The Mac segregation
There are many instances where access to an iBook on a Mac is needed. This is particularly the case for students who might be doing multiple things and need to reference the iBook on the Mac while writing a paper, designing a poster, working on a science project, code, etc.
But it is not only students. If you are using an iBook to learn a new piece of software or do other things on a Mac, you are out of luck.
I view this lack of iBook access from the Mac, along with other non Mac accessible apps, as a lack of insight on the part of Apple in how people actually use Apple products.
The snide remark during the 10/24 presentation for the new iMac about how - 'for those customers who still need it, we make a portable CD player - is a little window on how Apple is floating in its own bubble more and more.
Before Apple fans get all over me on this, I am an Apple fan, have owned or worked on dozens of Macs since 1987 and have owned or do own many other Apple products over the years from digital cameras to iPods and Apple TV. I say this because I want Apple to succeed.
I have seen this before. Apple and Adobe did the same thing for many years. If you made something in an Adobe product, the only formats it exported to were previous Adobe formats of the same software. It took a decade but, Adobe figured out that, people needed to export work they made to other formats and it was a good thing. It made Adobe look good. Look at Adobe now. It dominates.
Apple just does not seem to realize that printed matter (or whatever we are calling digital now) can be read in many places on many devices. If Apple wants to dominate that world, iBook Author made books need to go to all of Apples products and all the other major players too. Kindle, Android, et al. Even if it means making an iBook reader app for those other formats.
