Apple's Textbook Project Code Named 'Bliss' and Inspired by Al Gore's 'Our Choice'?

AppleInsider reports that it received a tip earlier this week claiming that Apple's digital textbook project rumored for unveiling tomorrow has been developed internally under the code name "Bliss". The source also indicated that the project was inspired by Apple board member Al Gore's Our Choice e-book app focused on global climate change.

our choice harvesting wind
Al Gore's Our Choice app

Some of the source's information, including details on Roger Rosner's role in the project, was corroborated yesterday by The Wall Street Journal, increasing confidence in the remainder of the claims.

The person who contacted AppleInsider indicated that Apple's Internet software chief, Eddy Cue, is responsible for the distribution side of the new e-textbook initiative. But Rosner is said to be in charge of development of the editor used to create digital textbooks, as well as the reading software that will allow students and teachers to view the files.

The person said the internal code-name for the project is "Bliss," and said the software will allow publishers to make textbooks more interactive.

Our Choice, which was selected for an Apple Design Award at last year's Worldwide Developers Conference, is an immersive, interactive app produced by Push Pop Press. The firm founded by former Apple engineers had planned to expand its efforts in the interactive book-as-app market with additional titles, but the plan was cut short when Facebook acquired the company last year.

Top Rated Comments

WiiDSmoker Avatar
160 months ago
Global warming is a hoax pushed for political gain.

WTF is this ignorant crap?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mudbug Avatar
160 months ago
I for one am SOOOOOO ready for a content creation tool for creating immersive book experiences on the iPad that doesn't require coding.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stang Avatar
160 months ago
Anything to do with Al Gore is doomed for failure.

Just like the internet....wait.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twitter Avatar
160 months ago
that looks good! books and iWork 2012 would be perfect
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ronm99 Avatar
160 months ago
Has anyone performed any studies on the effect lcd screens have on young eyes? :confused:

I know I 've had to put glasses at 33 from computer use and know a lot of friends who had their eyesight hurt after extensive computer use.

As much as I feel excited about this, I have to be reserved about it too...

My understanding is that computers hurt the eyes due to the fact that you are constantly focusing on an object at the same distance away. As people age, they become far-sighted because their eyes become less flexible which limits their ability to focus on things that are close to them (thus requiring reading glasses). You can help your eyes during computer use by occasionally focusing on things far away and then looking back at the computer again.

I've never heard of any studies that say that LCD screens hurt the eyes.

If the above is correct, then there should be no difference between reading a book and reading on a computer screen.

----------

Image (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bj0fdAQOI98/S97tnLCbtZI/AAAAAAAABzQ/2LxOhemm4vw/s400/Fat+Albert.jpg)

He's touched McDonalds once or twice.

----------



All depends on the period of time you are measuring temperatures. And there is no proof that it's man made or that anything can actually be done about it. That is why it can be called a hoax.

This is getting off-topic, but I would like to add that calling something a "hoax" is saying that the scientists are deliberately trying to mis-lead people. You may or may not agree with their conclusions, but calling global warming a hoax is going too far.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pheenix11 Avatar
160 months ago
Are these digital textbooks going to be significantly cheaper to make up for the fact that you can't resell them at the end of the semester?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...