Our world today is constantly changing. Multiple options, multiple models, multiple devices are the norm. How do we adapt and stay flexible for the future? Presentation originally developed by Apex VP and Principal Consultant Bill Kasdorf for the benefit of an international institutional publishing office in 2014.

1. Bill Kasdorf
VP and Principal Consultant,Apex Content Solutions
Publishing Technology Today
Coming to Consensus
in a Context of Constant Change

2. The laptop wasn’t
the ultimate tool.
But more
journal articles
are accessed on
laptops than
any other way.

3. Millions of books
are still read
on Kindles.

4. Tablets provide the
format and functionality
needed for layout- and
media-rich publications.

5. And people want to
access everything
on their phones.

6. Our world today:
Multiple options.
Multiple models.
Multiple modes.
And it’s constantly changing.

7. It’s all about
FLEXIBILITY.
No more one-size-fits-all.
No more my-way-or-the-highway.

8. ADAPTABILITY
doesn’t mean changing from
“ That old thing” to “ This new thing.”
It’s not linear anymore.
It’s cumulative.
Now it means changing from
“ What I do today”
to
“I need to do this new thing too.
And what’s next?”

9. What’s a
poor publisher
to do?

10. The key:
Standards-based agility.

11. The key:
Standards-based agility.
A case in point:
The app-vs.-ebook debate.

12. When the iPhone
and then the iPad came out
everybody went nuts over apps.
They could do cool stuff.
When they made e-books,
they had to make them pretty basic
because the cool stuff
didn’t work everywhere.

13. A story I’ve heard
many times from clients:
“We spent $20,000 developing this app
and we have to sell it for $1.99.
We’ll never make a dime on it.”
“So why’d you do it?”
“We figured we should.”

14. A few of the problems with this idea:
They had to hire programmers
and do everything from scratch.

15. A few of the problems with this idea:
They had to hire programmers
and do everything from scratch.
It was just one book.

16. A few of the problems with this idea:
They had to hire programmers
and do everything from scratch.
It was just one book.
The app only works on one OS anyway.

17. A few of the problems with this idea:
They had to hire programmers
and do everything from scratch.
It was just one book.
The app only works on one OS anyway.
And it’s already out of date.

18. A few of the problems with this idea:
They had to hire programmers
and do everything from scratch.
It was just one book.
The app only works on one OS anyway.
And it’s already out of date.
Plus, the cool stuff now works
lots of places with EPUB 3.

19. Does this mean it’s stupid to do an app?
Of course not.
There are lots of good, successful apps.

20. The New York Times has a great app.
Apple iBooks is an app. So is Inkling.
There are Nook, Kobo, Kindle apps.
Trade publishers do really cool apps
for bestselling authors.
The AMA has an app for all its journals.
Elsevier has a cool app for oncologists.
CourseSmart and VitalSource
have great textbook apps.

21. The key to a successful app:
Genuine need for
specialized functionality.
Lots of content or
lots of customers.
Ideally both.

22. The basic options for delivering
digital publications:
An App.
Programmed for a specific OS.
The Browser.
Standard online delivery.
E-Reader.
Getting closer to
one-file-works-everywhere.

23. The basic options for delivering
digital publications:
An App.
Programmed for a specific OS.
The Browser.
Standard online delivery.
E-Reader.
Getting closer to
one-file-works-everywhere.
Behind almost
all of these:
The Open Web
Platform
(OWP),
colloquially
referred to as
HTML5.

24. The Open Web Platform
Over 100 W3C specs:
XML, HTML, CSS, SVG,
MathML, many more.
HTML5
The structure.
CSS3
The styling.
JavaScript
The functionality.

25. The Lingua Franca of the Web
is HTML.
But it’s no longer just for the web.
Consider UPFRONT XHTML
as the foundation for
content management.

26. Why are people skeptical
of Upfront XHTML?
The tangled, troubled
history of XHTML.
The big sea change
on presentation and semantics.

27. THE EVOLUTION OF HTML
HTML1:
“Look, Ma,
I made a web page!”

28. THE EVOLUTION OF HTML
HTML2:
“Somebody actually PAID me
to make a web page!”

29. THE EVOLUTION OF HTML
HTML3:
Early signs of
primitive tool use.

30. THE EVOLUTION OF HTML
HTML4:
Don’t use presentational markup.
Unless you want to. [It’s “deprecated.”]

31. THE EVOLUTION OF HTML
HTML5:
No presentational markup. Use CSS. Period.

32. And it’s XML . . .
except when it isn’t.

33. XHTML HTML
No biggie, man,
I get what you mean.

34. XHTML HTML
We have rules
for a reason . . .

35. THE HOLY TRINITY
DocBook
NLM
TEI
Originally created for specific communities.
Extended to be “general purpose” [generic].
Almost always customized unless they’re a direct fit.
(If they are a direct fit, use them!)

36. But you still always need
HTML.
Always.

37. But you still always need
HTML.
Always.
Online? HTML.

38. But you still always need
HTML.
Always.
Online? HTML.
EPUB? HTML.

39. But you still always need
HTML.
Always.
Online? HTML.
EPUB? HTML.
Apps? HTML.

40. XHTML IS XML.

41. XML.

42. Models Made with XML.

43. XHTML is a model
made with XML.

44. XHTML is HTML that
follows XML rules.
XHTML IS XML.
It can be simple or complex.
It can be rigorously structured.
It can be richly semantic.
It can contain tons of metadata.
It can be HTML5.

45. And XHTML5
is fundamental to EPUB 3.

46. The basic options for delivering
digital publications:
An App.
Programmed for a specific OS.
The Browser.
Standard online delivery.
E-Reader.
Getting closer to
one-file-works-everywhere.
Behind almost
all of these:
The Open Web
Platform
(OWP),
colloquially
referred to as
HTML5.
The free, open,
non-proprietary
standard for
delivery of
publications
based on the
OWP is
EPUB 3.

47. EPUB 3 is a milestone
in the evolution of
digital publishing.

48. A milestone marks
a spot along the way.

49. A milestone marks
a spot along the way.
There’s a lot of road
stretching behind it
and ahead of it.

50. EPUB 2.0.1
works for books
like this . . .

51. . . . but not for
complex publications
like these

52. The Mandate for EPUB 3
Based on open standards, royalty free
Support all types of publications
Enable multimedia and interactivity
Global language support
Accessibility
Sophisticated design, layout, typography
Backwards compatible with EPUB 2.0.1
Extensible, modular architecture

53. The EPUB 3 WG
was a broad,
diverse group
of publishers,
retailers, &
technologists
working for the
common good.

54. Based on the Open Web Platform
XHTML5—Including <video> and <audio>
CSS3—A defined profile as EPUB style sheets
SVG—Can be content docs, not just images
MathML (the presentational aspects)
JavaScript as used in HTML5
SMIL to synchronize text and audio
Dublin Core for metadata
OpenType and WOFF fonts

55. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography

56. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography
Video, audio, animations, interactivity

57. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography
Video, audio, animations, interactivity
Multiple style sheets, responsive design

58. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography
Video, audio, animations, interactivity
Multiple style sheets, responsive design
Right-to-left or vertical flow

59. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography
Video, audio, animations, interactivity
Multiple style sheets, responsive design
Right-to-left or vertical flow
Rich metadata and structural semantics

60. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography
Video, audio, animations, interactivity
Multiple style sheets, responsive design
Right-to-left or vertical flow
Rich metadata and structural semantics
Point to locations without anchors (CFI)

61. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography
Video, audio, animations, interactivity
Multiple style sheets, responsive design
Right-to-left or vertical flow
Rich metadata and structural semantics
Point to locations without anchors (CFI)
Synch text to spoken audio (“Read Aloud”)

62. Key New Features of EPUB 3
Multicolumn layout, real typography
Video, audio, animations, interactivity
Multiple style sheets, responsive design
Right-to-left or vertical flow
Rich metadata and structural semantics
Point to locations without anchors (CFI)
Synch text to spoken audio (“Read Aloud”)
Sophisticated text-to-speech

63. But wait . . .
does this actually work
anywhere yet?

64. Yes.
(Are you surprised to know that?)
iBooks is EPUB 3-compliant.
So is Kobo. So is Google Play.
And VitalSource and CourseSmart.
Many others now support EPUB 3.
Best right now: READIUM.
(Note the use of the word “best” . . .)

65. The New BISG EPUB 3 Support Grid:
(epubtest.org)
What features work on which systems.

66. epubtest.org
Second generation of BISG EPUB 3 Grid
Uses IDPF’s EPUB 3 Compliance Test Suite
A master set of authoritative files
designed to test reading system compliance
to each specific EPUB 3 feature.
View current results for a reading system,
or compare feature implementation of RSs.
It’s the opposite of EPUBCheck,
which tests EPUB files.

67. Okay, so we’re done, right?
They aren’t going to be
making any changes, are they?

68. Of course we’re not done!
EPUB 3 was designed to be
modular and extensible.
The key is that what is in EPUB 3.0
won’t change, it will just be augmented.
Check out idpf.org/ongoing
for updates on ongoing initiatives.

69. Upcoming Improvements to EPUB 3
Minor revision, EPUB 3.0.1,
in final stages of approval
Most changes are spec clarifications/corrections
Most important changes:
Integration of Fixed Layout specifications
Addition of "collection" attribute for content docs
Additions to Structural Semantics Vocabulary
and enabling changes without spec rev.

70. Upcoming Improvements to EPUB 3
New specification for Indexes in EPUBs
in final stages of approval
Accommodates back-of-book or embedded
indexes, link to page breaks or specific points
Draft specification released for
Dictionaries and Glossaries in EPUBs
Will enable standalone dictionaries and
glossary or dictionary content as
part of an EPUB publication

71. Upcoming Improvements to EPUB 3
Specification in development for
Advanced Hybrid Layout
Enables combination of
fixed layout and reflowable EPUBs
Multiple renditions in a single .epub container
“Region of Interest” definition and navigation
Designed for manga, comics, graphic novels
Also includes Magazine Vocabulary

72. Upcoming Improvements to EPUB 3
Developing EDUPUB
EPUB Profile for Educational Content
Done in collaboration with EDUPUBAlliance
Initiated by contribution from Pearson
Includes detailed “Structural Semantics
Vocabulary” for textbooks/educational content
Designed as delivery format, including
metadata, widgets, customizable CSS

73. THE EDUPUB ALLIANCE
Collaborative initiative between:
IDPF
Developing EDUPUB EPUB Profile
and Open Source Widget Library
IMS Global
Key educational/pedagogical standards:
QTI (Quiz and Test Interoperability)
LTI (Learning Technology Interoperability)
W3C
Responsible for Open Web Platform

74. W3C Digital Publishing Interest Group
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
initiative to make Web standards
more useful to publishers
DPIG
Developing use cases to inform the work of
W3C Working Groups on CSS, HTML, etc.
May call for new WG on Metadata
Working on Open Annotations on the Web
to provide a standard way to annotate
web content (a very complex task!)

75. In conclusion, three TLAs
and one FLA:
XML
W3C
OWP
EPUB
Watch this space!

76. Thanks!
Bill Kasdorf
bkasdorf@apexcovantage.com
+1 734 904 6252
@BillKasdorf