iBooks

The painful process of updating a book purchased in the iBookstore

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

I've never been interested into reading books on my iPad or iPhone for a couple reasons. First, I spend all day staring at a screen, so when I want to relax and read a book, I want to look at anything but another screen. Second, and maybe more importantly, having developed bad carpal tunnel syndrome from spending too much time on a computer, I really don't need to make things worse by holding an iPad in my hand when I want to read.

This being said, I understand the practicality of reading books on an iPad or any eReader. You can fit many more books in an iPad than you could in the trunk of your car. Besides, this post isn't about why I like or dislike the iBookstore. It's about the process of updating a book purchased on it...

‘Bookstand’ Goes Live on Cydia

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 5, 2012

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBcR70_hj3Y[/tube]

We previewed Bookstand — a new tweak that allows you to access iBooks content right from iOS 5's Newsstand — a couple of days ago.

Now the tweak is available on Cydia for all to enjoy. Be sure to check out our full preview of Bookstand. It can be found on the BigBoss repo for $0.99, and of course it will require iOS 5. Have you tried it yet?

‘Bookstand’ Combines Newsstand and iBooks Content

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 3, 2012

To some, having periodicals in one place and books in another place can seem redundant. If you're in this camp, then Bookstand may be something that makes sense.

Bookstand is a jailbreak tweak that places iBooks content into Newsstand, letting you access all of your reading content in one convenient place.

RedSn0w Updated to Fix iBooks DRM Issues

Sébastien Page ∙ January 29, 2012

The Dev Team has recently updated their renowned RedSn0w jailbreak tool to version 0.9.10b5 in order to fix the DRM issue for iBooks on jailbroken devices.

This fix, which was developed by PlanetBeing and integrated into RedSn0w, overcomes the jailbreak detection by iBooks that would cause some images to not display properly, if at all...

How Apple “Acquired” the iPhone Trademark From Cisco

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

Adam Lashinsky's new book Inside Apple, which was released earlier this week, is full of juicy stories from Apple's past. Pieces of the book have been popping up on the web over the past two weeks.

The latest excerpt we've come across, courtesy of our friends over at Cult of Mac, provides some insight on the details surrounding Apple's "acquisition" of the iPhone trademark from Cisco Systems...

Inside Apple: Apple’s Dirty Little Secrets Now Available for Download

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

Inside Apple is a new book by Adam Lashinsky that takes a shot at revealing how the Cupertino company works from the inside out. A few excerpts have been released within the last couple days, but now, the whole book is available to everyone.

According to the book's description, "INSIDE APPLE reveals the secret systems, tactics and leadership strategies that allowed Steve Jobs and his company to churn out hit after hit and inspire a cult-like following for its products."

The book is available from various sources:

Download it from the iBooks Store for $12.99 Download it from the Kindle Store for $12.99 Order the hard cover copy from Amazon for $16.19

Apple Has an Actual Unboxing Room to Test Product Packaging

Cody Lee ∙ January 24, 2012

Apple's engineers and designers are world-renowned for their attention to details, but to what extent? Well according to Adam Lashinsky's new Inside Apple book, the iPhone-makers have their own unboxing room — yeah, unboxing room.

Bits and pieces of Lashinksy's book have been surfacing on the web over the past two weeks. The leaks have provided some interesting insight into the Cupertino company, and this next excerpt continues that trend...

Flipping Through the Pages on an iPad eBook, Just Like You Do on a Real Book

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple's recent release of iBooks 2 has truly revolutionized the textbook industry, but the multi-touch experience in iBooks could use some major improvements. As it stands, Apple's official eBook app is limited to one basic swiping motion between pages. The KAIST Institute of Information Technology Convergence's new patented multi-touch interface for eBooks, on the other hand, is quite the contrary.

The prototype has several new multi-touch gestures that allow for you to flip through pages, bookmark with your fingers, turn through multiple pages at once, write page numbers, and more. You have to watch the video demonstration for yourself...

350,000 Textbooks for iPad Downloaded in Three Days

Guest Author ∙ January 23, 2012

Last Thursday, Apple took the stage at Guggenheim Museum in New York City to unveil its new educational content and publishing tools based on the iBooks platform. The event was centered around the releases of iBooks 2, iTunes U for iOS, and iBooks Author for Mac. And, as reported by AllThingsD, the response to the company's educational efforts has been nothing short of phenomenal.

According to Global Equities Research, upwards of 350,000 interactive textbooks for iPad were downloaded from the iBookstore during the first three days of availability. iBooks Author, Apple's free textbook creation tool for Mac, also had just shy of 100,000 downloads during its opening weekend. Best of all, it's a win-win situation for both students and publishers...

Will Textbooks for iPad Change Education?

Jake Smith ∙ January 20, 2012

Yesterday, Apple held an event focusing on education at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum to unveil a couple of new products that are supposed to change education. Apple opened up the event with the video below, where teachers explained what is wrong with education and why many students do not get the fullest education offered — or simply do not graduate.

Apple unveiled three new products yesterday: iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U apps for the iPhone and iPad. iBooks 2 allows for textbooks publishers to sell their textbooks for $15 a pop, while iBooks Author allows for anyone to create text books simply through a Mac application. Lastly, iTunes U is an iOS app that allows for teachers to customize topics, provide students with office hours, post messages to the class, and give assignments.

With these announcements, Apple is working towards changing education, because really, education is not where it is supposed to be. But then comes the question: is Apple really the company that should be taking this charge, or should someone else? Moreover, will yesterday's announcements make a difference? As someone infinitely familiar with the inter-workings of high school education, I try to breakdown why I do not think Apple is up for the task...

The Economics Behind Apple’s Digital Textbook Initiative

Cody Lee ∙ January 19, 2012

During its New York-based media event this morning, Apple announced its plans to get into the digital textbook publishing business. We have a good recap of the event in case you missed it, but the gist of it all is fairly straight-forward.

Using new applications like iBooks 2 and iBooks Author, Apple plans to disrupt the textbook industry by making it easier for folks to publish and consume educational content. And what's more impressive, they're giving the tools away for free...

iBooks Educational Event Wrap Up

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 19, 2012

There's been quite a bit to digest today regarding Apple's excellent educational event. I think the rumors that we'd see a "Garageband" for iBooks pretty much panned out like we expected.

To sort out all of the details, we've compiled a post explaining the highlights from Apple's event, along with details on the software involved and videos plus download links.

If you're at all behind on Apple's Media event this morning, don't worry, we've got you covered.