Let's Discuss iBooks and iBooks Author

[BrysonTyrrell]

Hello everyone!

iBooks Author is a tool that we use heavily at JAMF Software and we believe the ways it can positively enhance communication, projects, and training in the workplace and in education is powerful. Now that we've explored its capabilities, we want to start sharing what we've learned with the community. We’re even considering the possibility of offering hands-on training opportunities. So, what are the topics that you would be most interested in?  Creating custom templates?  Self Service publishing? Making the best use of widgets? We'd love your feedback to get the discussions rolling.

[SeanA]

I have not thought about iBooks Author until this post, however, your announcement about how it can help communication, projects, and training has intrigued me. I have both internal and external customers that could benefit.

Creating custom templates and Self Service publishing is a good start. I would be interested in any type of iBooks (Author) 101 class/video that JAMF offers.

[chris_kemp]

I'd love to hear whatever you guys have to offer. I dabbled with it briefly to create documentation here (about our JSS, as a matter of fact) but it got back-burnered.

[dpertschi]

I am interested in this topic also. If you did a 30 min. webcast discussing/demo'ing the possible usages you envision, yes please, that would be fantastic. Show us some things we might not have thought about.

Internal documentation -- I'm working in large geographically dispersed business environment, and have typically leveraged OS X Server Wiki to dish out documentation/training materials to our field support staff. But, those servers are going away, and I don't love the format. This might be just what I'm looking for as a replacement to host that stuff.

[barnesaw]

I would be more interested in a way to create universal eBooks and distribute them, rather than being locked into Apple's proprietary, Microsoft-esque solution (complete with licensing nightmares). Is there a solution to distribute real, actual ebooks, or does Apple limit you to their one-size-fits-none solution?

[chris_kemp]

You've inspired me to go back & update the iBook I started. :) Glad I didn't get too heavy into the multimedia parts, since so much is going to change in v9!

[BrysonTyrrell]

@dpertschl
Thanks for the suggestion! Your idea to distribute training material an an eBook in place of a hosted wiki is great. One thing to consider with using eBooks is content updates. If you were to make a second edition to one of your training eBooks your users would need to download the entire volume again to get the changes. The will require HTTP web servers capable of serving your people from each location. In cases where you have introduced multi-media, namely audio and video, that can be a challenge when eBook sizes begin exceeding several hundred megabytes in size. Web space hosting like Amazon S3 could be the ticket there.

Something I've been experimenting with is using third-party HTML widgets for iBooks to embed YouTube videos. In the case of our company's IT Orientation iBook, there will be two versions available; one with all the videos embedded and does not require an Internet connection, and a second where all of the videos stream and it does require an Internet Connection.

@barnesaw
The good thing about eBooks is that there are a lot of way to approach them. If you still wanted to use iBooks Author to create universal documents, you could opt to export PDFs instead of .ibooks files, but those would lack any of the interactive features of the software and format. What are the licensing issues that concern you with using iBooks Author?

One thing I can suggest is focusing your efforts on either PDFs or ePubs if you don't want to pursue the actual iBooks files. The iBooks app for iOS really is a great bookshelf for organizing all of your content, and it supports each of those formats.

[donmontalvo]

@barnesaw wrote:

I would be more interested in a way to create universal eBooks and distribute them, rather than being locked into Apple's proprietary, Microsoft-esque solution (complete with licensing nightmares). Is there a solution to distribute real, actual ebooks, or does Apple limit you to their one-size-fits-none solution?

I love that iBooks Author can export to PDF...however those of us in enterprise environments who need to "feed" a portal with Word documents are SOL. :(

There seems to some intro videos and training resources out there:

Apple iBooks Author Tour
http://youtu.be/pr076C_ty_M

Learn - iBooks Author Edition
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/learn-ibooks-author-edition/id529134159?mt=12

iBooks Author Essential Training
http://www.lynda.com/iBooks-tutorials/iBooks-Author-Essential-Training/101460-2.html

Don

[barnesaw]

My biggest issue with iBooks Author is that the EULA can be updated at anytime to once again preclude you from exporting as PDF and selling your product. That was the original EULA and we all know Apple has no issue changing license agreements to the detriment of their customers and users. Especially when that EULA at all touches iTunes and/or the App Store.

[chris_kemp]

The whole EULA flap was really overblown, IMHO. The fact is, they changed the wording to clarify that they basically have the right to distribute iBook-formatted works, produced with their free tool, and only if they're commercially sold. This only affects you if you are in the market to sell iBooks which, unless I'm mistaken, you can only buy from Apple in the first place.

There's a valid debate to be had about iBooks vs. EPUB, sure - but it's hard to fault them for offering a tool for their preferred format, free of charge. As for my interest, I'm creating in-house documentation that I am not allowed to distribute outside of the company anyway, and certainly not for profit.

Lastly, if I based my work around what I thought any of these companies MIGHT do, I'd never do anything with a computer again. ;-) You are free to export as PDF now, yes? So go forth and publish.

[BrysonTyrrell]

The whole EULA flap was really overblown, IMHO. The fact is, they changed the wording to clarify that they basically have the right to distribute iBook-formatted works, produced with their free tool, and only if they're commercially sold. This only affects you if you are in the market to sell iBooks which, unless I'm mistaken, you can only buy from Apple in the first place.

@chris.kemp is correct. The EULA conditions only apply towards ".ibooks" files produced using iBooks Author. In fact, if you read through it, Apple has no restrictions on what you do with a work you export as a PDF or plain text (yes, I don't know why you would want to do plain text, but its there). Apple does not allow you to sell an ".ibooks" file outside of the iBookstore, but you may freely distribute it however you wish.

Perhaps a separate discussion thread to talk about the EULA?

[BrysonTyrrell]

To those of you who came here because you wanted to explore a new way of providing content in a classroom environment, I just wanted to make you all aware that we are holding a webinar tomorrow on just that subject: "Content in the Classroom" and you can still register to attend: http://goo.gl/cZkaJ