Apple to announce tools, platform to “digitally destroy” textbook publishing –– by Chris Foresman

Excerpt:

GarageBand for e-books

At the same time, however, authoring standards-compliant e-books (despite some promises to the contrary) is not as simple as running a Word document of a manuscript through a filter. The current state of software tools continues to frustrate authors and publishers alike, with several authors telling Ars that they wish Apple or some other vendor would make a simple app that makes the process as easy as creating a song in GarageBand.

Our sources say Apple will announce such a tool on Thursday.

Some thoughts/reflections from DSC:

• If the educational publishing industry doesn’t want to help students out by greatly lowering their prices…
  (But don’t relax people in higher ed…most likely, we are next.)
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• Another example of “the dangers of the status quo.“
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• We constantly need to be actively reinventing ourselves and our businesses so that we are staying relevant.
  (And at prices running up to and over $200,000 for 4 years of college — as of January 2012 —  the assertion that higher ed is not a business just doesn’t hold any water for me anymore.)
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Addendum later on 1/17/12:

• 5 Digital Publishing App Trends to Watch in 2012 — by Erik Loehfelm