The Cheap Geek
 
Jan 21 / 11:00am

The Proprietary Nature of the iBooks Author File Format

John Gruber via Daring Fireball

It’s the difference between “What’s the best we can do within the constraints of the current ePub spec?” versus “What’s the best we can do given the constraints of our engineering talent?” - the difference between going as fast as the W3C standards body permits versus going as fast as Apple is capable.

This design trade off is just like Apple’s 30 pin dock connector. Many try and argue that a mini or micro USB port that is supported throughout the industry is a better choice that an Apple only port. I see the other side to that argument. The 30 pin dock connector offers not only power and data, but video, audio out, audio in, FireWire, midi, ect. ect. Apple made the choice ~8 years ago to push forward with their own port with the features they wanted rather than wait for a standard port to be adopted. I think that choice has turned out ok.

Filed under  //  Apple   Linked   iBooks   iPad   iPod  

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Jun 20 / 1:29pm

Consumers Don’t Want Tablets, They Want iPads

John Paczkowski via All Things D

A theory: Though consumers desire the iPad for the functions it performs, they want it more for what it is. Just as many preferred the iPod to the generic MP3 player, so too do they prefer the iPad to the generic “tablet.”

So there is a tablet market, but it’s been subsumed by the iPad market, just as the MP3 player market was engulfed by the market for the iPod.

I have said this many times that the iPad will dominate Android and other competing tablets in the same manner that the iPod dominated all other MP3 players. There are two reasons the iPhone didn't follow this model.

  1. The mobile phone market existed and had very successful participants before the iPhone was introduced while the iPod and iPad created a device category where no other company had any previous success.
  2. The iPhone is Apples only product that they do not completely control. They are required to go through the carriers to deliver the product to consumers. The carriers also obscure the true price of the device by subsidising all smartphones reducing the ability to differentiate between iPhones and other smartphones.
Filed under  //  Apple   Linked   iPad   iPod  

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Feb 8 / 9:57am

Intro to iTunes - Part 1 - The Basics

In this the first of a three part series on iTunes I discuss the basics. This is a great video for new iPhone, iPad, or iPod users that are not familiar with iTunes. I go over the main interface, different view types, and some basic tips. Part 2 of this series will go more in depth on playlists and syncing your devices, part 3 will go into much more advanced topics. Both will be released shortly.

Filed under  //  Apple   Training   Tutorial   iPad   iPhone   iPod   iTunes  

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