i am surprised no one has seen the news BOMB Google dropped a few hours ago.

By March 1, 2012 all users of any Google product (over sixty different Google properties) must agree to a new limited privacy agreement. Google is going to combine all users individual online Google identities into one real identity that Google will track in real time.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/google-moves-to-integrate-user-data-across-services/2012/01/24/gIQAmv8GOQ_gallery.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/25/google-merge-user-data-privacy?newsfeed=true

Will this enable Google to have the power to launch an instant attack on any group or business that Google disagrees with ideologically or socially?

Would this threaten the freedom of free expression during political or religious debate?

Could Google be used to topple the heads of governments who threaten their interests?

I volunteer to privately assist a few. I make sure I am using simplified English.

If a student can not understand a new concept, it is because they fail to understand the real meaning of the words we are using. It is sometimes better to examine each word and determine what it adds to our subject. Review, rinse and repeat.

The bottom line - KEEP IT SIMPLE.
 

I use both PDF and ePub plus RTFD and WebArchive on the iPad. The bottom line is in the Reader that handles those digital documents. PDF is nice and the iPad iOS does PDF far better than other devices. I like the automatic zoom to column with one tap for multicolumn PDFs that are hard to read.

ePubs not only bring font adjustments that are so great I suspect you could read the text in the next county but they also allow you to have any selected text or notes read aloud with one tap and the SPEAK option.

I have had passengers activate that while I am driving so we both can hear the text from a page which was part of our discussion. This was especially helpful with the ones who have a heavy foreign accent that is hard enough to comprehend even when they are not trying to read aloud English.

BTW iPad speak works with all of the above formats except PDF.

The ePub Reader, if any good, will automatically create a table of contents based on how the ePub was created. I use styles HEADING 1 and HEADING 2 along with section breaks to format my ePubs.

I create ePub 3 and only iBooks seems to be able to handle it. I do not submit anything to Apple or Amazon it is for closed distribution.

I can with OS X Lion Services just highlight a bunch of RTF files, right click and create an instant ePub that will have a directory, title, and images, including a cover image. Each RTF will appear in the index as a separate section with an image for that section.

Apple has always been making ePubs easy and practical to use.

Those who have Android choose Moon Reader or similar ePub reader. Android still doesn't do ePub 3 for some reason but I suspect that will change soon.

For Kindles I just run the ePub through iCalibre and convert to MOIB. These MOIB files look just as nice in the iPad Kindle Reader as the ePubs in iBooks. Internal and external hyperlinks even work in MOIB.
You can do a four finger swipe back and forth to compare the two, iBooks and Kindle.

Any student can rip off these books like they have always done when they went to a photocopier. Just copy each page via a screen shot and iCloud will then sync each page image to everything you have.

On the Mac just open them all at once in Preview and then select "Print to a PDF" for an instant PDF eBook.

There is so much you can do with Mac OS X Lion, iCloud, and the iPad you would think they were made for each other.

Hey wait....

If a wise person had a problem with this wouldn't they buy Apple stock so they could share in the profits?

Could yo think outside the BOX for a second?

What is stopping you from making screen shots of your math and including those images in the text as you create your work?

As matter of fact you can even include screen recordings of your reasoning as you write equations. These can be presented as auto run or on demand video in your new textbook.

Look at some of the better textbook content that is already up there for more ideas.

Is it possible that those who master "iBook Author" and who have something great to teach will leap past their peers in prestige and respect?

PROVERB
If you don't want anyone to jump past you, leap first and let the rest follow!

You can do the same with ePubs and other Apple TextBook content that allows Notes and Highlighting. Goto the front and click on your note list, export them as an email document. Also make screen shots as you go along an mark those up using Notability or GoodReader, then export to the iCloud for placing anywhere in your life. This works really well with Notability which allows you to sync notes while recording live lectures in a classroom.

The iPad is developing into quite a compelling product particularly for those who can get past the "I hate all things from Apple" syndrome. iTunes U in particular is an outstanding resource, look at that new iTunes U app on the iPad and then pick one or more items under Most Popular to see what I mean.

I really like the National Geographic course on Photography.

Samsung could plaster some of those left over Microsoft Windows and Intel Inside stickers they have left over from the PC era all over the Samsung Galaxy S III tablet. There is no way could Apple get away with claiming that anyone would confuse the new Samsung with an iPad after that.

Case Dismissed!

You are right. dell just killed off their Android Streak in the USA market and I read this week the are going to partner with the Chinese and an alternative OS Y1.

There will be no Google anything in the new Dell Streak smartphone. How is that for Michael stabbing his buddies in the back?

This is very bad news for Google as that is going to be a kick ass phone from Dell.

You better be glad I am not moderator today.

Don't you even keep up with the Verge?

http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/23/2657132/samsung-no-ics-upgrade-for-galaxy-s-and-galaxy-tab

Last I heard that is the furthest thing from an Apple fan site, right?

There are almost as many real android users weighing in about this development as you would find on /.

They feel betrayed and they are angry! Ten million Android users just got screwed after buying high end Android Galaxy devices from Samsung.
See their comments on VERGE.

Add that to the disgruntled Android users from HTC and you begin to see a disturbing pattern that bodes danger for Android's future in the US market unless this new stuff is so cheap most people would not care, but get over $300 for any Android and there may be problems compared to the marketing challenges coming from Apple in February.

Too many things are beginning to go wrong with Android at an astonishing pace and that needs to be fixed ASAP.
CES better recharge the nation's desire for Android or 2012 will be a runaway year of the Apple.

Three disturbing points in the last 48 hours.

Samsung will leave 10,000,000 Samsung Android owners abandoned by refusing to provide them with ICS. This has the potential of making up to ten million people very unhappy with android. If they tell merely five others how they feel being screwed than that means fifty million people will be exposed to negative android publicity by a trusted friend.

http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/23/2657132/samsung-no-ics-upgrade-for-galaxy-s-and-galaxy-tab

Dell is after killing of their Dell Streak android tablets in the US a week or two ago is switching to a fork of Android from the Chinese for their new Dell Streak smartphone which will rival any flagship Android sold in the US for high end quality. This new fragmentation may chill Google on Android when they see their hold on the smartphone and tablet market slipping away by the treacherous actions.
.
http://androidcommunity.com/dell-partners-with-chinese-search-engine-baidu-for-streak-pro-20111223/

The last is the move by both B&N and Amazon to lockout access to root with a new update to their 'Android' firmware. This is a real kick in the teeth from former friends to Android and open source.

Now run that by me again how 2012 is going to become the year of Google Android.

Isn't Texas close to a large supply of cheap labor that can come from, wait for it, wait for it,.... Mexico?