Alan Quatermain

Alan Quatermain

The Tumblog of one Jim Dovey, iOS Software Chief Architect at Kobo in Toronto, Ontario.
He Twitters, he has an , and can occasionally be found on LinkedIn or Facebook.
If you have a query, you can ask it here.

This blog contains personal opinions, and is not endorsed by any company.

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iBooks Author vs. ePub Author

iBooks Author at the App Store

So, yesterday Apple launched the new iBooks Author application for the Mac. It looks great, produces fantastic dynamic content, and more than one person assumed that it was outputting ePub3 files. However, that was not the case, as is extensively documented by Daniel Glazman (co-chairman of the WC3 CSS working group) on his blog:

A wysiwyg EPUB3 editor will not be able to edit correctly an IBA document because of the different mimetype and the proprietary CSS extensions. iBooks Author is not able to reopen a iBook it exported in their pseudo-EPUB3 format because there is no Import mechanism! That means that on one hand EPUB3 readers cannot reuse a document created by iBooks Author because of its HTML/CSS/Namespaces extensions, and on the other iBooks Author cannot create an iBook from an existing EPUB3 document because it cannot import it.

In actuality, it even goes a little further than this.

Read More

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“Bottom-line: the EU thinks the “agency model” constitutes illegal price-fixing.”

John Gruber of Daring Fireball, commenting on this story from CNNMoney.

I’d say the possible reason for targeting Apple in this case is that Apple is also a platform vendor upon which competing eBook retailers wish to build platforms, and indeed have done so, before Apple. Apple’s accused collusion with publishers therefore additionally gives Apple a significant lever against competitors in the eReader app space. Just look at what they’ve done to Kindle, B&N, and Kobo.

Remember: if it weren’t for the Agency Model, all those would have been able to run decently enough via Apple IAP, albeit quite likely with higher prices. Apple eventually decided to allow us to charge more in our app— in the full knowledge that the deals they’d helped shepherd into the publishing industry would prevent us from actually doing so.
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The Spark

I got into computers at an early age. I suppose it was only natural— my father had been involved with computers and programming since university in the mid 60’s, and by the time I was about 6 or 7 he was working with programming enough that he had a computer at home, on which I wrote my first BASIC program at the age of 8 or 9. My first real exposure to the whole world of computers, however, came through a BBC series called The Dream Machine.

The series itself showed everything from Babbage and Blexley Park through to the relatively new 32-bit personal computers which were available at the time. The thing that got me interested though was the information on the Home Brew Computer Club in 1970’s Silicon Valley, and the characters and events which made the greatest impression upon me were the two Steves and the rise of Apple Computer. These two unassuming individuals’ achievements, culminating in the immensely powerful introduction of the Macintosh were the spark which ignited my own desire to work with computers, and to learn more and more about them as I grew older.

More than anything else, I’m thankful for that example. Without it I strongly doubt I would be where I am today.

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Really, Apple? Really? This is definitely, honestly truthful? There’s really no way to read books on my iPad if I don’t have iBooks installed? REALLY???

Really, Apple? Really? This is definitely, honestly truthful? There’s really no way to read books on my iPad if I don’t have iBooks installed? REALLY???

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My Review of the Kobo App

Given the immense amount of vitriol in the iTunes Store reviews against Kobo’s “decision” to remove the store from our app, I posted a ‘review’ of my own, explaining the decision. I felt this was about the only way I could let people know that we haven’t just decided, capriciously, to yank features from the app. It’s appeared on the Canadian store, but hasn’t yet arrived on the US one. Probably still being reviewed for applicability…

Here it is:

On Store Removal — 5 stars

  • by James Dovey from Canada on 2011-07-24

[Version 4.5.1] I work for Kobo, and it appears that this is the only means through which I can alert users to the reasons for the changes in the app I wrote. Every other mention has resulted in the app being rejected by Apple, even as they allow other applications to do so.

The store was removed because Apple rejected any updates which included it, period. They also rejected any updates which stated that Apple required its removal, or indeed any mention of ‘compliance with App Store guidelines’. It was further rejected for the cardinal sin of allowing users to create a Kobo account within the app. Then it was rejected for providing a link to let users create an account outside the app. Then it was rejected for simply mentioning that it was possible to sign up, with no direction on where or how one could do that. Then it was rejected for making any mention of the Kobo website. Then for any mention of ‘our website’ at all, in any language. We additionally cannot make any assertions that Kobo provides content for sale, however obliquely.

It should be noted that throughout this process we have worked closely with the App Review team at Apple to approve every change we have made. Those approvals were then rescinded at the request of the nebulous ‘from above’, i.e. someone further up the management chain.

I should note, however, that the Borders app for the US was subject to almost NONE of these restrictions. This is all the more amusing since the Borders US app is built from the exact same source code, with a different colour scheme and titles.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our contacts at App Review for their attempted help. They are obviously being placed in a very difficult position.

There you have it. Hopefully people will read this review and understand that none of the changes in v4.5.1 of the Kobo app happened by our own design. We have always intended to provide users with the best experience possible. It looks as though that is not allowed now; our every attempt to provide guidance to our customers has resulted in the rejection of our app. For that I am truly sorry.

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“Aside from not having any links to an e-bookstore, you can’t even mention your website or explain to readers from within the app how to purchase books and get them onto the device.”
Kobo’s Michael Serbinis tells C|Net News about the restrictions placed on the Kobo app by Apple’s new rules.
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rentzsch.tumblr.com: The Dreaded Tappable Link

rentzsch:

Dan Moren:

Some developers have already begun to make the necessary changes. Last month, video-streaming provider Hulu updated its Hulu Plus iOS app, dropping a link that allowed users to visit the company’s website to sign up for a paid subscription. Others, such as Netflix, have exploited a loophole: The login screen for the video-streaming app tells users to “Visit netflix.com to sign up” but does not provide a tappable link.

Heck of a threat, that tappable link. I can see why Apple has to ban those.

Actually, I fully expect that non-tappable link to be removed upon next review. The Readability iPhone app was rejected for having a non-tappable link to their website for signup purposes. And I know from personal experience that a logo which consists of a website address (i.e. mycompany.com in fancy type with a swirl) is not acceptable, nor is any mention of being able to perform any sort of monetary transaction at some nebulous unnamed ‘website’.

So yeah, good luck, Netflix. Let me know how that goes.

(not that I’m bitter…)

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Apple to make TVs?

Well, they are if you believe CNN.

My thoughts? If anything, Apple would be most likely to release a large computer monitor with a built-in AppleTV. No regular TV inputs except an HDMI port, but essentially a regular monitor with an AppleTV built in.

I doubt they’d go after the home TV market, but they might think about an AppleTV-with-a-screen.

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“[Kobo CEO Michael] Serbinis … declined to comment on rumours that Apple Inc. is interested in buying Kobo”

$139 Kobo e-reader takes aim at Kindle - thestar.com

Er, the who to the what now?
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Regarding Objective-C & Copland 2010

Objective-C continues to evolve, and in directions I believe will be increasingly important in the future. I don’t believe we’re anywhere near the level of crisis that Apple hit with Classic Mac OS and I don’t believe that a total second-system re-write without a clear goal is the best prescription for the platform.

— Guy English (via Neven Mrgan)

Fantastic article debunking some of the criticisms against Objective-C. Given the challenge that Objective-C isn’t high-level enough or doesn’t provide enough language-level handling for future computing paradigms, Guy sets out to show that the charges are largely inadequate, and succeeds.

For what it’s worth, I’m in complete agreement. Apple is clearly addressing all the points raised by Siracusa without performing a huge ground-up redesign of either the operating system or its chief UI programming language. They’re looking to the future already, and are doing everything possible to be prepared.