Let’s say you’re a publisher of homeschool textbooks and you want to give iBooks Author a try. Let’s also say you’re only running Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and not 10.7 (Lion). This could be because you don’t want to spend $29 just to test an application or your hardware doesn’t support Apple’s latest OS.

Fear not! I’ve got a method for you to install iBooks Author. Now, this is not officially supported by Apple and you’re supposed to have OS X Lion in order to sell books in the iBookstore. Also, if you brick your computer because you did this I can take no responsibility or provide you with any support. In other words: proceed at your own risk!

• Update iTunes to 10.5.3
• Open Finder
• Click on your hard drive
• Double click System
• Double click Library
• Double click CoreServices
• Right click (or Control Click) SystemVersion.plist and select copy (leave this window open or minimized)
• Right click (or Control Click) on your desktop and select paste item
• Now open the file from your desktop by double clicking
• Now change the two places near the bottom of the file where they say <string>10.6.8</string> to <string>10.7.2</string>. Your version may differ such as 10.6.x
• Click File->Save
• You will be asked to overwrite, select overwrite
• Right click (or Control Click) on the file you just edited and select copy
• Open the window that you copied SystemVersion.plist from and select Edit->Paste Item. (You will be asked to authenticate, select authenticate) and if you would like to replace the file. Select replace. Enter your password if it asks)
• Now go to the Mac App Store and search for iBooks Author and install (Don’t Run Yet)
• Be sure to close the Mac App Store (yes you can close as app downloads)
• Open the SystemVersion.plist that you edited on your desktop and change what you did previously back to your original version. Example: change both instances of <string>10.7.2</string> to <string>10.6.8</string>
• Click File->Save
• You will be asked to overwrite, select overwrite
• Right click (or Control Click) on the file you just edited and select copy
• Open the window that you copied SystemVersion.plist from and select Edit->Paste Item. (You will be asked to authenticate, select authenticate) and if you would like to replace the file. Select replace. Enter your password if it asks)
• Now, Go to your Applications folder under your Snow Leopard Hard drive
• Right Click (or Control Click) iBooks Author and click Show Contents
• Double click Contents folder
• Double click Info.plist
• Search for 10.7.2 and change to your version of Snow Leopard, in our case 10.6.8
• Go to File in the Menu bar and select save
• Now open iBooks Author, you should be good to go!
• iBooks Author may seem not to work when you open it, but just click File->New to start

(Source: http://www.digitaltweaker.com/mac/mac-tips/2012/01/how-to-install-ibooks-author-on-os-x-snow-leopard/)

Apple announced the reinvention of the textbook last week when they launched iBooks 2.
Fast facts:

• 20,000 education apps built for iPad
• 100,000s of books in iBook store
• 1.5 million iPads are currently in use in educational institutions and schools
• iTunes U has seen over 700 million downloads
• Video, interactive features, search, common iPad “gestures” like pinch to zoom, swipe, and tap
• Portrait mode is optimized for reading
• Highlighting and note-taking
• Study cards from notes and glossary terms
• Textbooks not available on iPhone or iPod
• iBook Author only available for Mac

More information about iBooks is available at Apple’s website.

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Textbooks are now available in iBooks

Today Apple announced a new app for authoring e-books: iBooks Author. The app is free in the Mac App Store and makes creating an e-book a drag-and-drop process.

Publishers will now have a great tool available to create e-books by simply dragging a Word file into the application. The application then takes over and automatically formats the book. Images can then be re-sized and dragged around in text and terms and definitions can be added.

Once the book is complete it can be previewed on an iPad or uploaded directly to the iBook store.

Additionally, Apple’s Phil Schiller announced there would be a new textbook experience in iBooks 2.

While Schiller announced that they plan to include “every subject, every grade level, for every student,” they’re focusing on high school for now.

Textbook publishers McGraw-Hill, Pearson and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt have partnered with Apple and two text books are available today for $14.99 each in the iBook store.

This is great news for the homeschooling community. Homeschoolers will now be able to purchase e-textbooks at a fraction of the cost of their dead tree counterparts and changes to those books can be made available without having to reprint the books or send out addenda.  Publishers of homeschooling textbooks now have a way to offer digital, interactive books to their customers for a fraction of what it used to cost.

I’m hoping homeschool publishers jump on this bandwagon and take this opportunity to easily digitize their books and get them in the iBooks store soon!

Belkin TuneDok Cupholder for iPod (White) available at Amazon.com (affiliate link)

Description
Simply place your iPod into the Belkin F8E467 TuneDok for iPods and let its secure, suction-cup functionality keep your favorite music easily accessible. The Belkin TuneDok provides security and stability, along with a flexible construction that gives it a perfect fit in your vehicles’s cup-holder console.

The TuneDok features an innovative height-adjustment capability, with a ratcheting-neck that lets you reposition your iPod easily, as well as a discreet cable-management clip that eliminates loose and tangled cords, helping keep your iPod usage simple so you can concentrate on your driving. This unit includes an innovative AirGrip technology for secure placement, with a large and small rubber base and adapter cup the ensure an exact fit and ultimate stability in any car’s cup holder.

Compatible with full-size iPods–including the iPod 3G, iPod 4G (Click Wheel), iPod color, and iPod 5G/5.5G Video–the Belkin TuneDok is not designed for use with iPod minis or nanos, and is backed by a manufacturer’s 3-year warranty.

Product Details

• Compatible with full-size iPods, including iPod 3G, 4G, 5G, 5.5G, and 6G; and is backed by a manufacturer’s 3-year warranty
• Suction-cup functionality keeps your iPod secure and easily accessible, with a flexible construction that gives it a perfect fit in your vehicle’s cup-holder console
• Features an innovative height-adjustment capability, with a ratcheting-neck that lets you reposition your iPod easily
• Includes a discreet cable-management clip that eliminates loose and tangled cords, helping keep your iPod usage simple
• Innovative AirGrip technology provides for secure placement, while a large and small rubber base and adapter cup ensure an exact fit and ultimate stability

Description and product details taken from Amazon.com