Tag: apple

Potential of iBook Author

Hardware is or perhaps already has become a commodity. Nearly any device produced – laptop, tablet, phone – is capable of reaching the online services provided by multiple providers and more than meets the needs of a very high proportion of users. The money put into such devices brings a dismissing return. Once you get past $300-400, a larger investment adds little to what you can accomplish. This reality is reflected in the diminished interest in these same devices. If it were not for difficulties with the wired-in batteries, most of us could extend our replacement cycle by several years. The speed of a connection is far more important than the speed of the CPU, drive, or bus.

The trend I describe here is not a reflection of the use of this technology. We might have moved more of our attention to mobile, but we have not diminished the focus of our attention on digital content.

These trends make it difficult for companies that are focused primarily on hardware. The multiple companies involved in generating hardware assure reasonable value for money spent. I use mostly Apple devices, but I understand that I am purchasing this hardware at a premium and for little advantage when it comes to my work. I am worried about the future of Apple hardware.

It seems Apple already realizes the challenges I have identified and are making every attempt to diversify. My frustration is that Apple fancies itself a design and hardware company and ignores the potential in content (with the exception of music) and online social. I wish that Apple would challenge Amazon in the ebook market. iBook Author is a great tool but largely ignored as a development environment because Apple refuses to make the necessary investments to take the content generated cross platform. Anyone writing for group adoptions (e.g., textbooks) cannot make a commitment to developing in iBook Author. Instructors making book decisions cannot put students in the situation of having to own the hardware from a specific company.

My complaints with the Amazon model beyond the general objection to the lack of competition is the simple format of the content that must be prepared for the Kindle. Generating content for the Kindle is not easy and the commitment of Amazon to its own low end devices limits the use of multimedia in the content created. I understand that Amazon is moving toward a more diversified textbook authoring platform, but derivations of pdfs are not what I find impressive. The Kindle devices are simply not suited to video or to integrating web and book content.

So Apple, you have the money to create a presence in the content environment. You will soon be out of the education market if you focus only on hardware.

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The spin applied by tech companies

What are you willing to share to get something in return? The answer to this question may be very relevant to the future of several companies – Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

Are you willing to share data derived from your online behavior? This seems to be shaping up as a dividing line newly promoted by these companies to differentiate themselves and attract users and their money. (The New Yorker offers their analysis).

Here is how the companies spin their positions. Google wants you to believe that it collects information about you to provide you better online experiences. The more Google knows, the more helpful it can be. Do you want random ads or do you want ads that address personal interests? (No open consideration of whether you want ads at all). Apple and Microsoft, in contrast, vow to protect your privacy. The use of data derived from your online behavior is described as a privacy issue.

I’m speaking to you from Silicon Valley, where some of the most prominent and successful companies have built their businesses by lulling their customers into complacency about their personal information.

Guess who – Tim Cook

When I attempt to understand the decisions of technology companies, I ask myself “What are the business model?” We know what these companies offer. Microsoft sells software and some might argue services. Apple sells you hardware, some software, and access to content and services developed by other companies. Google sells a few services and access to other companies content and software, but mostly it sells ad impressions.

These companies do offer users some “no cost” incentives. Microsoft gives away some cross-platform services (One Note, Bing search). Apple gives away some software to Apple users (the OS and productivity apps), but is very limited in cross-platform opportunities. Google gives away many cross-platform services.

You are a user? What do you want? Do remember the Stones’ song – You can’t always get what you want (but if you try some time, you can get what you need)? This actually good advice and should be heeded in this situation. An acceptable answer to the question of what do you want should not be – I want stuff for free. A better answer might be – I want reasonably priced goods and services and not to be taken advantage of in order to obtain what I need.

Apple’s present gamble is that it can do locally on a device what Google does with machine learning and the Google cloud. Apple understands the importance of personalization, but intends to develop a different approach. Rather than collect information based on your behavior, store these data in the cloud and then personalize services based on what appear to be your priorities, Apple intends to keep your data on your device to convince you that your data are not being shared or used for other evil purposes. If developed by Apple using this approach, a service comparable to Google Now could offer useful information related to personal needs without sharing the personal priorities the system determined with Apple. I suppose Apple assumes you view ads as a nuisance you could do without and can search when you want information about a product or service. Apple also assumes you can do without free Google services and will find other services as a substitute. I also suppose it is possible Apple may believe it can offer similar free services if providing such services further reduced interest in what Google offers. This last possibility has yet to materialize as Apple has not been able to develop credible cloud services to this point.

What about Microsoft? A similar logic might apply. Microsoft now promotes its combination of free and paid services (and software) by assuming you are willing to pay for some things in compensation for not having to share personal information.

If you are willing to give up your Google services what is it you assume? I suggest you assume Apple will be able to actually create the device based “personal priority and needs” approach it claims to be developing and that Apple will get far better at cloud services.

The “nuclear option” for anti-Google companies is to build in default mechanisms for blocking ads. At present, if Google can show no ads it would not have enough alternative revenue streams to stay afloat. Customers taking advantage of this “privacy” opportunity and not understanding what they get in the trade for their information could possibly ruin Google. Of course, it is more complicated than just Google vs. Apple and Microsoft. Removing ads, also removes an incentive for many who offer content for free. Those offering content would need other incentives for doing so and the consequences of these other incentives are unclear.

Why do I care? While I understand the general motive of companies to acquire as much of the pie as possible, I do not see a system with few players as great for consumers. I think greater awareness of how companies make money is important. How you or I interpret these finance models is important? It is possible to spin whichever approach you choose to attack? Apple’s model involves overpricing locking users into software and services that may not be the best available. Apple supports blocking ads that were intended to appear by the authors of content. Google uses data about user behavior.

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iTunes U and Course Management

Apple has announced that enhancements to iTunes U allow an instructor considerable flexibility in shaping content for his/her class.

The new in-app updates to iTunes U give teachers full course creation capabilities on iPad, with the ability to directly add rich content and learning materials from iWork®, iBooks® Author or any of the over 75,000 educational apps available for iPad.

My opinion is that Apple will continue to trail companies such as Amazon and Google in providing content to the broad education market until Apple is willing to offer content cross platform. The iPad is very popular, but cross-platform is the reality in schools using a BYOD, android, or Windows platform. For whatever educators want, this seems an industry struggle based on whether companies benefit most from software or hardware adoption.

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WWDC 2014 as viewed by an educator’s advocate

On June 2 Apple held its annual event for Developers (WWDC – watch the two hour event ). The keynote outlines Apple’s plans for the near future supposedly to guide and encourage software developers. Of course, the rest of watch as well and hope to learn what we might expect from the company in the next few months. Here are some personal comments mostly focused on revelations that may influence the use of Apple technology in K-12 settings. I encourage you to view the presentation and draw your own conclusions.

First, this event is primarily about Apple software development and how developers might take advantage of OS and iOS improvements (mostly) in preparing products and services to be used with Apple hardware. My impression and the impression of the comments of pundits I have reviewed is that Apple proposes some major new innovations. On a personal level, I will find it more convenient to use Apple-enabled software across Apple devices (back and forth between my iPad and Apple computers). I should find that software developers will find it possible to create more powerful services to operate within the Apple ecosystem and possibly I will be able to count on improvements in Apple’s use of the Apple cloud.

I do not necessarily see these changes as opportunities for the K-12 setting. My view of K-12 assumes the use of technology in the classroom and elsewhere (home) and assumes that students will be using multiple platforms (not just Apple). The power I see in the Apple announcements seem pretty much focused on Apple hardware and software (i.e., apps) running on Apple hardware. The use of the cloud appears to play a bigger role in Apple plans, but mostly to store and transfer files between Apple devices. This approach might be contrasted with the Google model in which the hardware is primarily a way to get to the cloud and Software as a Service runs “in the cloud”.

I think there are “work arounds” for the approach taken by any company. You can certainly use Google drive to store files as a method of moving data from one device to another. You can do the same with DropBox, Box and other cloud services. iCloud does allow me web access via any browser and allows me to manipulate files I have created with Pages, Numbers, etc. You can, in fact, use iCloud to store other file types. I must admit I have not used the service for this purpose.

I propose that an issue educators will have to consider is how much time their students spend working within the Apple ecosystem using experiences that require apps running on Apple hardware vs. how much time they use Apple hardware to work online or run software that creates files that can be stored in other ways.

If you have read many of my posts, you know that I lean toward open systems. What I value does not assume services should be provided at no cost. I believe there is value in the most flexible approach possible. It might be argued that the experience of using technology can be made most efficient when one organization controls the experience end to end. Perhaps this is true, BUT a) this requires everyone commit to what this environment will be and b) ad end to end approach has the potential to reduce competition that leads to long term development.

I use a variety of hardware. I do prefer Apple for computers and tablets, but presently not a phone. I have the opportunity to own multiple products in each hardware category. Not everyone is so lucky nor should their income level be a liability in learning with technology.

Here is another perspective on how the WWDC announcements may impact educators.

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Browser-based iCloud Apps

Apple does not have a great reputation for cloud services, but it keeps trying. I discovered by accident today that Apple now offers browser-based apps for Numbers, Keynote, and Pages. Work that you have done on your iPad or your desktop can now also be modified using a web browser. I guess this is interesting, but it took me a while to see what advantages the web version might offer. Perhaps you do not want to pay for the desktop apps, but want to continue work you have started on your iPad (since the desktop apps cost $20 and the iOS versions are free this might be one use case). I do still like working on the desktop for bigger projects and the cross device capabilities with the iPad may be helpful.

The web version allows collaboration in real time. I admit I have never collaborated in real time when this was possible (Google), but it does sound interesting.

Google, Apple and Microsoft now have slight different versions of the same cross device / web model. Competition is good.

icloudweb

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Apple – pay attention

Apple has always done very well in the education market, but I am concerned the company has become complacent. There is a diminishing return on the value of more elegant and powerful hardware and the number of apps in the App Store. Cloud-based approaches treat hardware as an appliance and increase the importance of cost. The number of apps may be less important than the number of app categories. You really only need one good app per category.

Recent announcements by Google and Amazon are attempts to target other weaknesses.

Google

Google Play for Education (see the video) is separate from Google play and offers apps, video and books organized in ways that will be useful to teachers (e.g., subject, grade level, standard). The store provides an approach consistent with the ways schools invest in content – purchase orders and bulk purchases. Educators can then send specific content to specific students.

Amazon

Whispercast (not to be confused with whispersynch) will work on any device – Kindle or running Kindle software. Push commercial content from Amazon and content created by teachers to specific students. Some unique arrangements were described at FETC – lower prices on books available for a limited period of time. Efficient ways for schools to manage the distribution of this content.

New Amazon approach

My wife proposes that these companies seem to have carefully analyzed the frustrations of educators in implementing learning with apps in a school setting and attempted to design solutions.

What should Apple do?

  1. Offer a less costly tablet.
  2. Improve (drastically) the quality of cloud services.
  3. Offer a platform independent version of iBooks

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Time capsule and migration assistant

The MacBook Pro that used to be my main writing machine quit working. I knew the end was coming because it had to be plugged in to work at all. For some mysterious reason when I launched it a couple of days ago, the trackpad worked but not the buttons. This problem was there even when I tried a mouse. I have several new machines and no longer work on the old machine, but I always assumed I would take the time to move my content (pics, tunes, documents). Now, it is too late. This is a description of what I did next and the process may be valuable to others.

I kept a backup of the MacBook Pro using time capsule. This approach has advantages and disadvantages. It is easy. I kept an external drive at the office and connected it to update the backup from time to time. With time capsule you can recover a file you have  purposely deleted and you can restore the entire drive if necessary. It turns out you can also use Time Capsule to move specific content to a new computer. This is not the ideal use for Time Capsule, but it can be done.

Here is the approach I used.
1) Migration assistant (an Apple utility) will connect to the Time Capsule content stored on an external drive. There are several options one of which allows the transfer of categories of content.

2) When using migration assistant in this fashion, the software creates a new user account on the new computer. You may not have known that a computer you use allows for multiple users with unique content. Keeping the content separate is the key value here. This guards against overwriting the existing content within a given category (e.g., documents). This is a necessary step, but not the organization that was my ultimate goal. I do not want to move among different user accounts to access my content. Hence, this is an intermediate step.

3) Once the content has been transferred and I am certain it is available, I erased the content of the external drive and moved the content from the second account back to the external drive. The content is no longer in the format required by Time Capsule (which is a good thing) and individual files can be accessed. You might want to use a second hard drive if erasing the originals make you uncomfortable.

4) At this point, I can connect to my original user account and integrate the files I want. I can move music into music, pictures into pictures, and documents into documents.

5) When I am certain I have what I want where I want it, I can delete the temporary user account using Apple preferences. This frees up space on my computer.

6) Finally, I can use Time Capsule if create new backup of the contents of the new machine on the external drive.

I have used this process one time. Because the way I use technology has changed (I am now mostly working in the cloud) and technology has changed (Apple allows me to download applications I own to the same machine or different machines multiple times), it is unlikely I will use it again. However, it worked for the situation I encountered and may fix a situation others encounter. If you are careful when moving from step to stop, there should always be a backup should you make an error and need to try again.

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