With the advent of Apple’s newest bit of software, iBooks Author App, a free program that enables you to configure your enhanced ebooks perfectly for reading on an iPAd, you obviously need to know how to work with this newest useful application.

As I am not the happy owner of either an iPad or a Mac computer, I  can’t give you a hands on tutorial based on my own experience, so courtesy of Mark Anderson the owner of a rather entertaining blog called Andertoons here is a tutorial telling you exactly how to add images to your text using this new software (with his full permission, obviously).

So, read on, the word is with Mark:

As I’m sure you’ve heard, Apple recently entered the textbook market in a big way. They’ve partnered with Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, revamped the iBooks app/store, and created the iBooks Author application to make publishing and selling books quick and easy. This is a big deal, and I’ve got a front row seat being married to an educator and having two children in school.

But as exciting as it is educationally, as a cartoonist I’m thrilled not only by the self-publishing opportunities for myself and other artists, but by what could conceivably be a whole new market for cartoons.

I can imagine all kinds of people writing and selling all kinds of books via iBooks Author, so I thought I’d explain the process of inserting a cartoon (or any other graphic) to help liven up all of that text.

Starting Your iBook

The first thing you’ll need to do is download the free iBooks Author app from the App Store and wait for it to install. Open iBooks Author and you’ll be greeted with the Template Chooser:

For the purpose of this tutorial we’re going to choose the generic Botany textbook. Click on it and you’ll be greeted with the book’s first chapter in landscape orientation:

Apple has already included a stock image to show you how much an image can improve your book, but we’re going to navigate to page three where there’s a huge swath of text just waiting for a funny cartoon to liven things up:

Because this is a botany iBook, I’ve chosen this one about roses:

Business Cartoon by Andertoons

Now let’s get started!

Inserting Your Cartoon

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Does the fact that Amazon (via a subsidiary) have purchased Yap, a speech recognition software that has been around for some years, mean that they intend to install it on their Kindles and Fire Tablet soon?

Apple set the world on its ear by including Siri, a sort of intelligent “being” who inhabits their latest smart phones.  Basically Siri is a sort of Digital Personal Assistant, who you can talk to, and who talks right back at you.   Thus removing the need to press endless buttons on your mobile phone to achieve things.

Rather a fun idea.

I can see the point of such an application in a Tablet or Smart Phone, or any computer come to that really, but I am not quite so sure about it in an ereader.

Generally one doesn’t indulge in too many things when using a dedicated ereader, a small amount of organizing, and a lot of sitting quietly reading is what most people do with ereaders.

As I have remarked before, the last thing I want my ereader to do is to suddenly inform me that I have an email waiting to be read, or even worse functioning as a sort of super sophisticated alarm clock and appointment diary.   But I also hate cars that tell me in a sort of sultry voice to put my safety belt on as well…..

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Another program that will change ebook formats:

Before reading this review, please look at the comments below, as it seems that this program is based on illegally copied software from the developers of Calibre. 

I have written a long post giving the complete details of this bit of piracy, which you might want to read before deciding which format changer you will use, click here to go to that post.

Hamster Free Ebook Converter is not really a competitor with Calibre, (see side bar for link to Calibre) which is the standard ebook format converter (it also does a load of other things as well), but this neat little program from Hamster seems to work pretty well at its declared task, which is to change the format of any ebook to any other format.

I  downloaded and installed it, and have played around with it for a while, happily converting ebooks from one to another format with happy abandon – ePub to Mobi, TXT to HTML and so on, and they all worked perfectly when put into an ereader, so it works fine.

I have to confess I love their Logo, and would almost be inclined to get the program simply because of that mad looking Hamster……………………………………

Slight linguistic confusion:

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Amazon move towards a more social networking idea for the Kindle 3 ereader:

Amazon have just announced that they will be launching some new firmware (sort of operating system update) for the Kindle 3 ereader, which will give it a much broader base for communicating with other people about the ebooks, and paper books we are reading, and will help to bring the two groups together.

This update, which glories in the romantic name of Version 3.1, is ready for manual download at their website (link below) or for those who are not happy at doing it themselves, very shortly it will be done automatically via your WiFi or 3g connection with Amazon.

Basically there are four improvements, well actually not really simply improvements, but three of them are totally new possibilities being introduced with this new software, most of which are aimed at people who want to talk about the books they are reading with others.

Specifically what Amazon are giving us are the following possibilites:-

Public Notes:

This is a rather intriguing idea, which is simply that any highlights and notes that you might make on any ebook you are reading on your Kindle 3 can be made available to others to see and share.   So if several of you are reading the same ebook, or are part of a readers group, then you can share your thoughts about that ebook with each other online, as it were.

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Sony  enter the world of ereader Apps…….   Finally.   But is it any good?

Sony have finally given in and launched an ereader App for use on any device that runs under Android 2.1 (which includes a wide range of smart phones, tablets and I believe, the iPod).

You can download this App from most App stores now, and it claims to synchronize with the PRS-650.  Though quite how that works is a bit of a mystery to me, as the 650 has no form of internet or 3G connectivity to achieve this with.

In the press release that I have received, they claim the following functions;

• Make bookmarks and highlights with the Reader Daily Edition
• Adjust font size – as you read
• Synchronize your reading position
• Purchase books available from the online Reader™ Store
• Comes with 3 classic titles and 3 Bestseller excerpts
• Edit bookmarks and highlights

Of course, like most Apps, it is free, just go to most App stores and look for an App called “Reader”, download and install it and off you go.

Not everything is beautiful in the garden, however………………..

Sony obviously are claiming it to be the best thing since sliced bread, and obviously anything that improves the rather clunky method of getting ebooks from Sony has to be good, but there seem to be rather a lot of unhappy people out there who have downloaded this App, and are experiencing rather a lot of trouble in actually using it… It seems to freeze solid for quite a few people, refuses to download ebooks and various other problems.

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Ereader Apps for owners of iPads and iPhones:

OK, you are the happy owner of one or other of Apple’s wonder devices, but you wish to buy your ebooks from sources other than Apple itself, and be able to read them on your Apple device.   Understandable, as the choice that Apple offer you is of course far from the choice available for other ereading devices.

So, you will have to lurch into the wonderful world of Apps, those small bits of software you can download here and there that increase the capabilities of your prized devices.  Happily they are mostly free, which is a blessing.

This post is aimed at beginners, obviously, any real tech freak will know all about these Apps already, but lots of you will not really understand or know much about these mysterious Apps, so if you aare one of these folk, read on, and I hope end up somewhat better informed than you currently are.

What are Apps exactly?

As I said above, an App , which is short for application, are small programs that are designed to do one thing, and one thing only (generally) and in this context, they are designed to make it possible to read ebooks from other ebook sellers than Apple’s iBook Store.  They are mostly produced by on line ebook stores.  For example, you want to be able to buy an ebook from Barnes and Noble to read on your iPad, so you would go to Barnes and Noble, download their iPad App, install it on your iPad, and voila….. you can from then on buy ebooks from Barnes and Noble, and read them happily on your iPad.  Simple really, and extremely useful too.

I shall talk about a number of such Apps here, and give you the basic info about each of them, and tell you where you can get hold of them as well, so read on…………………………………………….

Please note that all the Apps I shall describe are intended to be used on iPads or iPhones only.

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