have their computers out during class. That is how we take notes. We can also record the professor if we get too far behind in our notes. Some students also have iPads. Not one professor has requested us to put our devices away, except when there was a pop quiz. It was "clear your desks except for pencil and eraser." This is true in other courses and not just programming or other IT related courses. So, my history, english, economics and other classes, all profs didn't mind devices. Math was a problem with other than pencil and paper, it was kind of a ***** to take notes for calculus in Word, even with the "math pack." But it wasn't banned, nor discouraged. Most people had iPads (Android tablets are slowly starting to show up, but for the most part, iPads are more prevalent) or smart phones out when prof is mentioning quiz/test dates.

I can't help it, but I am lazy and having to carry around so many books is a major pain. Like those textbooks that are over 1,000 pages long. Carrying them all the time is a backbreaker. For, at least two of my classes, there is a PDF or e-pub version (you still have to buy the textbook, but at least I don't have to carry as many books). With an iPad and readers in my MacBook Pro, I eliminate three textbooks in my backpack. So, now I have two textbooks and they are the looseleaf type so I only carry a couple of chapters at time and change them out as we progress through the semester. One of my "textbooks" is about 3,000 pages. But since it is available in e-pub form, I just put it into my Nook app.
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Please check your grammar when writing articles
ptyson@... 19th Jan
Jason and David,

In your opening paragraph, I think you meant to say "The suspense is "palpable" ahead of Apple???s education announcement today at 10am at the Guggenheim in New York City.

Instead, you wrote . . . .

The suspense is "palatable" ahead of Apple???s education announcement today at 10am at the Guggenheim in New York City.

But in response to another Apple Power Grab ~ I say Boooooooo Apple!!

The most overrated consumer electronics ever created!!
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
richardw66 23rd Jan
@ptyson@...

Apple power grab - you really are deluded.

As distinct from the products and behaviour of Amazon, or MS?

Overrated by whom?

I quite frankly rate them highly because they give me a lot of power.

I quite frankly rate MS products very low because they waste a lot of my time and give me very little in return.

Yes, I have extensive experience in using MS products. But I do so as I assist others who have made the mistake of using bad hardware and software.

I just sent a PowerMac 7200 to e-waste, the thing is that besides being 90MHz and a little slow by today's standards it was a quite usable and fully working computer. This is a model discontinued in 1996.

I also just sent one of my old PCs to e-waste.

The difference is I developed world leading internet technology on that 7200, and patented it, then built a business.

The PC I used to test software on Windows, and generally avoided it except when removing viruses, which could be quite time consuming. (Yes, I had AV software running)

As for overrated, I rate by productivity.

I do not rate a system highly for requiring my expert knowledge to keep it functioning.

I also do not rate systems highly that are so slow that I can boot an old mac ans durf the net for 15 mins whilst they get their act together enough to be workable, it's a time and money thing with me.

so ptyson@, where does your ill informed comment come from?

Where do you make your money?
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Apples Etext strategy
toodevastate 19th Jan
There's nothing like a hard copy, hardback book. Yet with the almost mind staggering wealth of knowledge that is available to the student on the internet; well, need I say more...
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RE: Pages '12 could be Apple's secret textbook weapon
richardw66 23rd Jan
@toodevastate

Yeah, I have a lot of books here, I like books, yet I find them less useful than the internet.

I think there are probably some hardback books that are works of art and worth having.

I think the large number of books we have at home are mostly junk, better replaced by an electronic version.

We also have a fair number of hardback textbooks. We mostly use these now for research in writing online teaching material (web, not Apple based).

I cannot see the advantage to the student of having a large quantity of paper to carry round to get the same information as they can carry in a single iPad.

I can see the advatage of interactivity if used sensibly.

I can see the advantage of not requiring universities to spend so much on turning trees into books just to get texts to their students.

The average textbook is not a work of art, it is a source of knowledge.

Many textbooks are not hardback, many are now spiral bound as the cost of production for a limited print run is very high. eBooks are ideal for the fields with a small number of students.

There are so many reasons why eBooks make sense for textbooks, even without interactivity.

But there are those who blog for the sake of stopping Apple, as Apple is not their source of revenue. These people come up with lists of 'facts' that are just plain stupid.

Hate speach and name calling is preferrable to giving students the best tools possible, unless those tools come from the great god MS or are somehow using that supposedly free god android, which is from that charity, google.

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