Rex and the Disaster

Well, friends, I want to tell you my blogging has been less regular than usual because not only have Jen and I been sick, but on Thursday our Mac, Rex, cratered. He acted funny and then wouldn't boot up. We took him into the Apple Store on Saturday, so we should have him back sometime next week. All I can say is AppleCare is your friend. Anyhow, I will do my best to post every day - thanks for sticking around!

Jason

New Yorker iPad App

After months of patiently waiting and hoping... The New Yorker iPad app has finally arrived! It even includes a great intro video:

E-Books and Data Integrity

I started reading a new book this weekend that Jen was kind enough to let my buy at Half Price Books: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward R. Tufte. I am working through the chapter on data integrity and thought it was apropos to share this article with you about E-Books.

Last Tuesday's post to the MIT Technology Review blog Mims's Bits had a wonderfully literary title: The Death of the Book has Been Greatly Exaggerated. I liked the reference to Mark Twain's remark upon reading his own obituary.

BOOK for iPad

It's hard to find a really cool and "good" iPad case. When we bought our iPad originally, I bought one of the little neoprene sleeves that the Apple Store was selling. It worked well enough, but getting the iPad into and out of the case was hard - as you had to stretch the case around the iPad. I started looking for a new case about a week after I brought our iPad home, but with it being a new product, I had limited success in my search. All of the cases out then looked like overgrown iPhone cases, and that just didn't seem to work well for me. The iPad is a device for information consumption, not for voice communication and such. There were a few slightly better cases available, but nothing that I really liked. So, I kept searching every few weeks without finding anything until I found the case I have now.

A Weekend of Reading Contrasts

I am not entirely sure as to whether I shared this or not but this weekend, but I went "Unplugged" again. I didn't really get on the internet at all this weekend, thanks to the kind assistance of Jen. I really enjoyed doing this, and I think it came at a perfect time.

Recently...

It's Friday morning, and Jen just dropped me off from taking our cat, Cosby, to the vet. He's doing fine, he just needed his regular checkup. Dr. Hotchkiss gave him a clean bill of health, but they have to get a sample of his "used water" so Cos is at the vet now. It's odd and quiet without him here - I usually write posts for you all with him in my lap. I miss him, but we will get to see him again at 5. (Although it is nice that he is not attacking the various papers and magazines out on the desk now.) I don't have any single thing on my mind I want to share this morning, so let me do some housekeeping and update you on a few smaller things today.

Times for the iPad Thoughts

I received an email yesterday from Sam Duncan about a little app for the iPad called, simply, Times. Times for the iPad is another feed display app, so that it takes my favorite feeds from the web, and presents them in one easy to use, reference, and read spot. As a matter of fact, here's how The Dean Files looks in it:

iPhone 4 Thoughts

It has been a few days since Jen and I received our new iPhones, and I want to share with you all my thoughts about the new iPhone, now that the dust has settled out there about this new product. To be honest, this is my third iPhone - I had the "original" 8GB model, and then a 16GB white model 3G. So then the iPhone 4 represents a big leap ahead as far as camera and speed for me.

New Phones

Well, Jen and I’s new iPhones come today. We’ll let you know what we think about them soon - and hopefully we will have lots of videos and photos to share. Have a great weekend!

iPad: One Month

One month (or so) has passed since we bought an iPad, and I thought you might be curious to know how that is working our for us. I think mine will join many other bloggers writing about this, but I am not them, so here we go.

Confession: the iPad is not my constant companion. I don’t take it everywhere, nor do I use it all the time. I suppose there are people out there who use theirs all the time, but really I don’t find myself in situations where the iPad is useful all the time.

More specifically, what do I use it for?

Over the past two weeks, I have used it most every morning to read the news. The New York Times app is wonderful, and brings me a selection of headlines that change as the day progresses. I think others might lament that you cannot see the whole paper, but I prefer having someone curate the articles beforehand, so there is less to choose from. I realize that this is a bit like our grandparents reading the paper every morning over breakfast, and on some level, that appeals to me as well. The key difference (or advantage) for me is twofold: that the iconic graphic identity of the Times is preserved, and reading articles on the iPad is far preferable to reading them on a traditional computer, regardless of if they are in a reader, or their native website. Here is a screenshot of what I was reading yesterday:


I also love watching video podcasts and videos in general on the iPad. They look wonderful, and it’s great to be able to have the video wherever you want it. I have watched many TEDTalks on this, and plan to continue doing so!

When we do take the iPad places, it is excellent for sharing photos. The ability to utilize faces and places from both iPhoto and Aperture is wonderful, and our grandparents (who normally have a hard time with this stuff) loved seeing photos on it, and had no problem seeing them.

I would say I use the iPad about an hour a day at this point, though that might change as time goes on.

What are my complaints? Well, wifi reception is pretty awful. In our living room I get spotty reception, and that is not very far from our router. Hopefully, Apple will be able to improve this with a software update. Also, Facebook needs an iPad app.

Do you have an iPad? What do you think about it? Any questions for me? Let me hear from you!

New Yorker iPad Article Comments

As I do most every week, I was reading my New Yorker magazine this week. On page 24 of this week’s issue, there is an article titled Publish or Perish by Ken Auletta which was very interesting. Before I get into my comments on this article, though, please allow me to ask this question:

Why aren’t more librarians writing and thinking about the implications of the iPad (and to a lesser degree the Kindle and the Nook) on the primary form of information consumption today: reading?

If you have some clue as to why not a whole lot has been written, let me hear from you in the comments.

Anyhow, back to the article.

The article examines the background of ebook publishing, and why the iPad caused such a stir - not just because of what it represented, but that it presented a real form of competition by the then-dominant Kindle. Though interesting, I am not discussing this part of the article either. What I am discussing, though, is a quote from David Rosenthal, who says that his company (Simon & Schuster) is working on efforts to

... embed audio and video and other value-added features in e-books. It could be an author discussing his book, or a clip from a movie that touches on the book’s topic.

Are these “value-added” features, as Mr. Rosenthal describes them, really going to transform our reading, and represent the next big thing in media consumption?

I say no.

I say no because the adding of a few videos is simply too pedestrian for what we are witnessing now. Readers must be able to interact with their information - be it an e-book, or a website. The iPad provides a medium for some form of interaction beyond pressing the play button on a video. As I referenced in a previous post, the Alice in Wonderland app for the iPad is just a early, but good example of this. If you would like another example, take a look at this example, and keep in mind the implications of this not only for leisure reading, but for education as well:








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHiEqf5wb3g









So, to be fair, it is not the “real thing,” but I think you would be inclined to agree with me that it is a far sight better than a video of an author discussing his (or her) book. Also, think of the implications for education - not only would the content be more engaging, the updates (that so frequently happen, and cost schools millions) to those texts could be “pushed” out to the devices on which the students view and use their textbooks.

And by no means is the iPad all of a sudden the ultimate expression of the future of reading. What we see in the iPad is one in a very long sequence of steps as makers of technology and publishers experiment to see what this new digital reading world is like, and what we as readers want from this new paradigm. The article hits on one - better prices! Hardcover books new at a traditional bookstore are outrageously expensive, and some better pricing must be developed in order to allow people to purchase the books they want. Digital books are by their very nature cheaper. The article says this:

No matter where consumers buy books, their belief that electronic media should cost less - that something you can’t hold simply isn’t worth as much money - will exert a powerful force.

Exactly. However, in the case of these dynamic books, like Alice or Elements, people are willing (I think) to pay more money. More “bang for your buck,” so to speak.

Thus far as I feel you have noted, intrepid reader, I have been talking about people buying these “books” for their own personal use. What about libraries?

Well, I was reading this post over at the LibraryThing blog and came across Tim Spalding’s thoughts on the in-store reading privileges for Nook owners:

What works for Barnes and Noble could also work for libraries. Indeed, since every Barnes and Noble has suddenly turned into a limitless library, real libraries risk losing a core value to a mere bookstore.

Fortunately, the change to a "Brigadoon Library" would be gentle. Libraries are already accustomed to in-library database access. This would be an extension of an established concept--very helpful in selling new ideas to institutions that are too often hostile to them. And it should be easy to set up--just submit your wifi's IP address to an ereader's website and you're good to go.

Best of all, this is a library solution that makes sense to publishers and could therefore actually happen.(4) Publishers signed on with Barnes and Noble because they calculated that the sales they lost from free reading would be more than offset by the sales they gained from people who bought the book after tiring of the physical limitation--and by the extra word of mouth.(5) With libraries, the publisher incentive is less, but still significant. Readers cannot turn from an ereader to buy a physical copy, as they could at a Barnes and Noble store. But, as at a store, they can buy the ebook. There's no reason publishers wouldn't provide such a service for free, or, more probably, a low cost.(6)

So, Tim Spalding points out that you might set up some similar service in libraries - when you are in the library, you can use the e-books. Of course, we will see some form of better DRM type rules for e-books in libraries, so that one might check them out, but e-books are at such an early stage at this point that there is really no need to make standardizations to the formats and agreements. Yet.

That is why the ALA needs to get involved in e-books in a major way, and right now. Librarians need to start advocating for their libraries (as I have, in my own small way) to ensure that people’s right to the information they seek is not infringed upon.

As always, let me hear your thoughts, etc. in the comments!

Alice for the IPad: The Future?

Remember a few posts back, I mention that in the iPad, we might be seeing into the future of magazine publishing? This video will show you just a bit of what is possible with this new device and reading:


















This video really showcases what the iPad has over all other electronic-type readers: interactiveness. Until now, readers have just been another method for presenting that which we see in physical books - graphics and text. Other than convenience, there has been really nothing to differentiate books from their electronic counterparts.

Until now. (As I said above)

Of course, this is not the best example of what one can do with the iPad, merely a taste. This Alice in Wonderland book is an app, which is already a problem. Books of any kind should be managed through the books app, not through individual apps. However, I am getting ahead of myself. This being the first example of a book in a truly interactive format, we will see the genre and medium change and streamline over time. What a great way to interact with what we are reading, though! What do you think?

I still think I’d rather read a physical book, but this new format could push me to reading books in an electronic format. Just imagine a murder mystery like this!

iPad Confessions

Readers,

I want to fully disclose something with you for a moment:

I bought an iPad last week.

I really was not going to buy one. Frankly, I was underwhelmed at Steve Jobs’ initial presentation of the device, and saw no real use in the iPad. I was doing just fine...

until I went to the local Apple Store and test-drove one for about five minutes. People are right, you have to use one in order to fully appreciate what it is and just how useful (and immersive) the device is.

Why did I buy it? For me, the iPad replaces everything I used to do with a laptop: internet browsing, email, some word processing and sharing photos. The size really is excellent for carrying around, no bigger really than a normal sized periodical even with a case. As I said, the experience of using the iPad is very immersive, and as Apple said, it feels “right.” Let me list a few specific things I like about it:

The New York Times’ Editors’ Choice app could be the future of newspapers. The content is formatted much like the physical paper, with the same typefaces and column formatting, as well as photos. This “feels” good to me. Of course, I grew up reading my news online, and so this might not be optimal for those of you who really enjoy reading a “real” paper. However, as I said, this has the potential to become the next major revolution in publishing for both magazines as well as newspapers. (If I could only get the New Yorker to make an app, I would be blissfully happy).
Apple’s Pages app is really quite useful, and has a much better user interface than I thought it might. I am a regular user of Pages on my MacPro, and so I was already familiar with much of the program. iTunes is a poor document syncing source, and Apple needs to improve the syncing of documents, either through MobileMe or an improved interface in iTunes. Office users really need some better word processing solution, and Microsoft should jump on that. Also, I am interested to see what Google Docs does with the iPad. That could be really “neat.”
Video on the iPad is just great. The speaker is pretty good, but there is no lagging, no jerkiness, just smooth beautiful video. Good job on this one.
Photos on the iPad is another highlight. Part of the reason we bought an iPad was to share the 13,000 plus images we have in our Aperture library (we take a lot of photos). The photos sync seamlessly, if a bit slow the first time. After that, everything is great. The photos look just excellent - so much so that Jen’s grandparents had no trouble at all seeing them on the iPad’s screen.

As you can imagine, I have at least one suggestion for Apple: make iWeb for the iPad. As you might know, iWeb is how Jen and I “do” this website, and I would love to be able to blog from the iPad (ALA Annual? Hope to blog from there!). I’ll be surprised if they don’t address this fairly soon.

iBooks leaves a bit to be desired to me. As you might guess, I love reading a physical book, but I gave reading Thoreau’s Walden a try on the iPad (it was free). The text looks wonderful, and I love the different fonts and sizes you can pick. However, to make the text easily readable, you have to make it big. This is no problem in itself, but it does make you turn the page quite frequently, which (though it looks neat) is a bit annoying to do all the time. There needs to be some sort of arrow for page turning, in addition to how you can do it now.

And, finally, what do I see as the iPad’s implications for libraries? Well, smartphones really seem to be the “next big thing” moreso than what other librarians have pronounced. Tablet computing, as well as smartphones, will really alter how patrons interact with their libraries, and the libraries need to be proactive in changing to support their user’s habits. First, OPAC and library websites need to be optimized for the iPad and iPhone. Second, libraries should at least consider creating an app for those platforms, to better share the OPAC, as well as videos and other recorded events and such at the library. And, make all this free to everyone! Finally, the ALA (or PLA) really needs to make strong overtures to Apple so that libraries can have a role in the iBooks app. Maybe you can virtually check out electronic titles from the library, or even just find the book you are about to buy at the local library. This could serve as some form of standardization within libraries for the circulation of electronic books and resources. And we all know libraries and librarians love standards.

Have any questions for me about the iPad or other comments? Let me hear from you!

Aperture 3

Friends, I have not fallen into some abyss, nor has any malady befallen me. I was simply trying to use the trial version of Aperture 3, released earlier this week. Well, to make a long story short - the program is a computer vampire, and only now can I really use my computer. So, my purchasing advice for Aperture 3 is: don’t buy it.

Jason

Link: Dear Steve Jobs, iBooks has me Nervous

Dr. Dave Lankes has posted his thoughts about the new iPad application, iBooks. I am a bit surprised by the lack of writing about this happening in the library blog community. However, Dr. Lankes has some great points, and to whet your appetite, here is a quote from his original post, as well as a link taking you there:

What makes me nervous about iBooks, the new eBook app from Apple targeted for their iPad, is not what you might expect. DRM, cost models doesn’t worry me. These are mostly imposed by the publishers, and we saw how this played out in music and MP3’s. It is certainly not that eReaders or the move away from physical books in some way endangers the future of the library. Libraries are about knowledge and facilitation, not artifacts and stuff.
No, what worries me about iBooks is that it is so damn boring. I actually found myself angry and disappointed after the big iPad announcement. I expected so much more. I was a little apprehensive about posting these thoughts because I haven’t actually seen the iBooks software. So for all I know, everything I am about to say is there, but there just wasn’t enough time to talk about them. So if that is the case, Apple, my bad. If not, what were you thinking?!
Link: Dear Steve Jobs, iBooks has me Nervous, by Dr. Dave Lankes.

The New Apple Product

Readers, I feel pretty confident in assuming that you have heard that Apple is going to announce a new tablet based product later today. Honestly, I have no insight to share about the tablet, but this opinion piece by Derek Powazek helps frame the potential for the massive changes that the new Apple product might bring in the world of publishing, and then to libraries as well.

Check his post out here:

What I Hope Apple Unleashes Tomorrow by Derek Powazek

And let’s all see what the Next Big Thing is going to be!

WWDC, 2009

For all you Apple-using readers out there, today is WWDC, where apparently Apple will release Snow Leopard (new OS X), a new version of the iPhone, a new iPhone OS, and perhaps something else I am not as sure about.

Check out the live blog here:

http://live.gizmodo.com/

- Jason Dean