Call me not surprised Apple does a standard propriety format and yet again in doing so hurts a good standard from really getting off the ground.
you're kidding right? if it was such a "good standard" then it would have had the features necessary to do what apple is doing. obviously they left something out, which again apple is now only trying to improve upon.
as far as the whole ebook business, it seems people are missing the point. wether its a static textbook or an electronic copy, the interactivity and "learning" aspect is whats at fault. well, really our culture of click and drag and instant digital gratification is at fault. like it or not, it's never going back to "the good ol' days". if you don't believe me, stop reading this and throw all your ianything into the trash...yea, didn't think so. apple's new approach is targeted and tailored at this new digital responsiveness of our current culture. the debate over textbook and epub vs. ibook2 is like mp3 vs aac, and the topic should be more like vinyl and cd vs mp4. this is an attempt to change the landscape of how education is deployed. wether or not it adheres to some standard is not the point. i have no doubt this is apple marketing, but it's the same approach they took with the ipod & iphone and look where that got them. i believe stressing this tight controlled option to schools is the right approach. if left to their own devices and "cheaper" alternatives, schools will inevitably do what that have always done, which is fail and churn out $h!t. i am embarrassed by our current education system. my god just look how grammatically incorrect this post is!
all i ask is, before knocking apple on this one. look at the overall concept and try to dispel any bias just based on keeping with their typical "controlled environment" approach. i think if done right, this is what is need to educate the youth of america and other countries to help propel them to the forefront of science and education and intern their overall economic status in the world.
smart people make stuff, dumb people buy it...