Apple : iTunes U overhauled, gets its very own app

iTunes U overhauled, gets its very own app
Apple launches free iBooks Author for ebook publishing
Apple iBooks 2 announced - 're-invents the textbook'
Apple to take Nike+ tracking sensors to the slopes?
Apple's rampant culture of secrecy detailed

iTunes U overhauled, gets its very own app

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Apple has announced that it has breathed new life into its iTunes education service, announcing a facelift for iTunes U and also a brand new dedicated app.

It may not be the sexiest feature of iTunes – that would obviously have to be Ping – but it is an essential one for many a student looking to get ahead in their university degree and has seen some 700 million downloads since its release.

Now, the new service adds a load more online courses from many a prestigious university – including Oxford, Cambridge, MIT and Yale.

It also allows teachers to create and manage their own courses, so they can add the likes of lectures, assignments and syllabuses into iTunes U.

U talkin' to me?

Speaking about the new app, Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services, said: "The all-new iTunes U app enables students anywhere to tap into entire courses from the world's most prestigious universities.

"Never before have educators been able to offer their full courses in such an innovative way, allowing anyone who's interested in a particular topic to learn from anywhere in the world, not just the classroom."

The new iTunes U app has been created mainly for the iPad and links up with iBooks 2 so consumers can tap into their own books made in iBooks Author and also use content from Keynote, Pages and Numbers.

The iTunes U app is out now as a free download from the App Store.

Apple launches free iBooks Author for ebook publishing

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Apple has revealed its latest app, iBooks Author, that aims to make creating ebooks as simple as pie.

As predicted, it's essentially GarageBand for ebooks, which should make it easier for publishers to format digital books as well as to add smooth interactive elements.

Using a template-based tool, iBooks Author rocks a clean layout with straight-forward drag and drop controls.

Easy peasy

The templates are customisable and there's the option to extend with HTML 5 as well as offering the ability to publish direct to the iBookstore, putting Apple in a position to rival Kindle Direct Publishing.

"If you've ever been involved in an ebook creation before, you know this is a total miracle," said Roger Rosner, Apple's VP of productivity apps, demoing the software.

Good news for aspiring authors without a publishing house footing the bill: the iBooks Author app is free and it's available today from the Mac App Store.

Also launched today is Apple's iBooks 2, which claims to have "reinvented the textbook".

Apple iBooks 2 announced - 're-invents the textbook'

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Apple announced today iBooks 2, a new version of iBooks which it hopes will reinvigorate the education market.

Phil Schiller took the stage at the Guggenheim Museum in New York to unveil the next generation of iBooks, one which it is hoped will banish staid and boring textbooks in favour of a more interactive experience.

"Kids are getting smarter thanks to their tablets, whether they're older and studying for finals or kids playing a Dora game," said Schiller.

He then went on to announce the arrival of iBooks 2 and with it, Apple is "reinventing the textbook".

"We love books… They'll always be with us, but fast forward more than a few hundred years, and it's not hard to see that the textbook is not always the ideal learning tool."

"[So] I am extremely proud to tell you about the new iBooks 2. Kids are really going to love to learn with iBooks."

Text pest

Apple being Apple isn't just reprinting page after page of equations, it is making its e-textbooks as interactive as possible.

The way it is doing this is by adding visuals. One demo which Apple showed off was of an insect.

You could highlight certain portions of the insect and get more information about it. There's also little things like definition of words and such like that are accessible through iBooks 2.

There's also other features like Notes, he ability to make study cards and a whole load of quizzes embedded into the iBook textbooks.

The app is obviously free but individual textbooks will cost a bit. Oh, and there's the added of cost of an iPad - so we're guessing this is one education for the middle class and privileged.

Apple also announced iBooks Author, a new self-publishing tool which allows you to create your very own iBooks for free.

Apple to take Nike+ tracking sensors to the slopes?

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Apple is looking to expand the sensor technology Nike has pioneered into other sportswear than shoes, with news that it could soon be heading to a ski slope near you.

A new patent reveals Apple's plans to adapt the Nike + iPod sensor so that it can work in sports garments other than running shoes.

The patent describes how the new technology will be able to be used on certain 'authorised' shirts and tracksuit bottoms (so-called 'smart garments') and how it will also be added to sports equipment such as skis and in-line skates.

The Nike+ iPod sensor has been a massive success for both companies so it's easy to see why Apple would want to expand this technology.

Interestingly, though, there's nowhere in the patent that actually mentions Nike so it may be that Apple wants to go it alone when it comes to smart garment technology.

Competition and camaraderie

"Outdoors endurance activities have become very popular not only because they are enjoyable and healthy, but also because they provide opportunities for competition, camaraderie, and a structured regimen," explained the patent's blurb, which seems to be written by the same author as the Scouting For Boys handbook.

It continued: "It would be beneficial for an individual participating in an outdoor endurance activity such as running, cross-country skiing, in-line skating, or outdoor swimming to be able to monitor his or her performance in metrics such as speed, distance, slope, elevation, equipment used (thereby correlating an individual's performance to particular running shoes, for example)."

The patent mentions that the sensor technology can also tell users when their sporting outfits are getting too old.

That's right, Apple could soon be telling you that you look shabby and you need a new iGarment. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Apple's rampant culture of secrecy detailed

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Apple is famous for its mafia-like code of silence, but a new book chronicling life inside Infinite Loop lifts the lid on just how far the company is willing to go to keep its projects secret.

The Inside Apple book, penned by Fortune's Adam Lashinsky, says meetings are often cloak and dagger affairs due to "disclosure" issues, while new staff often don't know their real job until day one.

Lashinsky, who interviewed scores of former employees during his research, also revealed that new physical walls often go up around the complex when new projects begin.

Is everyone disclosed?

In a fascinating excerpt from the book, released January 25th, he writes: "To discuss a topic at a meeting, one must be sure everyone in the room is 'disclosed' on the topic, meaning they have been made privy to certain secrets.

"'You can't talk about any secret until you're sure everyone is disclosed on it,' said an ex-employee. As a result, Apple employees and their projects are pieces of a puzzle.

"The snapshot of the completed puzzle is known only at the highest reaches of the organization"

When the carpenters appear, stay clear

The latest excerpt from the book, which also claims iOS chief Scott Forstall is eying the top job at the company, says the physical surroundings will often change when a big project is afoot.

"Apple employees know something big is afoot when the carpenters appear in their office building," he writes.

"New walls are quickly erected. Doors are added and new security protocols put into place. Windows that once were transparent are now frosted. Other rooms have no windows at all. They are called lockdown rooms: No information goes in or out without a reason.

"The hubbub is disconcerting for employees. Quite likely you have no idea what is going on, and it's not like you're going to ask. If it hasn't been disclosed to you, then it's literally none of your business.

"What's more, your badge, which got you into particular areas before the new construction, no longer works in those places. All you can surmise is that a new, highly secretive project is under way, and you are not in the know. End of story."

Dummy positions

Lashinsky also reckons that new starters at the company only find out the true nature of their role at the company when they arrive on the first day.

Often they have been interviewed for "dummy positions" and will be briefed fully on day one.

The book also reveals that unlike Google, Apple doesn't give out free lunches to its employees unless its on your first day. Little wonder the company has $80+ billion of stockpiled cash coming out of its ears, the giant skinflints!

Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired - and Secretive - Company Really Works, is released on 25th January

Yahuui Blog

Thursday, January 19, 2012