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Magazine Industry Already Preparing for Possible Apple Tablet

crackbookpro said:
well put... :)

Digital Media is something that the news/media/print companies have to collaborate with developers like Apple & the Kindle(amazon) in order to stay in the loop of these ever changing ways of digital communications...

We can't forget about Mr. Gates... Microsoft is one company that I truly think should have been keening in on this market when it was first talked about way back when... :eek: As much as I am anticipating the Apple 'rumored' Tablet, I am looking forward to an eBook coming from the one & only Microsoft.

Hopefully, they do make this 'rumored' Microsoft Tablet - https://www.macrumors.com/2009/09/22/microsofts-prototype-multi-touch-tablet-booklet/
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Ok listen, I will openly admit that the Currier looks pretty nice and cool and I hate Microsoft lol. That is assuming it actually becomes a product and ends up like the prototype. But if there is anything i do NOT want, it is Micro$oft controlling media with their DRM lock-in BS!!! :rolleyes:
 
My dream is to one day be able to wake up, tap on my tablet, and have the current day's paper ready for me. Or to be able to pack a few magazines on it for a plane trip, in addition to whatever book I'm reading at the moment.

Problem is, even though the technology for this exists now, publishers somehow think there heavily DRM'd e-Edition should cost more than the dead tree edition. That is a non-starter for me. It's mind boggling. Think of all the extra labor and resources that go into making and delivering a dead tree edition. Now please tell me why the e-Edition that I can't even share when I'm done with it costs more.

So unless Apple can do something about media cost I really could give a rat's patooty how slick the hardware is.

And another thing... The FCC needs to revise it's Banned at take off Electronics list. There is no way an e-Reader screws with a plane's navigation system.
 
Push technology to deliver content

This could be very successful if it utilizes the same push email technology of the iPhone to deliver magazine and newspaper content to the "tablet".

edit: what chupa chupa said..
 
What about the core Apple user the print designers & artists

As someone who has worked with Mac's since the Lisa and been a Apple Systems Administrator, and consulted for them, I have worked for lots of companies as a designer, retoucher, illustrator, page production and prepress, All these folks use Macs. At the magazines, newspapers and catalogers all of the Mac users have been a primary if not a singular force in keeping Apple alive in the hard times before the iPhone and iPod. I accept that at some point technology will get good enough to significantly drive down printing as it has with many magazines and news papers. But I would think that Apple would be concerned that it's most vocal and loyal followers who have driven them to driven them to drive innovation, and who are the fastest to support and buy Apple products would garner some consideration.

Killing off the publishing world puts Apple's most loyal followers out of work. Perhaps as an entertainment company Apple no longer cares but that would be a shame. They may be riding the wave right now but every high comes with a low and APple will need loyal supporters then like they have in the past. Hopefully a few of us will be around who can afford to buy the cool toys Apple builds.
 
From the Apple end of it, I envision a "Reader's Store" within iTunes. A place where you can buy books and subscribe to magazines just as easily as you buy music or applications. Either that, or Apple will partner with Amazon and use Kindle-like content.

But those magazine & newspaper subscription prices have to go down compared to the gouging that is taking place now. I don't care if the electronic magazine still has ads if that's what it takes to keep prices down. But it HAS to cost less than the paper-printed version.

Mark
 
I'm all for an open bookstore. I think it would be a disaster to put a single company in charge over distribution of all books, magazines, and other print materials. For example, we all know that Apple has is censorship hungry, and to give Apple control over a bookstore would be the worst disaster in the history of the human race.

I think they all need to agree on a standard format, and then have multiple, competing electronic bookstores for distribution.
 
firewood said:
"The people" already buy more music from iTunes than Walmart, have downloaded 2 billion apps, and have left maybe 100M credit cards on file with the iTunes store. Proof or no proof, this distribution model is already a more of a success than the typical book or news publisher.

I see Apple and Amazon colliding here, where Amazon has more text content, and Apple has hardware that can do more (apps, movies, interactive color web sites, etc.)
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Music =! News print / magazines, however.

Just because Apple does music well does not guarantee that they will do digital print well, it only proves that they have the ability to distribute it. Even though Microsoft has the infrastructure to sell music digitally does not mean they do it well. This is what I was alluding to with Apple.

Based on my history with Apple, I wouldn't expect anything but the best, but I'm not going to give them a free pass, and not many non-fanboys will either.

You have a valid point about Kindle - it is truly a uni-tasker - but the rumored Apple device's ability to do more does not guarantee that it better for subscribing to, and reading e-print.

-Clive
 
The political implications certainly are fascinating, but I admit I'm more enthusiastic (or hopeful) about how this may end up reducing the amount of paper used. We need our trees!
 
Stupid

Seriously, why is everyone so greedy? Magazines and publishers should stick to what they do best and let a technology company handle the tech side of things. So now they're going to write their own software, provide tech support, etc. in addition to their publishing duties? I don't understand this sort of thinking.
 
Amdahl said:
Who gives a damn about these so-called 'news' publishers? They all print the same crap stories, with the same crap slant. They all hide what they have been told to hide. The real trick has been convincing idiot Americans to pay so they can be 'informed.' Kind of like paying for TV, when it used to be free. Oh, you've got 300 channels of propaganda now, instead of just 3? Good for you!

Now, their propaganda finance model is falling apart. Congress looks at bailing out the propaganda machine... I say, let the whole thing fall apart.

We'll be better off without these liars.
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Quoted for truth.
 
I honestly can't think of a single time in my life that I've paid for the news (I'm 33, btw). If the NY Times is worried I'll start buying the iTablet edition and ignoring free news sources... that's pretty damn funny to me. I'd sooner pay for a slick multimedia enhanced version of The Onion than the New York Times...

So then what is this new "print" content delivery system going to deliver to me? The dots just aren't connecting...

Stuff like augmented reality, movies, tv, games, etc. make more sense. IMHO.
 
I can see this future tablet having eReader functionality as one of its core capabilities, but certainly not its only capability. Maybe eReader functionality would be its killer app that drives adoption, but if so I think it needs to go beyond a simple porting of current print content to iTablet format. Apple should be providing the hardware, software, development/publishing tools and distribution method to really take it to the next level. The current newspaper and magazine publishers would be wise to concentrate on their core competencies which I think would be content creation and perhaps taking advantage of partners/technologies like Apple or Kindle to present this content in a way that makes it more valuable to people (readers and advertisers) than the current print medium. That collaboration to add more value to users is the big win/win opportunity for content providers and technology poviders (and consumers). I hope that end state isn't delayed too much longer by individual companies or industries trying to keep the whole pie to themselves instead of recognizing that a fraction of a much larger pie is out there for the taking.
 
My view is I think they want to get a system in place and working before apple can screw them over locking them in. I think they want a system in place that is not limited to only one brand of product.

iTMS back when it had DRM music really screwed over a lot of companies from entering the market because any one who had 30+ dollar invested in iTMS would not want to buy a different brand of player.

Apple has the money to power to control both making it near impossible for someone else to enter because very few companies would have both the money create both in a workable formate.

I do hope if Apple does the store subscription the magnetizes company force what ever DRM on the stuff to be allowed to used on other companies products.

That or they are trying to get some standard DRM in place before apple does (and there for preventing other companies from entering the tablet market_
 
carbonware said:
...I accept that at some point technology will get good enough to significantly drive down printing as it has with many magazines and news papers. But I would think that Apple would be concerned that it's most vocal and loyal followers who have driven them to driven them to drive innovation, and who are the fastest to support and buy Apple products would garner some consideration.

Killing off the publishing world puts Apple's most loyal followers out of work. Perhaps as an entertainment company Apple no longer cares but that would be a shame....
Click to expand...

You make it sound like Apple is out to destroy print media. Today's media eco system can support print and digital content; it is not one or the other. All the professional designers and writers you mention will eventually find similar jobs in online magazines and newspapers instead of fighting over the scraps of print media today.

I am sure there were a lot of scared video and film editors when non-linear systems became accessible to kids with computers and FireWire cameras. Did those old school editors all lose their jobs? My guess is only the ones who did not adapt and learn how to edit on Avid, Premiere, Final Cut, etc.

From all accounts Steve Jobs and Apple have lofty ambitions for their tablet. This device may revolutionise 'the news' the same way Macs did the PC and the iPod did portable music. Any editors and their staff who do not take steps towards a digital distribution model will be left behind.
 
Zinio is cool

pjarvi said:
I've subscribed to MacWorld magazine via Zinio.com for a couple of years now. Typical of Apple being late to the party and then claiming to have invented it.
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I love Zinio - I get my mags months earlier than when I was buying them off the Australian news stands.

And at a huge saving.

I love magazines and have many years of hoarding behind me. Lately though, I've really rationalised my purchasing. Maybe it's all become too much the same. How many PC mags do you need to tell you Win7 is gonna suck big time if you want to upgrade from XP? LOL.

Even the graphic design mags are much the same every month. Probably why everyone and his dog seems to think they are a graphic designer/marketing guru/home renovator/fitness expert these days :)

Buying them online, skimming thru them and saving them on your hard drive saves time, effort and cost. It's the way to go. I wish I could buy all my mags this way! Zinio is pretty good even on image heavy magazines.

Some magazines already give away PDF versions (from a few years earlier) or sell you compilation DVDs of out of print editions. I'm happy with that idea too since the price is right. Only thing you can miss is the cover CDs... but even that is less of an issue now companies offer free trials or free older versions to get you to buy. Faster internet access outweighs the convenience of pre-downloaded software.
 
The book, magazine and newspaper publishers are scared because it's so convenient to read newspaper and magazine content online nowadays--who needs the dead tree version?

Indeed, the public Internet has changed EVERYTHING in terms of content distribution. For example, if you're a paid ESPN Insider member, you can get access to the digital version of ESPN the Magazine to view on your computer and download commercial-free versions of ESPN Radio's most popular radio shows (Mike & Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, etc.). Archie Comics recently started a paid subscription service (Archie Digital) where you can see hundreds of Archie Publications comics from the early ones in the 1940's up to current issues! (I believe DC and Marvel are working on similar projects.)

As for video, online distribution has already changed one industry: Japanese anime. Crunchyroll, which used to host pirated fansubbed anime, now hosts a lot of NEW anime from Japan legally, and you can watch many of the very latest anime in English-subtitled form within hours of its original airing in Japan! :D The Book of Bantora series is already online, and the equally-anticipated Fairy Tail series is coming very soon. Even Viz Communications is taking advantage: they are streaming the latest Inu-Yasha anime series now showing in Japan here in the USA within hours of its airing in Japan.

What does all the above mean? For Apple's new tablet computer, it means a lot: we may be seeing the birth of the first true portable computer that not only acts like the Amazon Kindle (complete with a larger screen for comfortable text reading), but also becomes a video playback device with excellent video quality, better than the screens you get from portable DVD players now on the market. And all of the content will be distributed by the iTunes Store, perhaps the most convenient online media download service in the world.
 
robbyx said:
Seriously, why is everyone so greedy?
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Companies that aren't (legally) greedy have a strong tendency to be out-competed in the market, go bankrupt, or just get bought out by better run companies.

Magazines and publishers should stick to what they do best and let a technology company handle the tech side of things.
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Like when AOL (which was once bigger than Apple) "purchased" Time Warner so that they could handle the tech side of publishing? What a success that was. :eek:

Clive At Five said:
You have a valid point about Kindle - it is truly a uni-tasker - but the rumored Apple device's ability to do more does not guarantee that it better for subscribing to, and reading e-print.
Click to expand...

General purpose technology products can often drive better single purpose devices off the market (or into tiny specialty niches).
 
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