[LINK] iPad experimentation begins: e-media

[Jan Whitaker]

from: Fwd: Publishers Lunch
[this is fascinating. But 'streaming' sorta means a net connection of 
some sort... and there's that 'flash' problem...]

>Penguin's Makinson Demonstrates iPad Adaptations
>Yesterday Penguin Group ceo John Makinson presented more of the 
>company's vision of how to present books on the iPad platform at a 
>conference in London. Their vision is that they "will be embedding 
>streaming audio, video and gaming into everything that we do." Which 
>means they are forsaking epub, which "is designed for narrative text 
>but not this cool stuff that we're talking about now" and "for the 
>time being at least we'll be creating a lot of our content as applications."
>
>Makinson freely admitted that "we don't understand at the moment 
>what the consumer is prepared to pay for. We don't know whether the 
>inclusion of a video introduction by an author will be of value to 
>the consumer, and it may not be the same answer every time." He 
>added, "we'll only find answers to these questions by trial and 
>error." The point is, "we'll have to be innovative and take some 
>risks. We'll have to, above all, listen to our readers to understand 
>what they want, and what they'll pay for."
>
>Makinson show a demo video of some of the projects they are working 
>on as well. Paid Content UK declared "many of Penguin's iPad books 
>seem hardly to resemble 'books' at all, but rather very interactive 
>learning experiences." Indeed, while it's a highly subjective 
>judgment based on short clips, I found most of the samples 
>reminiscent of earlier efforts by publishers to compete in the 
>software and cd-Rom businesses. Are their adaptations of Spot and 
>board books really going to compete in the world of young child and 
>early education/entertainment apps? Can DK, which has taken many 
>shots at this before, outdo education publishers with their Human 
>Body and other projects? Their DK Paris guidebook boasts a gps map 
>when you lay it flat (like my free Google Maps app?) and their 
>Starfinder, which shows you constellations in the sky and names 
>them, is "a pretty cool idea," as Makinson said--just like the $2.99 
>Star Walk app from Vito Technology my son has. "Vampire Academy," an 
>enhanced ebook with live chat and online community for vampire 
>lovers, seems closest to the mark of connecting a popular 
>text-driven them with added connectivity for readers.
>
>Judge for yourself with the videos below.
><http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/cp/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218NDA3OTYxfDc2MDIyMjM2fDYwNzQ1Mw==&id=3571715>Makinson 
>video
><http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/cp/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218NDA3OTYxfDc2MDIyMjM2fDYwNzQ1Mw==&id=3571716>Demo 
>video


Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
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Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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