Apple has just released the program iBooks Author, as widely reported in the press. See for example the Internet sites Macity (external link) And Webnews (external link).
It is a software designed to create books with a special didactic aptitude, thanks to the ability to merge images, texts, videos, 3D models and interactions together. iBooks Author it has several strengths: it's free, it's easy to use and it's well designed.
But, although it is early to reach definitive judgments (many details are not yet known), there is some reason for perplexity: iBooks Author seems to produce books that, should it be decided to sell them, can only be distributed through theiTunes stores from Apple; moreover, the ".ibooks" format (not ".ePub") generated by the program is unknown whether it is open and interoperable, or closed and proprietary.
Since the advent of personal computers, and with greater conviction today, with tablets and e-ink readers, the best publishing has always dreamed of evolving, of taking advantage of the opportunities that these multimedia devices offer. iBooks Author of Apple, one of the few large companies truly capable of innovating, can therefore be excellent news, even extraordinary.
But be careful to get excited right away. Everything would be canceled if Apple had designed a closed system, like others it has created in the past, in which to imprison publishers, teachers and students.
The Internet has taught us the importance of interoperable standards, it has shown us how many great things happen when people are able to exchange information freely, it has shown us how even the economy thrives when there are no oligopolies, position rents, cartels . And these days we certainly cannot afford inefficient and illiberal economic systems.
While waiting for more technical details, we hope that Apple strongly supports the free exchange of information, competitive markets and the centrality of open formats.
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Source: http://www.paginatre.it/online/2012/01/19/5683/
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