Months after ONA, but our conversation fits with the topic. I’m now at Banff Centre’s In(ter)ventions residency – my colleagues Roewan, Lisa, Steve and I were trading links and ideas for a little while this a.m. Here are some notes:
-ebooks are in their infancy; most interesting interactive book apps tend to be children’s books
– Examples of really (and interestingly) ‘interactive’ e-books tend to be fairly limited, even from big publishers: see Atlantic by Simon Winchester – maps are too low-res to zoom in on; videos are more press kit than added-value (also note Steve – the other book of his that we were talking about was The Professor and the Madman). Many examples of e-books made from old (fewer copyright probs) books – Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland. To find ‘enhanced’ ebooks, use the term in Amazon search.
– mainstream and semi-experimental book apps: Our Choice/Al Gore (for more about this see YouTube for Mike Matas @ TedX) ; iFpoems (UK poets – features reading, read-your-own, forward favourites, etc) ; other? Please pass along suggestions in the comments or by email!
-Check out these links: pagetoscreen.net ; ebook architects; between page and screen – an AR book of poems.
Roderick Coover – among other works, Unknown Territories (and not, as my scrawled notes say, unrecognized landscapes :Z)
The National Film Board of Canada is doing a lot with digital docs: wander about at http://www.nfb.ca/interactive/
-Bjork’s Biophilia
-Question: if it’s really cool but difficult to navigate…does it work? Maybe people are just learning how…time of transition (see medieval tech support below)
–Growing use of virtual reality in mainstream: Robert Downey cover and article in Esquire; current House Beautiful uses digital watermarks. In this case, made by Digimarc – see article in the New York Times. Digital watermarks are likely the Next Big Thing after things like QR codes. but for now…
-QR codes are v easy to make in your text doc – search “QR code generator” and download a scanner app.
–Omeka – a way to manage large amounts of virtual material – possible to create online exhibits…
– Look into work of Caitlin Fischer (sp?): CRC (Canada Research Chair) at York Univ. in Toronto. She’s @ the Future Cinema lab and Augmented Reality lab.
Annnnd finally…
our struggles are not new. Consider the challenges of medieval tech support… or more recently, of some digital natives.
Please let me know what I missed… and add what we didn’t talk about.
Random notes: ONA conferences and more 
No sooner posted than Jhave comes in, and notes two more things worth a look: cowbird and
jux
From Lisa: http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/
This authoring tool for iPad seems to have been updated in early February. OS10.7.2 or later required. Create on a Mac computer and export for iPad/iPhone.
From Sue: read and research the EULA (End User License Agreement) carefully!
From Lisa:
Here is an annotated list of tools for creating a digital book. http://newkindofbook.com/2011/04/digital-bookmaking-tools-a-roundup/ Thanks for the helpful sharing session this morning. Inspiring!
via email from DC 120216 Dear All – I pass this on in case it may not have come your way already. I took a quick cruise on their site and I’ll bet that someone here has an idea that would fit with what JackPine wants to do. DC
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JackPine Press accepts proposals for collaborations of text and design to be launched as limited edition hand-bound chapbooks in Fall 2012 and beyond. Chosen creators receive funding with which to acquire all necessary materials and undertake the printing of the text and visual content. Chapbooks are then assembled by the creators themselves, in consultation with the JackPine Press collective.
The most important part of any proposal is the prototype. This is the physical version of the chapbook itself as envisioned by you. The prototype is the means by which the collective is able to assess whether or not the prospective contributors will be able to devise a design that can be successfully replicated while continuing to meet JackPine’s standards. In addition to the prototype, please also send a statement of intent, each collaborator’s CV, and a projected budget.
The deadline for projects intended to launch in Fall 2012 is APRIL 15th 2012.
The deadline for projects intended to launch in Spring 2013 OCTOBER 15th 2012
FOR COMPLETE AND DETAILED SUBMISSION GUIDELINES, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.jackpinepress.com/guidelines.php
Sorry I missed the discussion the other day.
In addition to children’s books, I would propose that the other significant area for “enhanced ebooks” is in the “reference” realm.
See, for example this list of entries for the Future Book App Award: http://bit.ly/A4uzwb.
Touch Press (touchpress.com) seems to be one of the most active in the field. We already owned the “regular” version of “The Elements: A Visual Exploration”, but we bought Touch Press’s iPad “enhanced ebook” app version as well (http://touchpress.com/titles/elements), and it’s pretty darn cool!