Week 2 Blog Post

The readings this week, although short, provided a lot of good information regarding apps, eBooks, and enhanced eBooks. In the reading “What you really need to know about enhanced and Multi-Touch eBooks” the author discussed what the different style of eBooks bring to the table. The author states that although you are holding an incredible computing device, when it comes to most eBooks the only thing you are able to play around with is the font size. He questions why you would want to read a book on an incredible device such as an iPad, and be unable to use any of its cool features. I would have to agree. The author mentions reading a Stephen King book. Image reading “It” and when you reach a certain page and press on an illustration, an animation of Pennywise pops up. That would add a new level of horror to an already terrifying story. 
In the reading “Interactive eBooks: The Reinvention of Reading and Interactivity”, Avi Itzkovitch explains how the touch screen capacity of tablets is changing the way we tell stories. Apple has recently released a program called “iBooks Author”, a software program that allows the user to create an iBook using pre-made formats. This is an incredibly cool program, wherein the user can create a text book, cook book, or history book, from the comfort of your own home computer. 
In “Some Differences Between Ebooks, Enhanced Ebooks, And Apps”, Beth Bacon explains what each application is capable of and how they are all used. She begins by stating that Ebooks are the simplest to produce, however they tend to leave the reader desiring more as they are the simplest books with the least amount of interactive features. She goes on to state that although they are the most difficult to make, apps are the creations that businesses use the most, due to their levels of interactivity. Michel Kripalani, CEO of Oceanhouse Media was quoted stating that although they are the most difficult, they only use apps due to their “unlimited potential”. It is very obvious to me that the CEO of a company known for creating children’s stories would want to use the most interactive and dynamic media to share their stories with the world, as children are often easily entertained, yet also become bored quite easily. By using apps to tell stories, the interactive features keep the child entertained, while telling the story.