We’ve heard what Apple had to say on education, and the masses have responded; meanwhile, the Smithsonian spotlights one venerable Mac product from the halls of history. Gear up for some learning—the remainders for Thursday, January 19, 2012 are going to go take a nap on their desks.
Apple’s New Math. Or: Why a $15 ebook Equals a $75 Paper Book. (All Things D)
Why are publishers so happy to sell their new iBooks-exclusive textbooks for $15 or less? According to McGraw Hill CEO Terry McGraw, “volume” is the answer: Instead of selling textbooks to schools, the companies are taking aim at students, who cannot resell or trade the digital copy after they’ve finished with it. Cheaper textbooks and happy publishers? I guess the Mayans were right—the world really is ending.
The Unprecedented Audacity of the iBooks Author EULA (Venomous Porridge)
Mac software engineer Dan Wineman is shocked, shocked that Apple had the audacity to insist in its end-user licensing agreement that all books made with its new iBooks Author tool must be sold through the iBookstore—or given away for free. (David Smith makes a counter-argument.) Honestly, it’s not my favorite proclamation from the Cupertino company, either. (That award goes to Phil Schiller’s “Squirrel!”)
Apple “Classic” Macintosh Personal Computer (National Museum of American History)
You can see many things when you visit the National Museum of American History, but there’s one little computer you won’t: the Macintosh. It’s one of 137 million artifacts stored at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, though it has yet to make its debut onto the museum floor. In the meantime, it entertains the dictaphone and the world’s first CB radio by replaying its 1984 introduction speech over and over.
Product News:
Slender: Dragon Forged Software released Slender, a Mac App that helps developers shrink their projects by removing unused files. Slender is capable of tracking which asset files aren’t being used, which are missing counterparts, and which images have incorrect dimensions. The app supports both iOS and Mac projects. $5 sale price, regularly $10.
xScope 3: The Iconfactory has released version 3.0 of its xScope Mac app for designers and developers. xScope features tools that can measure, inspect, and test on-screen graphics and layouts. The latest version includes updates to the app’s interface; makes it possible to connect multiple iOS devices to the same window on a Mac; pattern recognition tools; increased zoom capabilities; and more. $20.