Kimbro Staken (another Apple hold-out that coincidentally wants a Tablet PC) is dreaming of eBooks. It's interesting that the eBook market has not taken off yet. It will. It's going to take time for a critical mass of readers though.
However, I've been wondering about a twist on the eBook concept--that may better be characterized as "Book Apps" where the application appears to be more of a book than a software program.
After using the Tablet PC and working through a variety of design twists for some Tablet PC applications, I've begun to wonder if an app with an option of a book layout doesn't make a lot of sense. (I'm thinking of technical, computer books here.)
In it's simplest implementation, the "book" part of an application is no more than a synchronizable help system that could act a bit like a wizard and guide you through a set of steps in an application. But a framework could go much further and have a UI impact more like Zinio than IE.
Microsoft's Visual Studio is kind of going this way with its plugins, extensible help system, and the like. There are even online training materials and demos. But it's interesting to think of what the environment might be like if you take the "reading" infrastructure even further. Imagine the reading infrastructure more tightly coupled within the framework. I'm thinking about the book being king. When you start Visual Studio for the first time, for instance, it would look more like a book than an IDE. It's focused more on helping you decide what you want to do and getting you going. How many times have you picked up heavy workhorse applications like Visual Studio for the first time and asked yourself: "OK, now what do I do?"
Imagine a trade book such as "Learn C# in 24 days" integrated with the Visual Studio IDE. I'd use it. If I need an C# graphics book, I could download a Visual Studio edition that sets up projects for me automatically, shows me screenshots and diagrams of what things are supposed to look like, but if I want I can click on a line of source code or picture in the book, the app would take me to that spot--either in the source code or application itself.
I like the app as book concept because books aren't as intimidating as most software strapped with half a dozen toolbars and as many windows. It also acknowledges the fact that knowledge of how to use the applications is what most people don't mind paying for.
The reality is that today most apps are designed for production line, repetitive work--because this is where the value is to the end user making a living off of the product. Apps fall short when you use them for the first time, infrequently, or in a variety of ways. Intiut's TurboTax, with its interview process, probably does the best job I've seen on the other end of the spectrum. Why? Because they have to since their application is so rarely used. More apps should take this to heart--particularly programs like Photoshop, which have huge market potential.
A book app design makes more sense when there's lots of screen real-estate (three or more screens) so you can push the book content off to the side if you want or when using a Tablet PC where you may want to hide the app part and focus more on reading.
Here's the business side: There's been a bit of discussion in the blogosphere about the age old fact that people don't want to pay for software. However, a lot of people don't seem to have a problem running down to Borders for a $49 book explaining how to use their "free" software. And it would seem like downloadable book content for applications would lead to a nice revenue stream.
The downside? It's more work. Not all apps would probably fit well with this metaphor. But some do. Some fit very well. Apps that I have several books for on my shelves right now are perfect candidates. Anyway, most people are beginners. That's the big market. How can I get a product in their hands so that they can become productive almost immediately? Maybe this would help.
What's intriguing to me is the idea of separating the knowledge content from the application, but at the same time designing for its use.
Would people buy eBooks if they were more closely coupled with their productivity apps? Not sure if there aren't easier ways to make apps more accessible, but it's interesting thinking about.
Posted by Loren at June 22, 2003 04:02 PMi would like to have this book to learn c#
Posted by: Mostafa Ibrahim on February 7, 2004 07:23 AM